Goldman Sachs Rates Nvidia, Ulta, Samsara and BrightSpring as Buys, With Specific Price Targets

What Goldman Actually Said

According to CNBC, Goldman Sachs screened a list of buy-rated stocks it considers well-positioned heading into the second half of 2026. The names: Nvidia, BrightSpring Health Services, Ulta Beauty, Samsara, and Johnson & Johnson.

These are analyst calls, not guarantees. Buy ratings from major investment banks have a mixed track record. Goldman's own clients know that. A price target is a 12-month estimate, not a contract.

That said, the reasoning on each name is specific enough to evaluate.

BrightSpring: Home Health Care, 67% Already Gained

Goldman analyst Scott Fidel recently initiated coverage of BrightSpring Health Services with a buy rating and a $71 price target, according to CNBC. The stock is already up 67% so far in 2026, which means a lot of the easy money may be gone.

Fidel's argument is structural. BrightSpring's model bundles specialty pharmacy, infusion services, and home-based clinical delivery, a combination he says positions it for growth as the U.S. population ages. He wrote that this supports "a premium growth framework rather than a conventional post-acute or provider multiple."

That framing is legitimate. Aging demographics are not a guess; they are a census fact. Whether BrightSpring executes well enough to justify the premium is the open question.

Samsara: Fleet Software With a Moat Argument

Goldman analyst Matthew Martino called Samsara "one of the most defensible growth assets in software today" following the company's recent earnings report, per CNBC. He sees margin improvement ahead and flagged the company's June 24 investor day as a potential positive catalyst.

Samsara makes internet-connected sensor systems for physical operations — think fleet vehicles, industrial equipment, field workers. The stock is up 18% over the past month as of the source date.

Martino's core thesis is consolidation: customers are standardizing physical operations on fewer, more capable platforms, and Samsara wants to be the dominant one. It's a reasonable bet if enterprise software spending holds. If IT budgets tighten, that moat gets tested fast.

Ulta Beauty: Down 23%, Goldman Says the Selloff Is Overdone

This is the contrarian call in the group. Ulta Beauty shares are down 23% this year, and Goldman analyst Kate McShane is holding her $652 price target anyway, according to CNBC.

McShane's argument: margin concerns and top-line fears after Ulta's latest earnings report were overblown. The company reiterated its revenue outlook and actually raised operating income growth and EPS guidance for fiscal year 2026, while also increasing share repurchase activity.

The strongest pushback worth taking seriously: Ulta competes directly with Sephora, which has expanded aggressively inside Kohl's locations across the country. That's real competitive pressure, not noise. McShane acknowledges the environment but argues Ulta's investment in marketing and in-store labor is generating measurable market share gains in cosmetics. If she's right about the category being healthy, the 23% discount looks attractive. If discretionary spending softens further, the thesis cracks.

Nvidia: The Name Everyone Already Knows

Goldman rates Nvidia a buy and says it has "more room to run," per CNBC. The source article does not include a specific price target for Nvidia or the analyst name behind the call, so there's nothing more to anchor here than the rating itself.

Nvidia's AI-driven revenue growth has been well-documented elsewhere. The relevant question for any new buyer at current prices is not whether Nvidia is a great company — it clearly is — but whether that growth is already priced in. Goldman says no. Others disagree. That debate is ongoing and won't be settled by a headline.

What to Watch

None of these are fringe calls. Goldman Sachs has the research resources and institutional accountability to produce serious analysis. But buy ratings from any Wall Street bank carry a built-in conflict: Goldman does business with many of the companies it covers, and analysts operate under compliance rules designed to manage but not eliminate that tension.

The most concrete near-term test of the Goldman thesis comes on June 24, when Samsara holds its investor day. Martino specifically flagged that event as a potential catalyst. If Samsara's management delivers credible long-term margin and growth targets, the stock's 18% monthly run has a foundation. If the investor day disappoints, a pullback is the likely result. Goldman's own note says to "add shares on any weakness," which suggests they're prepared for volatility either way.