Analysts' Top S&P 500 Stocks to Buy Now (2024)

If the idea is to buy low, then going shopping for stocks when markets are flirting with record highs might not seem like the greatest idea. But there are always select names set to outperform — and that's especially true when market leadership is comparatively narrow.

Although a number of the Magnificent 7 stocks have done much of the bull market's heavy lifting, that hardly means these names are doomed to underperform from here. Indeed, as we'll see below, three of Wall Street's top five stocks to buy now hail from the Magnificent 7. Companies from the real estate, aerospace and, uh, french fry sectors are also ably represented.

Here's how we found the top S&P 500 stocks to buy now. It's well known that industry analysts are reluctant to slap Sell ratings on the names they cover. There are a bunch of reasons for this, some more defensible than others. What's less commonly understood is that Strong Buy recommendations, while not nearly as rare as Sell calls, are in somewhat short supply too.

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If you run a screen of the S&P 500 using data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, you'll see that analysts assign a consensus recommendation of Sell to a total of two stocks. At the other end of the ratings spectrum stands the Street's highest recommendation of Strong Buy. A total of 25 stocks make the cut there, as you can see in the chart below.

But first a note on our methodology: S&P Global Market Intelligence surveys analysts' stock recommendations and scores them on a five-point scale, where 1.0 equals Strong Buy and 5.0 means Strong Sell. Any score of 2.5 or lower means that analysts, on average, rate the stock a Buy. The closer the score gets to 1.0, the stronger the Buy call.

In other words, lower scores are better than higher scores.

Have a look at the chart below to see the 25 stocks in the S&P 500 that score an elite Strong Buy recommendation from industry analysts. Investors who fear it's too late to buy Amazon.com (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT) or Nvidia (NVDA) will be happy to see they easily made the list.

Also note that Emerson Electric (EMR), a member of the Dividend Aristocrats, and GE Aerospace (GE), fresh from its split from GE Vernova (GEV), are just a couple of newcomers to the list.

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Analysts' top S&P 500 stocks to buy now
Company (ticker)Analysts' consensus recommendation scoreAnalysts' consensus recommendation
Amazon.com (AMZN)1.29Strong Buy
Nvidia (NVDA)1.33Strong Buy
Microsoft (MSFT)1.33Strong Buy
Bio-Techne (TECH)1.39Strong Buy
Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE)1.39Strong Buy
Emerson Electric (EMR)1.39Strong Buy
Delta Air Lines (DAL)1.40Strong Buy
ServiceNow (NOW)1.41Strong Buy
GE Aerospace (GE) 1.41Strong Buy
Lamb Weston (LW)1.42Strong Buy
Howmet Aerospace (HWM)1.43Strong Buy
Elevance Health (ELV)1.43Strong Buy
Mondelez International (MDLZ)1.44Strong Buy
UnitedHealth Group (UNH)1.44Strong Buy
PTC (PTC)1.44Strong Buy
Las Vegas Sands (LVS)1.45Strong Buy
Boston Scientific (BSX)1.45Strong Buy
Uber Technologies (UBER)1.46Strong Buy
Mastercard (MA)1.46Strong Buy
Synopsys (SNPS)1.47Strong Buy
S&P Global (SPGI)1.48Strong Buy
DexCom (DXCM)1.48Strong Buy
Targa Resources (TRGP)1.50Strong Buy
Meta Platforms (META)1.50Strong Buy
Assurant (AIZ)1.50Strong Buy

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Analysts' Top S&P 500 Stocks to Buy Now (2)

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Analysts' Top S&P 500 Stocks to Buy Now (2024)

FAQs

Analysts' Top S&P 500 Stocks to Buy Now? ›

The S&P 500 is less than 3% away from its all-time high, making some investors hesitant to buy an index fund. There's no way to time a correction, and even if you buy at the highs, you'll likely do fine over the long run. Dollar-cost averaging could be a far better strategy, no matter what the market is doing.

Is it worth investing in S&P 500 right now? ›

The S&P 500 is less than 3% away from its all-time high, making some investors hesitant to buy an index fund. There's no way to time a correction, and even if you buy at the highs, you'll likely do fine over the long run. Dollar-cost averaging could be a far better strategy, no matter what the market is doing.

Which stock will boom in 2024? ›

5 best stocks to buy
S.No.Top 5 StocksIndustry/Sector
1.Shriram FinanceNBFC
2.SBI Life InsuranceInsurance
3.Axis BankBanking
4.Mahindra & MahindraAuto
1 more row
2 days ago

What is the hottest stock to invest in right now? ›

Most Actives
SymbolNamePrice (Intraday)
AMZNAmazon.com, Inc.182.81
NIONIO Inc.4.4300
TAT&T Inc.18.05
NEENextEra Energy, Inc.70.44
21 more rows

What are the potential additions to the S&P 500? ›

Potential additions to the S&P 500 include Dell, Apollo, Palantir, Coinbase, Ares Management, Workday, Snowflake, DoorDash, and TradeDesk. They all have market values of at least $40 billion, which puts them well above the minimum of $12.7 billion required for inclusion.

