Palantir Technologies, a rare government contractor thriving in President Trump's second term, and JPMorgan Chase, a play on higher long-term interest rates, AI-fueled productivity and deregulation, lead this weekend's watch list of five stocks near buy points.
Three consumer-focused plays round out the list: Costco Wholesale, DoorDash and Chili's parent Brinker International.
IBD Stock Lists, Market Take
DoorDash is part of the IBD Leaderboard portfolio of elite stocks. Palantir is on the flagship IBD 50 list of leading growth stocks.
Costco, Brinker and JPMorgan are all current SwingTrader positions.
The bull market trend is intact, allowing investors to have 80% to 100% exposure, but that's subject to change at any time. Be sure to read IBD's The Big Picture column after each trading day to get the latest on the prevailing stock market trend and what it means for your trading decisions.
A stock's average true range, a metric available on IBD's MarketSurge, reflects its daily volatility. Higher numbers raise the risk of a shakeout that can trigger sell rules. Current market conditions are conducive for buying stocks with pretty high ATRs of up to 8%, but investors should be wary of being too concentrated in high-octane names.
Palantir Stock
Palantir's commercial revenue surged 45% in Q2 as it markets its new artificial intelligence products to the enterprise market. Yet a host of recent news items highlight Palantir's momentum and potential as a government contractor.
On May 20, the Defense Department announced a $795 million, or 166% increase in the value of Palantir's contract to provide its Maven Smart System software to the U.S. Combatant Commands. The software facilitates geospatial awareness and targeting. Reuters reported in April that Palantir is collaborating with SpaceX and Anduril on a bid to build Trump's $175 billion Golden Dome satellite defense system.
On Friday, The New York Times reported that Palantir is a key player in Trump's effort to share data across government agencies. The Times also said that the firm is in contract talks with the Social Security Administration and Internal Revenue Service.
Palantir stock jumped 7.7% to 131.78 on Friday. The move reclaimed a 125.25 buy point from a cup-with-handle base, according to MarketSurge. Palantir finished right near the top of the buy zone, which runs through 131.51.
Palantir has a superlative 99 IBD Composite Rating out of a possible 99, based on technical and fundamental factors, according to IBD Stock Checkup.
PLTR stock has a 21-day ATR of 5.41.
JPMorgan Stock
JPMorgan Chase, at its annual investor day on May 19, maintained 2025 guidance for net interest income (NII) of $94.5 billion, up from $92.6 billion in 2024. However, Morgan Stanley analyst Betsy Graseck wrote that management said NII may end up "a little better" by perhaps $1 billion.
Stubbornly high long-term interest rates amid lower near-term rates brought down by tariff-induced economic fears is a positive combination for bank margins, given they lend long and borrow short.
The company also said it expects consumer banking headcount to fall 10% over five years amid AI productivity gains.
RBC Capital raised its JPM stock price target to 285 from 255 on May 20, keeping an outperform rating. The analyst cited the potential for enhanced shareholder returns as banking deregulation allows JPM to operate with less excess capital.
JPMorgan stock rose 1.3% to 264 on the week, holding within a buy zone above a 254.67 buy point from a double-bottom base. Investors could also use 269.52 as an add-on handle entry.
JPM stock has a 21-day ATR of 1.85.
Costco Stock
Costco was IBD Stock Of The Day on Friday, following fiscal Q3 earnings that beat estimates with 13% growth to $4.28 a share.
Excluding gasoline, comparable store sales rose 8%, as Costco's paid household members rose 6.8% to 79.6 million.
William Blair analyst Phillip Blee highlighted "Costco's high-single-digit comp growth in nonfood, largely discretionary categories" as tied to its relatively higher-income consumer base. Peers like Walmart, Target and BJ's "all saw comparable declines."
Costco stock rose 3.1% to 1,040.18 on Friday, clearing a 1,018 buy point from a cup-with-handle base. That also edged past the 1,039.47 cup-with-handle buy point on a weekly chart.
COST has a 21-day ATR of 1.81.
DoorDash Stock
DoorDash has bounced back after briefly tumbling as it reported Q1 earnings along with two acquisitions on May 6, including a $3.2 billion purchase of UK food delivery company Deliveroo.
"DoorDash sharp execution remains front and center as the company expands its market opportunities both internationally and via more enterprise solutions," Deutsche Bank analyst Lee Horowitz wrote in a May 28 note. His "bullish stance" stems from management's discipline that allows it to pursue expansion opportunities while still supporting ongoing mid-double-digit growth in EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization).
After Q1 earnings, Horowitz wrote that the high end of Q2 guidance for gross order value suggests acceleration and "building success in grocery," along with larger consumer baskets.
Deutsche Bank has a 232price target and buy rating on DASH.
DASH rose 1.2% to 208.65 on the week. A 201.03 buy point from a double-bottom base is no longer valid due to the early May sell-off. But DoorDash is now just above a new 207.23 handle buy point.
DoorDash Stock has a 21-day ATR of 3.93.
Brinker Stock
Brinker has turned heads with four straight quarters of double-digit sales growth, accelerating to 27% in fiscal Q3. Growth has been fueled by Chili's, which saw 31.6% same-store sales growth in Q3. The company says Maggiano's, with just 0.4% growth, is a work in progress.
In the Q3 earnings call on April 29, CEO Kevin Hockman noted that Q3 sales "significantly outpaced the industry, which is especially encouraging given we launched no new food or value news" and still weathered the increase in the competition's promotional offers.
However, Chili's launched the Big QP at the start of Q4, he said. That's "a burger packed with 85% more beef than a quarter pound burger" for $10.99 with drink and starter. It's part of the "Chili's Better Than Fast Food" campaign.
Chili's also recently opened a themed Scranton, Pa., branch that honors its past as a setting for "The Office."
Brinker stock rose 11.7% on the week to 172.63. Shares are 10% below an official 192.22 buy point from a cup base.
SwingTrader established a position on May 27, as EAT bolted 6.85%, breaking a down-sloping trendline from its Feb. 4 peak and surging clear of its 50-day moving average. Brinker stock is just in range of another early entry at 165.35.
EAT has a 21-day ATR of 4.24.
