3 New Strong Buy Ratings from Top-Rated Analysts: 05/15/2025

Looking for fresh stock ideas? We’ve got you covered with a sample of the latest and greatest from our Strong Buy Stocks from Top Wall Street Analysts screener:

• Sotera Health (SHC) scores high marks for Safety — while maintaining strong growth prospects 
• Cigna Group (CI) is riding high after a double earnings beat 
• US Foods Holding (USFD) rates highly in a sector that is always in demand 

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1. Sotera Health (NASDAQ: SHC)

An unconventional healthcare play, Sotera Health is in the business of sterilization — making sure that medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and even food products are safe for use and consumption. The company presently does business in more than 13 countries and ensures the safety of roughly half a billion products annually, and a recent double beat has demonstrated a significant degree of immunity to trade concerns.

Zen Rating: B (Buy) — see full analysis >  

Recent Price: $13.44 — get current quote > 

Max 1-year forecast: $17.00 

Why we’re watching:

• Sotera Health is currently tracked by 4 analysts — 2 have given the stock a Strong Buy rating, 1 has given it a Buy rating, and 1 has given it a Hold rating. See the ratings
• Matthew Sykes of Goldman Sachs (a top 10% rated analyst) upgraded the stock from a Buy to a Strong Buy following the company’s Q1 2025 earnings report, and upped his price target from $14 to a Street-high $17.
• Sykes backgrounded their post-print upgrade and price target hike by saying that "the company's 'durable' business model with exposure to commercial pharmaceutical and medical devices has become 'much more attractive' in the current environment of increased macro-related uncertainty."
• The analyst told readers that Goldman Sachs believes Sotera Health Company is well-positioned to tolerate tariff-related uncertainty because of its service-based model in its Sterigenics and Nelson Labs businesses, and the exemption of Nelson-Cobalt-related products from tariffs according to the U.S. annex.
• At present, SHC stock ranks in the top 10% of equities on the whole, giving it a Zen Rating of B.
• Safety is Sotera Health’s strongest suit — as the stock ranks in the top 4% in this regard. (See all 7 Zen Component Grades here >)

2. Cigna Group (NYSE: CI)

One of the largest healthcare services and insurance providers in the United States, Cigna Group offers quite a wide range of health plans, pharmacy benefits, and medical care solutions. The business serves millions of customers, and recently posted a strong double beat — to further sweeten the pot, CI stock is currently trading at a very appealing valuation.

Zen Rating: A (Strong Buy) — see full analysis >  

Recent Price: $311.56  — get current quote > 

Max 1-year forecast: $390.00 

Why we’re watching:

• Analyst coverage of Cigna Group stock is overwhelmingly positive — with 9 Strong Buy ratings, 2 Buy ratings, and a single Hold rating. See the ratings  
• Morgan Stanley equity researcher Erin Wright (a top 5% rated analyst) reiterated a Strong Buy rating on CI shares after the insurance company’s Q1 2025 report, and increased her price target from $379 to $390. 
• After "a clean print," Wright said they revised their model and hiked their price target on the quarter's results and management's commentary.
• Most of the analyst queries during the earnings call were about its GLP-1 strategy in light of CVS Health's announcement of a partnership with Novo Nordisk, and the fact that Cigna Group "left the door open," Wright told readers.
• Although a deal was not disclosed, management did highlight the company's current EnCircleRx solution, which is currently serving 9M customers, as well as the introduction of two new technologies, ReachRx and EnGuide, the analyst said.
• Given its optimism, but exercising prudence at this point in the year, management increased its FY 2025 EPS outlook by $0.10, Wright added.
• CI stock has an overall Zen Rating of A, and ranks in the top 4% of stocks on the whole.
• Cigna Group is currently trading at an attractive valuation — a price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of just 18.36x and a price-to-earnings growth (PEG) ratio of 0.7x combine to give it a Value Component Grade rating in the 92nd percentile. In addition, the stock ranks in the top 14% in terms of Artificial Intelligence — a neural network trained on two decades of fundamental and technical data has singled it out as a likely outperformer. (See all 7 Zen Component Grades here >)

3. US Foods Holding (NYSE: USFD)

This Rosemont, Illinois-based business has been in business for a long time — since 1989. US Foods Holding distributes food — whether fresh, frozen, or dry, to food service companies all across the United States. This 36-year-old company is young at heart — and confident that it can improve productivity and margins in 2025 while managing a difficult macro environment.

Zen Rating: B (Buy) — see full analysis >  

Recent Price: $72.82 — get current quote > 

Max 1-year forecast: $85.00 

Why we’re watching:

• USFD stock is a consensus Strong Buy according to Wall Street analyst, and currently has 7 Strong Buy ratings — with not a single Buy, Hold, Sell, or Strong Sell rating. See the ratings
• At present, USFD is the third highest-rated stock in the Food Distribution industry, which has an Industry Rating of A.
• UBS analyst Mark Carden (a top 17% rated analyst) maintained a Strong Buy rating on US Foods Holding shares, and hiked his price target from $83 to $84 after the company’s Q1 2025 earnings call.
• Both earnings per share (EPS) and revenues missed consensus estimates by the slimmest of margins — but Carden summarized the quarter as more positive than negative because US Foods Holding "executed effectively in a challenging restaurant traffic environment."
• US Foods Holding stock currently carries an overall Zen Rating of B, and ranks in the top 11% of the more than 4,600 equities that our rating system keeps track of.
• Safety is USFD’s strongest Component Grade rating, as it ranks in the top 3% of stocks according to this category.
• In addition, the stock ranks in the 87th percentile in terms of Artificial Intelligence. (See all 7 Zen Component Grades here >)

What to Do Next?

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