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 at 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 select members 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, oil & gas 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 as rare as Sell calls, are in 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 three stocks. At the other end of the rating spectrum stands the Street's highest recommendation of Strong Buy. A total of 19 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 19 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.

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Analysts' top S&P 500 stocks to buy now
Company (ticker)Analysts' consensus recommendation scoreAnalysts' consensus recommendation
Amazon.com (AMZN)1.30Strong Buy
Microsoft (MSFT)1.32Strong Buy
Delta Air Lines (DAL)1.35Strong Buy
Nvidia (NVDA)1.38Strong Buy
Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE)1.39Strong Buy
DexCom (DXCM)1.42Strong Buy
Lamb Weston (LW)1.42Strong Buy
Bio-Techne (TECH)1.43Strong Buy
Elevance Health (ELV)1.46Strong Buy
Targa Resources (TRGP)1.46Strong Buy
NiSource (NI)1.46Strong Buy
SLB (SLB)1.47Strong Buy
Las Vegas Sands (LVS)1.47Strong Buy
UnitedHealth Group (UNH)1.48Strong Buy
Uber Technologies (UBER)1.49Strong Buy
Assurant (AIZ)1.50Strong Buy
Bio-Rad Laboratories (BIO)1.50Strong Buy
Mastercard (MA)1.50Strong Buy
Mondelez (MDLZ)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's one of the best stocks to invest in right now? ›

The 9 Best Stocks To Buy Now
Company (Ticker)Forward P/E Ratio
Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. (FIS)13.2
Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (ISRG)52.2
The Kraft Heinz Company (KHC)12.3
The Progressive Corporation (PGR)18.2
5 more rows
3 days ago

What S&P 500 should I invest in? ›

Top S&P 500 index funds in 2024
Fund (ticker)5-year annual returnsExpense ratio
iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV)14.5%0.03%
Schwab S&P 500 Index (SWPPX)14.5%0.02%
Vanguard 500 Index Fund (VFIAX)14.5%0.04%
Fidelity 500 index fund (FXAIX)14.5%0.015%
4 more rows
Apr 5, 2024

What stock will boom in 2024? ›

2024's 10 Best-Performing Stocks
Stock2024 Return Through April 30
Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. (DJT)185.3%
Canopy Growth Corp. (CGC)191.2%
Super Micro Computer Inc. (SMCI)202.1%
Alpine Immune Sciences Inc. (ALPN)238.9%
6 more rows

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

S&P 500 companies by weight
  • Key points. The S&P 500 index is often used as a proxy for the broader U.S. stock market. ...
  • Microsoft (MSFT) Index weight: 7.09% ...
  • Apple (AAPL) Index weight: 5.65% ...
  • Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) ...
  • Amazon.com Inc (AMZN) ...
  • Meta Platforms Class A (META) ...
  • Alphabet Class A (GOOGL) ...
  • Berkshire Hathaway Class B (BRK.B)
Apr 26, 2024

What stocks are hot right now? ›

Most Actives
SymbolName% Change
AAPLApple Inc.+2.20%
PFEPfizer Inc.+1.88%
RIVNRivian Automotive, Inc.+6.73%
AMDAdvanced Micro Devices, Inc.+1.31%
19 more rows

Will S&P 500 hit $10,000? ›

The S&P 500 could approach or exceed the 10,000 level by the early to mid-2030s. Many investors take it as a given that—since returns on the S&P 500 have been strong for 10-plus years—stocks are expensive and over-owned.

What is the best month for the S&P 500? ›

S&P 500 Seasonal Patterns
  • Best Months: March, April, May, July, October, November, and December.
  • Worst Months: January, June, and September.
6 days ago

Is the S&P 500 a good investment now? ›

Have You Missed the Best Time to Invest? We're only a few months into 2024, but the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) has started off the year with a bang. The index is currently up by more than 8% this year alone and it's soared by a whopping 44% from its lowest point in October 2022.

What stock will double in 2024? ›

(NYSE:W), Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH), and Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE:PLTR) are some of the stocks that will double in 2024, besides StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE).

Which stock will double in one month? ›

Stocks with good 1 month returns
S.No.NameCMP Rs.
1.Lloyds Metals707.95
2.Hindustan Zinc461.75
3.Deepak Nitrite2568.15
4.NMDC267.45
23 more rows

Which stocks doubled in one year? ›

one year double stocks
S.No.NameCMP Rs.
1.Fine Organic4298.20
2.Tanla Platforms893.20
3.TCI Express1076.00
4.Sun TV Network655.95
23 more rows

Which S&P 500 has the best return? ›

Compare the best S&P 500 index funds
FUNDTICKER10-YEAR ANNUALIZED RATE
Fidelity 500 Index FundFXAIX12.95%
Vanguard 500 Index Fund Admiral SharesVFIAX12.92%
Schwab S&P 500 Index FundSWPPX12.90%
State Street S&P 500 Index Fund Class NSVSPX12.82%

What are the 7 largest stocks in the S&P 500? ›

Catch up fast: The Magnificent Seven are Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Tesla, and Meta.

What are the magnificent 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 are the top 20 stocks to invest in? ›

Most Popular Stocks
  • Amazon. AMZN. +1.75%
  • Microsoft. MSFT. +1.33%
  • Alphabet. GOOG. +0.98%
  • Apple. AAPL. +0.34%
  • Netflix. NFLX. +0.20%
  • Disney. DIS. -0.32%
  • Tesla. TSLA. -1.61%
  • NVIDIA. NVDA. -4.16%

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