The 3 Hottest Stock Upgrades From Last Week
The S&P 500 continues to enjoy a solid run as the improving macro environment, coupled with the AI optimism and recent stock upgrades, provides solid support for risk assets.
Last week, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) increased its year-end forecast for the S&P 500 Index to 5,600, up from the previous target of 5,200.
This revision by one of the most important financial institutions is attributed to robust earnings growth from five major U.S. technology companies and a higher projected fair value price-to-earnings ratio multiple.
The tech giants Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), Google (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL), Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) have seen a combined surge of 45%, now representing 25% of the S&P 500’s equity capitalization.
Goldman points to upward adjustments in the 2024 earnings estimates for these tech companies and valuation increases driven by growing investor excitement around artificial intelligence. The broker anticipates that stable real yields by the end of the year and strong earnings performance will justify a 15x P/E ratio for the equal-weight S&P 500 Index.
However, the upcoming U.S. presidential election in November poses a significant risk to the S&P 500’s levels, as historically, index volatility has increased leading up to the election. Post-election, the trend typically reverses, with the index recovering to higher levels.
The news that Goldman lifted its target came as Evercore ISI also revised its year-end target for the S&P 500 on Sunday, setting it to Street-high 6,000, up from 4,750. The firm expects an 8% earnings growth in 2023, bolstered by the potential of the AI “revolution.”
As valuation models are refreshed to account for higher multiples, we look at 3 hottest stock upgrades from last week.
https://investorplace.com/2024/06/the-3-hottest-stock-upgrades-from-last-wee/