When markets are trading near record levels, the number of stocks getting Strong Buy consensus recommendations with high potential price upside tends to go down. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t select bang-the-table bargains to be found.
After all, it’s not a stock market, the cliche goes, but a market of stocks.
True, the S&P 500 is up a whopping 30% on a price basis since its early April nadir and looks pricey by historical measures. But then, as an index weighted by market cap, much of this upside is driven by the S&P 500’s biggest companies.
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The top five – Nvidia (NVDA), Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL), Amazon.com (AMZN) and Meta Platforms (META) – collectively have a 28% weighting in the benchmark index.
However, the equal-weight version of the index, where every component accounts for 2%, looks very different.
Indeed, the equal-weight S&P 500 is up about 23% since the spring bottom, and it’s considerably cheaper than its cap-weighted sibling. While the benchmark index trades at about 28 times weighted average earnings estimates, the equal-weight S&P 500 goes for less than 22.
Meanwhile, a better-than-expected second-quarter earnings season has the bull market alive and well.
“Nearly 60% of companies have raised their forward guidance for full-year earnings per share,” writes Grant Engelbart, investment strategist at Carson Group, “something nearly unthinkable earlier this year when companies were withdrawing guidance completely in the wake of tariff uncertainty.”
Given this supportive backdrop for equities, we decided to suss out some of Wall Street’s favorite stocks to buy now – and to see what the bull cases on these names looked like.
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DexCom (DXCM) stock is a long-term market beater that’s on sale right now, bulls say.
Shares in the maker of continuous glucose monitoring devices for diabetes patients are trailing the broader market by a painful 12 percentage points so far this year – but that just has them priced for outsized returns going forward.
A regulatory warning and concerns about reimbursement rates have pressured DXCM stock, but analysts say those overhangs are overdone.
“We are encouraged by accelerating trends and coverage expansion with meaningful top-line and margin drivers coming into view,” writes Matthew Taylor, senior equity research analyst at Jefferies, who rates the stock at Buy. “We continue to be bullish on DXCM, seeing beat and raise quarters ahead.”
Jefferies, which calls DXCM a Franchise Pick (one of its best ideas), has plenty of company on the Street. Of the 27 analysts covering DXCM surveyed by S&P Global Market Intelligence, 20 rate it at Strong Buy, three call it a Buy and four have it at Hold. That works out to a rare consensus recommendation of Strong Buy.
Meanwhile, analysts’ average price target of $102.08 gives DXCM implied upside of about 34% in the next 12 months or so.
GE Aerospace
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Bulls credit canny management and cost-savings initiatives, among other efforts, to boost results.
“GE Aerospace has been focusing on improving its supply chain by working closely with suppliers,” notes Argus Research analyst Kristina Ruggeri, who rates shares at Buy. “These efforts have meaningfully improved the availability of components for GE, translating into higher sales and margins for the company.”
As a result, the company was able to boost its dividend by nearly 30% earlier this year, all while buying back $4 billion in stock and counting. GE plans to repurchase $7 billion worth of its shares in 2025 after buying back more than $5 billion last year.
That’s helped lift GE stock by nearly 65% for the year to date. Analysts see even more outsized upside ahead. Of the 17 analysts covering GE, 12 rate it at Strong Buy, three say Buy and two call it a Hold. That works out to a consensus recommendation of Strong Buy.
Their average price target of $273.01 gives the stock implied price upside of about 10% in the next year. The most bullish analysts, however, think the GE stock can gain more than 25%.
SLB
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True, North American revenue dipped sequentially last quarter, but the international segment showed growth. Additionally, the company’s acquisition of ChampionX, which closed in July, should be strategically helpful in the short term, notes Stewart Glickman, energy equity analyst at CFRA Research, who rates the stock at Buy.
Then there’s all the cash SLB is returning to shareholders. The company recently reaffirmed its plan to spend $4 billion on share repurchases and dividends in 2025, up from $3.27 billion in 2024.
Oh, and with shares down about 6% so far this year, the yield on SLB’s dividend stands at 3.3%. For comparison’s sake, the yield on the S&P 500 stands at 1.2%.
“We believe that SLB shares are especially attractive at current prices and that the dividend is safe and sustainable in the current energy environment, despite weak macroeconomic trends,” writes Bill Selesky of Argus Research, who rates shares at Buy.
Of the 29 analysts covering SLB, 18 call it a Strong Buy, seven say Buy and three have it hold. Their average target price of $45.43 gives shares implied upside of about 29% over the next 12 months.
