U.S. stocks settled mostly higher on Friday, with the Dow Jones index gaining more than 200 points during the session as investors shrugged off government shutdown concerns and a missing jobs report.

All three major indices recorded gains last week, with the S&P 500 gaining around 1.1% while the 30-stock Dow also jumped 1.1%.

Wall Street analysts make new stock picks on a daily basis. Unfortunately for investors, not all analysts have particularly impressive track records at predicting market movements. Even when it comes to one single stock, analyst ratings and price targets can vary widely, leaving investors confused about which analyst’s opinion to trust.

Benzinga’s Analyst Ratings API is a collection of the highest-quality stock ratings curated by the Benzinga news desk via direct partnerships with major sell-side banks. Benzinga displays overnight ratings changes on a daily basis three hours prior to the U.S. equity market opening. Data specialists at investment dashboard provider Toggle.ai recently uncovered that the analyst insights Benzinga Pro subscribers and Benzinga readers regularly receive can successfully be used as trading indicators to outperform the stock market.

Top Analyst Picks: Fortunately, any Benzinga reader can access the latest analyst ratings on the Analyst Stock Ratings page. One of the ways traders can sort through Benzinga’s extensive database of analyst ratings is by analyst accuracy. Here’s a look at the most recent stock picks from each of the five most accurate Wall Street analysts, according to Benzinga Analyst Stock Ratings.

Analyst: John Todaro

Analyst Firm: Needham

Ratings Accuracy: 90%

Latest Rating: Maintained a Buy rating on Robinhood Markets Inc ( HOOD ) and increased the price target from $120 to $145 on Sept. 30. This analyst sees more than 2% downside in the stock.

Recent News: Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev revealed last week that the platform has surpassed the $ 4 billion mark in event contract volume – a milestone that demonstrates its rapid expansion into new areas of retail trading.

Analyst: Trevor Walsh

Analyst Firm: JMP Securities

Ratings Accuracy: 89%

Latest Rating: Maintained a Market Outperform rating on AeroVironment, Inc. ( AVAV ) and boosted the price target from $325 to $400 on Oct. 3. This analyst sees around 7% upside in the stock.

Recent News: On Oct. 1, AeroVironment ( AVAV ) announced it was selected for a $499 million 10-year single award contract by the US Air Force Research Laboratory.

Analyst: Patrick Moley

Analyst Firm: Morgan Stanley

Ratings Accuracy: 87%

Latest Rating: Maintained an Overweight rating on CME Group Inc ( CME ) and boosted the price target from $303 to $312 on Oct. 1. This analyst expects around 18% surge in the stock.

Recent News: The CME Group ( CME ) on Thursday announced that it will begin offering round-the-clock trading for cryptocurrency futures and options in early 2026, pending regulatory approval.

Analyst: Leo Mariani

Analyst Firm: Roth Capital

Ratings Accuracy: 87%

Latest Rating: Maintained a Neutral rating on Occidental Petroleum Corp ( OXY ) and increased the price target from $45 to $46 on Oct. 2. This analyst expects around 2% gain in the stock.

Recent News: Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc ( BRK/A ). announced Thursday it reached a deal to buy Occidental Petroleum's ( OXY ) petrochemical unit, OxyChem, for $9.7 billion in cash.

Analyst: Peter Arment

Analyst Firm: Baird

Ratings Accuracy: 87%

Latest Rating: Maintained an Outperform on AeroVironment, Inc ( AVAV ). and raised the price target from $267 to $350 on Oct. 1. This analyst expects 7% decline in the stock.

Recent News: On Oct. 1, AeroVironment ( AVAV ) announced it was selected for a $499 million 10-year single award contract by the US Air Force Research Laboratory.

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