The S&P 500 has generated more solid returns in 2026 and is now up 9.7% year to date. While the labor market and overall economy have been resilient this year, inflation has crept back up in recent months and the Federal Reserve may soon make the difficult decision to raise interest rates once again. Historically, midterm U.S. election years tend to be volatile for the S&P 500 but have been very lucrative for investors who have bought the dips. Consensus earnings expectations have risen, but economists expect lackluster U.S. economic growth in the coming quarters as ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East have ramped up global geopolitical risks heading into the end of the year.
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Even with all the uncertainty ahead, Wall Street analysts see plenty of investment opportunities in high-quality stocks. Attractively valued stocks with solid balance sheets and earnings growth potential make the best long-term investments and help reduce portfolio risk in an unpredictable economy.
Here are five of the best stocks to buy right now that are recommended by Morgan Stanley analysts; all five have a Thomson Reuters consensus rating of “positive,” an Argus A6 quantitative rating of “buy” and a Market Edge rating of “long”:
| Stock | Implied change* |
| BrightSpring Health Services Inc. (ticker: BTSG) | -2% |
| Axon Enterprise Inc. (AXON) | 17% |
| S&P Global Inc. (SPGI) | 22% |
| ServiceNow Inc. (NOW) | 76% |
| Waste Connections Inc. (WCN) | 22% |
*From July 21 close, as determined by Morgan Stanley price targets.
BrightSpring Health Services Inc. (BTSG)
BrightSpring Health Services is a leading healthcare company
that provides comprehensive home- and community-based pharmacy and clinical services, including therapy management, specialized care and medical rehabilitation services. Its top brands include PharMerica long-term care pharmacies, Amerita home infusion services and Onco360 oncology pharmacies.
Analyst Erin Wright says BrightSpring has an impressive long-term growth formula that includes improving operational execution, increasing scale and completing mergers and acquisitions that are in line with the company’s purpose. Wright says BrightSpring management’s goal for annual long-term earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) growth of between 15% and 20% is achievable in an aging U.S. economy and could help the stock’s premium earnings multiple continue to expand.
“We believe BTSG has ample runway for multiple expansion as its trajectory becomes increasingly clear,” Wright says.
Morgan Stanley has an “overweight” rating and $71 price target for BTSG stock, which closed at $72.56 on July 21.
Axon Enterprise Inc. (AXON)
Axon Enterprise is a law enforcement technology provider. In addition to supplying body-worn cameras and virtual reality training to law enforcement, Axon’s military products include military body-worn cameras, drone technology, in-vehicle camera systems and digital management platforms.
Analyst Meta Marshall says Axon can maintain impressive growth over time as it expands its platform beyond core U.S. state and local law officials and taps into markets such as enterprise, federal, international drone/counter drone, emergency response and artificial intelligence applications.
“Axon’s software and emerging product investments should expand its technology ecosystem for law enforcement over time, supporting centralization,” Marshall says.
Marshall says Axon’s Dedrone airspace security platform is expanding ahead of expectations, and its enterprise and international growth is accelerating. She says the company’s overall bookings momentum has been surprisingly strong as well.
Morgan Stanley has an “overweight” rating and $600 price target for AXON stock, which closed at $511.17 on July 21.
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S&P Global Inc. (SPGI)
S&P Global provides credit ratings, benchmarks, research and analytics for investors and other market participants. S&P Global is widely known for its S&P 500 U.S. stock market index, its S&P Capital IQ Pro financial intelligence and data services platform, and its S&P Global Ratings credit rating services.
Analyst Toni Kaplan says he is bullish on the outlooks for credit ratings agencies in 2026 and beyond, but says S&P Global provides more upside potential for investors than competitor Moody’s Corp. (MCO). Kaplan says S&P Global trades at a steep valuation discount to Moody’s given his projected 2027 free cash flows and S&P’s high-quality assets and leading information services business.
“The rating agencies are strong compounders, which we find attractive over the long term, and we see positive tailwinds to issuance growth including stronger M&A and infrastructure financing,” Kaplan says.
Morgan Stanley has an “overweight” rating and $525 price target for SPGI stock, which closed at $431.26 on July 21.
ServiceNow Inc. (NOW)
ServiceNow provides software-as-a-service, or SaaS, applications used to manage and automate workplace processes and workflows. The company’s leading products include its IT Service Management, IT Operations Management and Customer Service Management solutions.
ServiceNow’s stock has gotten crushed in the past year over fears that autonomous AI agents such as Anthropic’s Claude Code will make traditional SaaS business models obsolete, but analyst Keith Weiss says the recent weakness in ServiceNow’s stock is a buying opportunity for long-term investors.
Instead of being cannibalized by AI agents, ServiceNow management is essentially positioning the company to become the “control tower” for third-party foundational AI models from Anthropic, OpenAI and others.
“All in, ServiceNow’s ability to combine context, data, governance, and orchestration enhances its AI capabilities and overall opportunity to serve as the ‘AI operating system of the enterprise,'” Weiss says.
Morgan Stanley has an “overweight” rating and $180 price target for NOW stock, which closed at $102.06 on July 21.
Waste Connections Inc. (WCN)
Waste Connections is one of the largest solid waste services companies in North America, providing waste collection, disposal, transfer, landfill, exploration and production (E&P), recycling, and other services throughout the U.S. and Canada. Its R360 Environmental Solutions subsidiary provides non-hazardous waste treatment, recovery and disposal services to oil and gas exploration and production companies.
Kaplan says Waste Connections is his top stock pick in the waste industry because of its proven track record of success that has included price-led growth. He says the stock is also attractively valued relative to peers.
“WCN’s focus on exclusive and secondary markets gives it the most defensible price advantage in the waste space,” Kaplan says.
If volume headwinds in the waste industry persist, Kaplan says Waste Connections’ targeted merger and acquisitions strategy could support additional upside for the stock.
Morgan Stanley has an “overweight” rating and $205 price target for WCN stock, which closed at $168.43 on July 21.
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5 Best Companies to Invest In Today originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 07/22/26: This story was previously published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
