Wholesaler is still ripe for gains even after 30% move, strategist says
Despite a weak day for stock in BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings on Thursday, Freedom Capital Markets chief global strategist Jay Woods is sticking by the company after a better-than-expected first-quarter print. Woods discussed the wholesaler and his bullish views on Uber and Palo Alto Networks on CNBC’s ” Power Lunch ” on Thursday. BJ’s Wholesale Club Shares pulled back roughly 2% on Thursday after BJ’s told investors on its first-quarter earnings call that the effect of tariffs may force the chain to eventually raise prices. The company still reiterated its full-year outlook, which was part of the reason Woods is not taking Thursday’s post-earnings stock move as cause for concern. BJ YTD mountain BJ’s Wholesale Club stock in 2025. “They’re caught in this conundrum [of] are we raising prices on the consumer, [or] are we gonna mention tariffs in our guide?” Woods said. “I don’t like the price action we’re seeing today, but I think it gives the longer-term investor an opportunity,” he said. Shares have surged nearly 30% so far in 2025. Uber Technologies Woods named Uber his favorite long-term stock, and said any notion that Tesla could pose a competitive threat to the ride sharing company is exaggerated. Uver added about 4% on Thursday. Last week, Uber announced plans to extend its partnership with Alphabet -owned Waymo to offer autonomous ridesharing in Atlanta . “We’re not sure where to [categorize] this,” he said. “A lot of people are afraid that Tesla is gonna come and hurt their margins, but no. They’ve been acting on all cylinders,” Woods said. UBER YTD mountain Uber stock in 2025. “Any pullback to $80 [per share] I want to buy … the risk to reward setup is great,” he added. Shares have slumped about 14% in 2025. Palo Alto Networks While Palo Alto’s valuation may look “a little extreme,” Woods suggested buying any future dips in the cybersecurity provider. Shares currently trades at roughly 57 times price-to-earnings ratio, compared to about 21 times for the S & P 500. Shares gained more than 3% on Thursday. The company’s fiscal third-quarter results surpassed analyst estimates on the top and bottom line earlier this week, while gross margin missed estimates. Palo Alto also forecast better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings compared to Wall Street consensus estimates. PANW YTD mountain Palo Alto Networks stock in 2025. “For a short-term trade, I think you’re gonna get a little more of a bounce out of this stock,” Woods said. “Long-term, it will probably rally into next earnings and we’ll see where we go.”
