That confidence has been supported by a combination of resilient corporate earnings, ongoing economic expansion, and the relentless pace of AI-related investment across the technology sector. Investors have largely shifted their focus back toward quarterly results, hyperscaler spending, and the broader AI buildout rather than daily developments from the Middle East. Meanwhile, falling oil prices tied to cease-fire expectations have also helped calm inflation<\/a> worries.<\/p>\n At the same time, the war has still left fingerprints on global trade and energy flows. Shipping routes and export patterns are being reworked as companies attempt to reduce exposure to the Strait of Hormuz, while U.S. energy exports gain greater importance amid the disruption. Although tensions between President Trump<\/a> and the Iranian leadership still inject uncertainty into the picture, the cease-fire appears to have enough momentum to avoid a broader economic shock, especially if oil prices keep easing from their wartime highs.<\/p>\n The chief investment office at UBS has been watching the situation closely and says of current developments: \u201cWe think there is room for US equities to move higher by the end of the year, and big tech results last week confirmed sustained AI demand. But with the situation in the Middle East still fluid, and amid intensifying competition among AI participants and applications, we believe the next phase of market gains is likely to be characterized by a broadening of leadership beyond the megacaps.\u201d<\/p>\n Against this backdrop, some of the bank\u2019s top analysts are picking out stocks across a wide range of sectors and investment themes. Their choices include both companies positioned to benefit from continued market strength and names that could hold up well if conditions become more volatile. We opened the TipRanks database to take a closer look at two of their choices.<\/p>\n Ultra Clean Holdings (UCTT<\/a>)<\/p>\n AI may have become the semiconductor<\/a> industry\u2019s biggest growth engine, but the companies enabling chip production behind the scenes are becoming just as essential. One of those names is Ultra Clean Holdings, a supplier deeply embedded across the semiconductor manufacturing chain.<\/p>\n Rather than designing chips itself, Ultra Clean provides the highly specialized components, subsystems, cleaning solutions, and precision manufacturing services needed to keep advanced wafer fabrication running smoothly. Its offerings span everything from prototyping support to high-precision production tools, while its cleaning and coating services play a critical role in maintaining the ultra-sensitive environments required for semiconductor manufacturing.<\/p>\n Ultra Clean\u2019s products and services have found application beyond the chip industry. The whole ecosystem of high-tech digital devices \u2013 used in everything from smart homes to autonomous vehicles to industrial infrastructure \u2013 depends on exacting standards in manufacture, the exact niche where Ultra Clean operates.<\/p>\n And investors have taken notice, to say the least. Shares of Ultra Clean have surged 215% this year amid rising demand for silicon chips and AI data center hardware, creating a strong backdrop across the broader semiconductor supply chain.<\/p>\n In its last financial release, covering 1Q26, Ultra Clean reported total revenues of $533.7 million, up 3% year-over-year and $8.4 million better than had been anticipated. The revenue total included $68 million from Services and $465.7 million from Product sales. At the bottom line, UCTT\u2019s earnings, reported as a non-GAAP EPS of $0.31, were up from $0.23 in the first quarter of last year, and beat the forecast by a nickel per share.<\/p>\n UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri, who is rated by TipRanks as #2 among more than 12,000 Wall Street analysts, sees the company in a sound position, noting: \u201cThe company\u2019s ~60% revenue exposure to LRCX and AMAT positions it squarely in the sweet spot of a capacity driven WFE upcycle \u2013 arguably, the most significant the industry has seen in 20+ years. This is precisely when, we think, investors should seek exposure to the semicap supply chain, particularly as estimate revisions have yet to fully materialize and the magnitude of the upcycle (and the revisions) remains underappreciated by many investors. We see WFE growth of >20% Y\/Y across C2026\/2027 subsequently driving our modeled EPS to be +53%\/+124% above Street estimates in the same period.