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 nowCompany (ticker) | Analysts' consensus recommendation score | Analysts' consensus recommendation |
---|
Amazon.com (AMZN) | 1.29 | Strong Buy |
Nvidia (NVDA) | 1.33 | Strong Buy |
Microsoft (MSFT) | 1.33 | Strong Buy |
Bio-Techne (TECH) | 1.39 | Strong Buy |
Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE) | 1.39 | Strong Buy |
Emerson Electric (EMR) | 1.39 | Strong Buy |
Delta Air Lines (DAL) | 1.40 | Strong Buy |
ServiceNow (NOW) | 1.41 | Strong Buy |
GE Aerospace (GE) | 1.41 | Strong Buy |
Lamb Weston (LW) | 1.42 | Strong Buy |
Howmet Aerospace (HWM) | 1.43 | Strong Buy |
Elevance Health (ELV) | 1.43 | Strong Buy |
Mondelez International (MDLZ) | 1.44 | Strong Buy |
UnitedHealth Group (UNH) | 1.44 | Strong Buy |
PTC (PTC) | 1.44 | Strong Buy |
Las Vegas Sands (LVS) | 1.45 | Strong Buy |
Boston Scientific (BSX) | 1.45 | Strong Buy |
Uber Technologies (UBER) | 1.46 | Strong Buy |
Mastercard (MA) | 1.46 | Strong Buy |
Synopsys (SNPS) | 1.47 | Strong Buy |
S&P Global (SPGI) | 1.48 | Strong Buy |
DexCom (DXCM) | 1.48 | Strong Buy |
Targa Resources (TRGP) | 1.50 | Strong Buy |
Meta Platforms (META) | 1.50 | Strong Buy |
Assurant (AIZ) | 1.50 | Strong Buy |
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FAQs
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 Stocks | Industry/Sector |
---|
1. | Shriram Finance | NBFC |
2. | SBI Life Insurance | Insurance |
3. | Axis Bank | Banking |
4. | Mahindra & Mahindra | Auto |
1 more row2 days ago
What is the hottest stock to invest in right now? ›
Most Actives
Symbol | Name | Price (Intraday) |
---|
AMZN | Amazon.com, Inc. | 182.81 |
NIO | NIO Inc. | 4.4300 |
T | AT&T Inc. | 18.05 |
NEE | NextEra 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.
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!
Stock | Politician | Filed |
---|
DHR Danaher Corp | Whitehouse, Sheldon D Senate | May 20, 2024 |
RTX Rtx Corporation Common Stock | Whitehouse, Sheldon D Senate | May 20, 2024 |
NVS Novartis Ag Adr | Whitehouse, Sheldon D Senate | May 20, 2024 |
NVDA Nvidia Corporation - Common Stock | Tuberville, Tommy R Senate | May 15, 2024 |
47 more rows
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)
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 rowsJun 3, 2024
Which stock is undervalued? ›
Undervalued stocks
S.No. | Name | CMP Rs. |
---|
1. | Maha Rashtra Apx | 171.52 |
2. | Vipul Ltd | 41.39 |
3. | Sat Industries | 93.83 |
4. | Authum Invest | 1120.65 |
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 fund | Minimum investment | Expense ratio |
---|
Vanguard 500 Index Fund - Admiral Shares (VFIAX) | $3,000.00 | 0.04%. |
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 rowMay 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
Year | Price |
---|
2027 | 6200 |
2028 | 6725 |
2029 | 7300 |
2030 | 8900 |
5 more rows7 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.