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

What are the top performing stocks in the S&P 500? ›

Best S&P 500 stocks as of May 2024
Company and ticker symbolPerformance in 2024
NVIDIA (NVDA)74.5%
Constellation Energy (CEG)59.1%
General Electric (GE)58.6%
NRG Energy (NRG)40.6%
6 more rows

What are the 10 best stocks to buy right now? ›

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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
21 more rows

What stocks are most likely to double in 2024? ›

*Based on current CFRA 12-month target prices.
  • Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) ...
  • Alphabet Inc. (GOOG, GOOGL) ...
  • Meta Platforms Inc. (META) ...
  • JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) ...
  • Tesla Inc. (TSLA) ...
  • Mastercard Inc. (MA) ...
  • Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) ...
  • Intuit Inc. (INTU)

Which stock will boom in 2024? ›

Top Long Term Stocks to Buy in 2024 Based on 5Y Avg Net Profit Margin
Stock NameSub-SectorShare Price
ITC LtdFMCG - Tobacco₹423.85
Bajaj Finance LtdConsumer Finance₹6,616.45
HDFC Bank LtdPrivate Banks₹1,514.85
Kotak Mahindra Bank LtdPrivate Banks₹1,690.10
6 more rows
3 days ago

What is the highest yielding stock in the S&P 500? ›

Should You Buy the 3 Highest-Paying Dividend Stocks in the S&P 500?
CompanyDividend Yield
Altria Group (NYSE: MO)9.02%
Devon Energy (NYSE: DVN)6.73%
AT&T (NYSE: T)6.35%
Apr 2, 2024

Which is the best stock to buy today? ›

Sumeet Bagadia's stocks to buy today
  • 1] JKIL: Buy at ₹755.75, target ₹799, stop loss ₹725.
  • 2] Symphony: Buy at ₹1084.35, target ₹1150, stop loss ₹1050.
  • 3] Federal Bank: Buy at ₹161, target ₹170, stop loss ₹156.
  • 4] Tata Motors: Buy at ₹925, target ₹955, stop loss ₹905.
  • 5] ITC: Buy at ₹427, target ₹437, stop loss ₹420.
14 hours ago

What stocks are booming today? ›

Day Gainers
SymbolName% Change
SAMThe Boston Beer Company, Inc.+22.33%
AMBAAmbarella, Inc.+20.60%
PENNPENN Entertainment, Inc.+19.65%
NEMCLNEWMONT CORPORATION CDI 1:1+11.83%
21 more rows

What is the best stock to make money fast? ›

11 Best Fast Money Stocks To Buy According To Hedge Funds
  • Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) ...
  • Raytheon Technologies Corporation (NYSE:RTX) Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 51. ...
  • Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) ...
  • Amgen, Inc. ...
  • Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) ...
  • Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY)
Apr 21, 2023

What stocks is Congress buying in 2024? ›

Join Our Market Watch Newsletter!
StockPoliticianFiled
SO Southern CompanyMarjorie Taylor Mrs Greene R HouseMay 21, 2024
AMD Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.Marjorie Taylor Mrs Greene R HouseMay 21, 2024
IR Ingersoll Rand IncWhitehouse, Sheldon D SenateMay 20, 2024
DHR Danaher CorpWhitehouse, Sheldon D SenateMay 20, 2024
46 more rows

Which stock doubles every 3 years? ›

Stock Doubling every 3 years
S.No.NameCMP Rs.
1.P. H. Capital139.40
2.Jyoti Resins1314.45
3.Prime Industries202.95
4.HB Stockholdings93.00
23 more rows

Which penny stocks to buy now? ›

That being said, here are some top penny stocks to buy.
  • OPKO Health (OPK) Source: Roman Zaiets / Shutterstock.com. OPKO Health Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Phillip Frost, M.D. ...
  • Corvus Pharmaceuticals (CRVS) Source: shutterstock.com/Champhei. ...
  • Intrusion (INTZ) Source: BeeBright / Shutterstock.
3 days ago

What stocks are low and good to buy? ›

The best cheap stocks to buy
CompanyTicker symbol
AmcorAMCR
Arcadium LithiumALTM
Kosmos EnergyKOS
Valley National BancorpVLY
1 more row

Which penny stock is best for 2024? ›

Penny Stocks with Most Gains in 2024 so far
CompanyCurrent PriceChange in 2024 (%)
Nitco Ltd.70.1124%
Manaksia Coated Metals & Industries Ltd.63.0118%
RattanIndia Power Ltd.19.2108%
IFCI Ltd.58.2101%
7 more rows
2 days ago

Which are the best stocks for next 5 years? ›

Growth stocks for next 5 years
S.No.NameCMP Rs.
1.Brightcom Group10.52
2.Axita Cotton21.03
3.One Point One55.40
4.Radhika Jeweltec62.04
23 more rows

What are three good stocks to invest in? ›

The 9 Best Stocks To Buy Now
Company (Ticker)Forward P/E Ratio
The Progressive Corporation (PGR)8.6
Alphabet, Inc. (GOOG, GOOGL)13.2
Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (ISRG)52.2
Tapestry, Inc. (TPR)12.3
5 more rows
3 days ago

What are the 5 largest stocks in the S&P 500? ›

S&P 500 ETF Components
#CompanySymbol
1Microsoft CorpMSFT
2Apple Inc.AAPL
3Nvidia CorpNVDA
4Amazon.com IncAMZN
66 more rows

What are the top 7 stocks? ›

The “Magnificent Seven” might sound like the title of an old Western film or what a large family might name its group chat, but in finance the moniker is being used to describe a group of high-performing tech stocks: Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Tesla.

What is the 10 year return of the S&P 500? ›

Average returns
PeriodAverage annualised returnTotal return
Last year25.7%25.7%
Last 5 years14.2%94.5%
Last 10 years15.3%316.2%
Last 20 years10.6%651.5%

What is the best performing sector sp500? ›

The best performing Sector in the last 10 years is Information Technology, that granded a +20.31% annualized return. The worst is Energy, with a +3.81% annualized return in the last 10 years. The main S&P 500 Sectors can be easily replicated by ETFs.

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