Momentum stocks are the market’s high-flyers – names that have caught fire and just keep climbing. They don’t wait around for value or fundamentals to catch up; they run on investor confidence, strong trends, and the simple idea that what’s working will keep working, at least for a while.
Whether it’s AI, clean energy, or biotech, these stocks often lead the charge during bullish stretches. But riding momentum means knowing when to hold on and when to jump off – because when the music stops, it usually does so fast.
This is where the Wall Street analysts come in. Their job is to look past the headlines and price spikes, digging into earnings reports, growth metrics, and future projections to figure out whether the momentum has real legs or is running on fumes.
Against this backdrop, we’ve used the TipRanks platform to look up the details on two momentum stocks that are now getting a bullish nod from some of the Street’s analysts. Both are riding the wave of strong earnings reports, and both have plenty of strengths to catch the eye. Let’s give them a closer look.
nLIGHT(LASR)
The first momentum stock on today’s list is LASR, the shares of nLIGHT. This company operates in the field of high-power lasers, of the type used in heavy industry and defense applications. These advanced laser systems are a critical technology, and nLIGHT has its hands on the full vertical range of their tech stack, from the underlying semiconductor chips that provide control circuitry to the laser light projectors. The company has more than 450 patents in its field, and consistently pushes at the outer edges of laser power and precision. The company’s products are purpose-built to provide the highest possible laser performance.
Prominent in nLIGHT’s product lines are industrial and medical fiber lasers, optical lasers, and semiconductor lasers. These product lines are engineered for a wide range of uses, including advanced metal processing and hardware-based back-reflection. The company provides the wafers, chips, and packages needed to support high-performance semiconductor lasers, and nLIGHT is the market’s largest supplier of these mission-critical items. nLIGHT can provide semiconductor lasers in wavelengths from 640nm to 1550nm, with power levels as high as 570 watts. In the field of optical lasers, nLIGHT’s systems are capable of providing the light needed for continuous wave and pulsed fiber lasers, using industry leading optical fiber.
That covers heavy industry; on the second half of nLIGHT’s business, the company has strong connections to the defense sector. nLIGHT is an important developer of high-powered directed energy lasers. These systems are now entering testing as part of a layered defense concept, for both land and sea applications. Directed energy weapons offer the advantages of a deep magazine and a low cost-per-shot, with a lightspeed delivery capable – in theory – of intercepting and defeating most incoming projectiles.
nLIGHT is delivering 50kW-class lasers to the US Army this year, for integration with the Stryker combat vehicles, and is currently working to scale up to megawatt-class lasers. In 2023, nLIGHT successfully developed a 300kW laser, in advance of program objectives, and has since won a contract for the Defense Department, valued at $171 million, for the second phase of the High Energy Laser Scaling Initiative.
The company’s defense business was the key point to watch in its last quarterly report, which covered 1Q25. In that report, nLIGHT’s revenue total came to $51.67 million, beating the forecast by $4.36 million and growing 16% year-over-year – and that total was driven by record results in the company’s aerospace and defense markets. At the bottom line, nLIGHT ran a net loss of 4 cents per share by non-GAAP measures. The company’s EPS, while a loss, beat the forecast by 15 cents per share. For the second quarter, nLIGHT anticipates revenues will fall between $53 million and $59 million, some distance above consensus at $50.16 million.
We should note that nLIGHT released its Q1 earnings this past Thursday after the close, and the market evidently loved the results – on Friday the stock jumped 35%.
For 5-star analyst Greg Palm, that connection wasn’t lost. The Craig-Hallum expert noted nLIGHT’s strong defense performance and potential, and wrote, “Given strong Q1 results and a favorable FY25 outlook (includes 25%+ A&D growth), we think it’s time for investors to buy the stock. While tariffs will present some noise and uncertainty in the near term, we don’t see any significant long-term risk. For the first time in a while we are actually raising estimates and believe the growth outlook is very bright. At some point operating leverage should follow suit as profitability also starts to ramp. Looking ahead, there are multiple other growth drivers (Iron Beam and Directed Energy opportunities internationally, Golden Dome, Laser Sensing, etc.) that could provide even more excitement for investors.”
