Investors have been unable to regain their footing after a rough start to 2022. Even as investors look forward to a favorable longer-term outlook for the companies in which they own shares, they still have to endure the potential for near-term economic difficulties. . Fellowship participants feel uncertain about what to do. Starting at 1 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^ DJI 0.10%) was down 142 points to 30,341. S&P500 (^GSPC 0.45%) fell 8 points to 3,752, but the Nasdaq Compound (^IXIC 0.98%) had managed to get a gain of 34 points to 11,087.

Many opportunistic investors have been combing through the market’s hard-hit stocks to try and find good long-term candidates for a rally. On Thursday, Wall Street analysts pointed the finger Snowflake (SNOW 10.83%) and Veeva (VEEV 6.43%) as possible opportunities for bargain hunters. Here’s what the pros say.

Let it snow (flake)

Shares of Snowflake rose nearly 9% on Thursday afternoon. The cloud-based data warehousing service provider received favorable comments from Wall Street, even though it fell two-thirds from its all-time highs.

The analysts of JP Morgan improved his rating on Snowflake from neutral to overweight. However, they left their price target on the stock unchanged at $165 per share, which still implies about 20% more upside potential, even from today’s higher levels.

JP Morgan surveyed more than 140 chief information officers at a number of companies to get a sense of spending trends among top corporate clients. The survey revealed that Snowflake has seen tremendous popularity gains among its users. Additionally, JP Morgan believes Snowflake’s recent Investor Day presentation to shareholders was clear about its plans for future expansion, and clients have already responded by increasing their spending budgets on the platform.

Many investors are convinced that digital transformation efforts will have to continue even if the economy slows down. That could make Snowflake a recession-proof stock, and investors can already be comfortable knowing they’re spending significantly less than stocks recouped towards the end of 2021.

Long live Veeva!

Meanwhile, Veeva was up about 5% early Thursday afternoon. The life sciences technology company has caught the eye of one of the world’s largest investment banking firms, which has investors excited about the stock’s prospects.

Goldman Sachs launched its coverage of Veeva with a buy rating, setting a price target of $253 per share for the stock. That’s nearly 30% above where the stock is currently trading, even after today’s sharp rise.

Goldman pointed to Veeva’s significant competitive advantages in providing cloud-based software for pharmaceutical, biotech and other life sciences companies. Some of the company’s products are similar to what you’d find from less specialized vendors, such as customer relationship management software and event management. However, users such as drug developers and clinical trial professionals may find custom features particularly useful for their specific needs. This should help create a lasting moat for Veeva in Goldman’s eyes, and as life sciences companies build up their tech prowess, stock analysts expect Veeva to see even more business in the near future. .

Wall Street analysts don’t have a perfect track record, so picking a stock solely on the basis of an upgrade or a solid initial rating from professionals at major analyst firms doesn’t have of meaning. Still, by looking at the fundamental business terms, you can learn enough to feel more confident about Snowflake and Veeva’s longer-term prospects.