\u201d<\/p>\n Looking ahead, the top-rated analyst puts a Buy rating on UCTT, along with a $130 price target that points to a one-year gain of 63% for the stock. (To watch Arcuri\u2019s track record, click here<\/a>)<\/p>\n Overall, UCTT has 5 recent analyst reviews on record, and they are all positive \u2013 giving the stock its unanimous Strong Buy consensus rating. The shares are currently trading for $79.90 and their $104.40 average target price implies an upside of ~31% for the next 12 months. (See UCTT stock forecast<\/a>)<\/p>\n Royal Gold (RGLD<\/a>)<\/p>\n The second UBS pick we\u2019ll look at here is Royal Gold, a gold company that derives its income from investing in and providing liquidity and funding for the mining industry. What Royal Gold does, specifically, is acquire streaming and royalty interests in various mining operations. The company does have a preference for gold mines, but will invest in other metals; it derives its income from these mining investments. Royal Gold\u2019s business model is based on making direct investments in mining assets, providing liquidity for mining companies, and funding the mining industry\u2019s merger and acquisition activities.<\/p>\n The key advantages of that business model revolve around risk and reward. The company has put together a model that minimizes the risks inherent in exposure to mining operations, while maximizing the reward potential of tapping into metal production streams. In addition, Royal Gold can structure its own transactions \u2013 streaming and royalty agreements \u2013 to lock in high metal prices.<\/p>\n Royal Gold has a highly diversified portfolio of interests, with 81 assets online and producing revenue. The portfolio is focused on high-quality, long-life mines and development projects. Along with these current assets, Royal Gold is forward-looking and invests in evaluation and exploration properties. The company\u2019s streaming segment accounts for 67% of the revenue split; royalties bring in the remaining 33%.<\/p>\n Royal Gold\u2019s latest quarterly results showed both the strength and occasional unpredictability of the streaming and royalty business. In the first quarter of 2026, the company generated record revenue of $469.1 million, up 142.6% year-over-year, while operating cash flow climbed to a record $293.6 million. Adjusted earnings came in at $2.72 per share, narrowly missing Wall Street expectations by $0.03, while revenue also came in modestly below consensus estimates.<\/p>\n Still, the report contained several encouraging developments. Royal Gold benefited from stronger gold prices, contributions from newly acquired assets, and continued momentum across its diversified portfolio. Management also reaffirmed its 2026 guidance, approved a new $500 million share repurchase program, and highlighted approximately $1.1 billion in total liquidity, giving the company substantial flexibility for future investments and shareholder returns.<\/p>\n UBS analyst Daniel Major, who ranks among the top 3% of Wall Street analysts on TipRanks, sees Royal Gold as offering a compelling mix of dependable gold-price exposure and underappreciated production growth.<\/p>\n \u201cWe think the company offers an attractive combination of low-risk, more reliable leverage to gold price upside vs many gold miners and near-term\/medium-term volume growth that is not priced into the stock. After a 3-4yr period of declining GEO production, in our view RGLD is entering a growth phase; this combined with a favorable precious metals price backdrop leaves RGLD well positioned to deliver strong earnings growth and consistent cash generation\u2026 RGLD\u2019s growth is diversified, limiting execution risk and will further diversify its portfolio, reducing dependance on its cornerstone asset (Mt Milligan); this should lower earnings volatility and close valuation gap vs peers,\u201d Major explained.<\/p>\n To this end, the 5-star analyst sets a Buy rating on RGLD, along with a price target of $325, suggesting a one-year upside potential of ~40%. (To watch Major\u2019s track record, click here<\/a>)<\/p>\n All in all, Royal Gold holds a Moderate Buy consensus rating on Wall Street, based on 5 recent reviews that include 3 Buys, 1 Hold, and 1 Sell. The stock is priced at $232.68, and its average price target, $333.60, implies it will gain 43% in the year ahead. (See RGLD stock forecast<\/a>)<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Disclaimer & Disclosure<\/a>Report an Issue<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What began as a geopolitical shock has, somewhat surprisingly, faded into background noise. After an initial bout of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":62270,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[129],"tags":[34216,223,34215,2926],"class_list":{"0":"post-62269","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ubs","8":"tag-royal-gold","9":"tag-ubs","10":"tag-ultra-clean","11":"tag-wall-street"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/116539655824410379","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62269\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a> <\/p>\n
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