TLDR
- Morgan Stanley named Affirm a top pick, calling it undervalued with a key investor forum on May 12
- UnitedHealth was upgraded to top pick after strong Q1 2026 earnings and a raised full-year outlook
- Meta Platforms is Morgan Stanley’s preferred big tech name heading into Q1 2026 results on April 29
- CrowdStrike was named top pick in software after surpassing $5 billion in ARR with accelerating growth
- Seagate Technology is now preferred over Western Digital for its margin expansion and AI storage exposure
Morgan Stanley has named five stocks as top picks for 2026. Each comes from a different part of the market, but all share the same basic profile: clear earnings potential, a specific catalyst in the near term, and what the firm sees as underappreciated upside.
Fintech and Healthcare
Affirm
Analyst James Faucette called Affirm undervalued, saying concerns about private credit exposure look overdone. The company’s buy now, pay later model is the core of the bull case.
A May 12 investor forum could be a turning point, with room for management to raise medium-term targets. Affirm is also set to report third-quarter fiscal 2026 results on May 7.
UnitedHealth Group
Morgan Stanley moved UnitedHealth into top pick territory on April 16, expecting a run of clean quarters after more favorable Medicare Advantage rates came through.
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated, UNH
The company reported Q1 2026 adjusted earnings of $7.23 a share on $111.7 billion in revenue, both beating expectations. Full-year guidance was raised to more than $18.25 a share.
Tech, Software, and Storage
Meta Platforms
Morgan Stanley named Meta its top pick heading into big tech earnings season. The firm sees a stronger earnings growth path than peers, with AI boosting advertising efficiency across its platforms.
Meta reports Q1 2026 results on April 29. Its most recent full-year report showed revenue up 22% in 2025, and management said 2026 operating income should exceed 2025 levels despite heavy infrastructure investment.
CrowdStrike
Morgan Stanley upgraded CrowdStrike to Overweight in March and named it the top pick in software. The firm argued it is one of the best-placed cybersecurity companies to keep gaining market share.
CrowdStrike’s Falcon Flex platform and endpoint security strength drove that view. The company surpassed $5 billion in ending ARR, grew ARR 24%, and posted its first full year of positive GAAP net income along with record free cash flow.
Seagate Technology
Morgan Stanley now prefers Seagate over Western Digital in the hard disk drive space. The firm cited better gross margin expansion potential and stronger positioning in high-capacity drives.
The core argument is that hard drives are an underappreciated beneficiary of AI data creation and cloud storage demand. Seagate reports fiscal Q3 2026 results on April 28, which Morgan Stanley sees as a key test of its thesis around pricing power and supply tightness.
Seagate’s upcoming earnings report is the most immediate data point on Morgan Stanley’s list, with results due in one week.
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