15 Highest-Rated Analyst Stock Picks In The S&P 500

Wall Street analysts take a lot of heat when they get stock picks wrong, but nobody is perfect at predicting the market. Analysts typically have access to industry insiders, cutting edge technology and a tremendous amount of resources that are useful in picking winners and losers in the market.

Many analysts also have years of experience on Wall Street. While those advantages certainly don’t make analysts infallible, analyst commentary is a valuable resource for investors.

Consensus Opinion

To avoid the pitfalls of a bad analyst call, investors should take a broad look at the ratings and price targets of all the analysts covering a particular stock rather than relying strictly on the opinion of one analyst. The consensus analyst view is definitely wrong sometimes, but knowing that a stock has passed the scrutiny of a dozen or more analysts without any major red flags is always a bullish sign.

For individual analyst calls, investors can use TipRanks to take a look at an analysts track record. But remember that an analyst with a history of good calls may simply cover a hot sector of the market, such as technology.

Top Stock Picks

Here’s a look at the 15 S&P 500 stocks with the most bullish consensus analyst ratings according to Finviz. The overall rating score is based on an average analyst rating on a scale of 1.0 (Strong Buy) to 5.0 (Strong Sell).

1. Boston Scientific Corporation BSX, 1.4 rating.
2. Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN, 1.6 rating.
3. Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL, 1.6 rating.
4. Jacobs Engineering Group Inc JEC, 1.6 rating.
5. Keysight Technologies Inc KEYS, 1.6 rating.
6. LKQ Corporation LKQ, 1.6 rating.
7. Marathon Petroleum Corp MPC, 1.6 rating.
8. Microsoft Corporation MSFT, 1.6 rating.
9. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd NCLH, 1.6 rating.
10. Synopsys, Inc. SNPS, 1.6 rating.
11. NextEra Energy Inc NEE, 1.7 rating.
12. NRG Energy Inc NRG, 1.7 rating.
13. Mastercard Inc MA, 1.7 rating.
14. Lamb Weston Holdings Inc LW, 1.7 rating.
15. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. TMO, 1.7 rating.

Benzinga’s Take

While analyst ratings can be a useful tool on a relative basis, they are skewed extremely heavily toward the bullish end of the spectrum. Even during previous market crashes, analysts have rated at least 90% of stocks they cover as Buy or Hold, while the percentage of Sell ratings is around 6%.

Do you agree with this take? Email feedback@benzinga.com with your thoughts.

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