Palm quantifies his stance with a Buy rating on the stock (raised from Hold), while he has also increased his price target from $11 to $14, pointing toward a one-year upside potential of 20%. (To watch Palm’s track record, click here)
Palm’s Street colleagues are just as bullish here; LASR has 6 recent analyst reviews, and they are all positive – for a unanimous Strong Buy consensus rating. The shares are priced at $11.67, and the $14.83 average price target implies that the stock will gain 27% in the next 12 months. (See LASR stock forecast)
Lyft(LYFT)
The next stock we’ll look at is LYFT, a San Francisco-based ride-share company that got started in 2012 and today boasts a market cap of $7 billion. The company offers a number of web-based services, including ride shares, its most prominent business, as well as scooter rentals and bicycle sharing. Customers access the service through an app, and can order cars or other modes of transport when needed. Lyft’s services are mainly offered in urban areas, in the US and Canada.
While the company’s core business is in North America, last month Lyft expanded its services into Europe. The company announced on April 16 that it had entered into an agreement to acquire FREENOW. FREENOW is a European multi-mobility app whose core offering is a taxi service. The FREENOW app is backed by BMW Group and Mercedes-Benz Mobility, two giants of Europe’s automotive scene. Lyft will acquire the app from them for 175 million euros (US$197 million at the time the agreement was signed). Under the acquisition agreement, FREENOW will continue to operate as normal, in more than 150 cities in 9 countries, including the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Austria, Italy, Poland, Greece, and Ireland. Lyft is expected to close the transaction during 2H25.
In addition to expanding its footprint, Lyft is also moving to the forefront of automotive technology. The company is actively developing an autonomous rideshare, setting up self-driving vehicles on its platform. The company boasts that it can bring its existing expertise in fleet management and rideshare market to back up the new tech of autonomous vehicles. AVs offer Lyft potential advantages in meeting mobility needs and rider demand.
Lyft shares rose an impressive 28% this past Friday, in the wake of the company’s 1Q25 earnings release. Lyft reported several solid metrics. Revenue came in at $1.45 billion, up more than 13% from the prior-year quarter – although it was $10 million below expectations. Lyft’s bottom line was merely a penny per share – but that was 3 cents better than the forecast. The company generated $280.7 million in free cash flow during Q1, compared to $127.1 million in the previous quarter.
Looking ahead, several metrics bode well for Lyft’s business. The company’s gross bookings in Q1 hit $4.2 billion, up 13% year-over-year, and rides were up 16% year-over-year to reach 218.4 million for a Q1 record. Lyft reported an 11% year-over-year growth in Active Riders, for a total of 24.2 million, which was also a Q1 record.
Goldman Sachs analyst Eric Sheridan is turning bullish on LYFT, backing his upgraded outlook with a lineup of convincing reasons: “1) Shares trade at 6x our 2027E FCF which embeds a +12% 24-27 GB CAGR (lower vs. +mid-teens) and our estimates do not reflect the announced acquisition of FREENOW in Europe (deal close anticipated 2H25) which would be incremental to our growth forecast, 2) we believe that the AV ridesharing landscape remains in its very early days and expect that AV operators and fleet owners will continue to enter into partnerships in the coming years and that LYFT has an important role to play in the broader hybrid/AV ecosystem, 3) we see lower cost inflation and more moderate pricing trends… and 4) execution has been solid at LYFT in recent quarters as exhibited by a solid +16% YoY rides growth in Q1, and we believe that the North America ridesharing duopoly industry structure is supportive of rational competitive behavior in the years ahead.”
For Sheridan, all of this adds up to a Buy rating (up from Neutral), which he complements with a $20 price target (increased from $19) that implies an upside potential of 20% in the year ahead. (To watch Sheridan’s track record, click here)
Not all on the Street are quite as confident. The consensus rating for LYFT is a Hold, based on 28 recent reviews that break down to 6 Buys, 21 Holds, and 1 Sell. The stock is currently priced at $16.65 and its $16.02 average price target suggests a downside of 4% by this time next year. (See LYFT stock forecast)
To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.
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