What if I invested $1,000 in the S&P 500 10 years ago? ›

Over the past decade, you would have done even better, as the S&P 500 posted an average annual return of a whopping 12.68%. Here's how much your account balance would be now if you were invested over the past 10 years: $1,000 would grow to $3,300. $5,000 would grow to $16,498.

Should I buy VOO or Spy? ›

Vanguard S&P offers a lower expense ratio (0.035%) than SPY (0.095%), which means lower costs for investors and potentially higher net returns over the long term. VOO might be the more economical choice for cost-conscious investors, especially those investing large sums or planning for long-term goals like retirement.

Which stock is best for the next 5 years? ›

Top 10 Stocks to Buy for Long Term
  • Reliance Industries Limited. Tata Consultancy Services. ...
  • Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) ...
  • Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) ...
  • Infosys Limited. ...
  • HDFC Bank. ...
  • ITC Limited. ...
  • Hindustan Unilever Limited. ...
  • Asian Paints.
May 30, 2024

What are the top 10 stocks to buy? ›

Overview of the top long-term stocks in India as per market capitalisation
  • Reliance Industries. ...
  • Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) ...
  • HDFC Bank. ...
  • ICICI Bank. ...
  • Infosys. ...
  • Hindustan Unilever. ...
  • Bajaj Finance. ...
  • Larsen & Toubro.

What stocks is Congress buying in 2024? ›

Join Our Market Watch Newsletter!
StockPoliticianFiled
DHR Danaher CorpWhitehouse, Sheldon D SenateMay 20, 2024
RTX Rtx Corporation Common StockWhitehouse, Sheldon D SenateMay 20, 2024
NVS Novartis Ag AdrWhitehouse, Sheldon D SenateMay 20, 2024
NVDA Nvidia Corporation - Common StockTuberville, Tommy R SenateMay 15, 2024
47 more rows

What is the best stock to make money fast? ›

Money Making Stocks To Invest In
  • Airbnb, Inc. ( NASDAQ:ABNB)
  • Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)
  • ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML)
  • Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT)
  • Cisco Systems, Inc. ( NASDAQ:CSCO)
  • PDD Holdings Inc. ( NASDAQ:PDD)
  • The Home Depot, Inc. ( NYSE:HD)
  • Booking Holdings Inc. ( NASDAQ:BKNG)
Dec 30, 2023

What is the most profitable stock to buy? ›

The 9 Best Stocks To Buy Now
Company (Ticker)Forward P/E Ratio
Spotify Technology S.A. (SPOT)20.9
The Progressive Corporation (PGR)8.6
Alphabet, Inc. (GOOG, GOOGL)13.2
Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (ISRG)52.2
5 more rows
Jun 3, 2024

Which stock is undervalued? ›

Undervalued stocks
S.No.NameCMP Rs.
1.Maha Rashtra Apx171.52
2.Vipul Ltd41.39
3.Sat Industries93.83
4.Authum Invest1120.65
11 more rows

What is the SP 500 prediction for 2024? ›

If gains broaden out and lift the S&P 500 Equal Weight Index, the main, cap-weighted benchmark could rise another 9% to 5,900 before 2024 closes out. In his most optimistic case, if mega-cap “exceptionalism” persists, the gauge could soar to 6,300 by the end of the year.

Should I invest $10,000 in S&P 500? ›

Assuming an average annual return rate of about 10% (a typical historical average), a $10,000 investment in the S&P 500 could potentially grow to approximately $25,937 over 10 years.

Which sp500 fund to buy? ›

What's the best S&P 500 index fund?
Index fundMinimum investmentExpense ratio
Vanguard 500 Index Fund - Admiral Shares (VFIAX)$3,000.000.04%.
Schwab S&P 500 Index Fund (SWPPX)No minimum.0.02%.
Fidelity 500 Index Fund (FXAIX)No minimum.0.015%.
Fidelity Zero Large Cap Index (FNILX)No minimum.0.0%.
1 more row
May 31, 2024

How much would I have if I invested $10,000 in S&P 500? ›

Assuming an average annual return rate of about 10% (a typical historical average), a $10,000 investment in the S&P 500 could potentially grow to approximately $25,937 over 10 years.

Is it enough to just invest in S&P 500? ›

If you don't want to put a lot of effort into managing your investments, then S&P 500 ETFs are a good solution. But if you're willing to do the work, then you might do even better in the long run with a portfolio of hand-picked stocks (although, the odds are against you).

How much will S&P be worth in 10 years? ›

Stock market forecast for the next decade
YearPrice
20276200
20286725
20297300
20308900
5 more rows
7 days ago

What is the chance of losing money in the S&P 500? ›

In the 94 years covered by Damodaran's data, there were 25 years that saw the value of S&P 500 investments drop. That's a roughly 1-in-4 chance of losing money in stocks in any given year. In 19 of those years, the loss was more than 5%. On the plus side, there are a lot of winning streaks.

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