Benzinga - by Piero Cingari, Benzinga Staff Writer.
The S&P 500 Index has risen by 19% year-to-date, with three weeks remaining in the year and just a five percentage point gap from the all-time highs reached in January 2022.
Despite the impressive rally in the broader stock market, closely followed by the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY), only 281 stocks comprising the index, or 56% of the total, have shown positive performance since the beginning of the year.
In other terms, 44% of S&P 500 companies took the path of retreat, a rare sight in a year when the stock market’s returns were nothing short of a feast.
Investors seeking so-called “laggards” — Goldman Sachs recently dedicated an analysis to this topic — are looking for the untapped potential hidden in S&P 500 stocks that have remained well outside the bullish eye of the market in 2023.
Hunting For Laggards In A Bullish Jungle: Top 10 S&P 500 Upside Picks
The stock that currently offers the highest upside potential compared to the median price targets set by Wall Street analysts is Moderna Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA). Moderna is trading at $78 per share, while the one-year median price target is $127.50, representing a 58% potential upside.Not far behind in terms of potential is First Solar Inc. (NYSE:FSLR), ranking second on this list with a 56% upside potential. Third, with a 52% upside, is Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB).
Looking at the top 10, what stands out is the presence of three stocks related to hotels and casinos: Wynn Resort Ltd. (NYSE:WYNN), Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS), and Caesars Entertainment Inc. (NYSE:CZR), with potential upsides of 48%, 45% and 43%, respectively.
Only three stocks in the top 10 have shown positive performance year-to-date, including Wynn Resort Ltd., Caesars Entertainment Inc., and Warner Bros Discovery Inc. (NASDAQ:WDB).
| Moderna, Inc. | Biotechnology | 78.83 | 127.50 | 58.19% | -56.44% |
| First Solar, Inc. | Semiconductors and Semiconductor Equipment | 143.66 | 227.00 | 56.24% | -4.07% |
| Albemarle Corporation | Chemicals | 122.37 | 180.00 | 52.16% | -43.56% |
| Aptiv PLC (NYSE:APTV) | Automobile Components | 81.09 | 121.00 | 49.60% | -12.73% |
| Wynn Resorts, Limited | Hotels, Restaurants and Leisure | 83.21 | 122.00 | 48.06% | 1.13% |
| Incyte Corporation (NASDAQ:INCY) | Biotechnology | 55.16 | 82.00 | 47.96% | -31.21% |
| Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. | Entertainment | 11.09 | 16.00 | 46.52% | 16.56% |
| Las Vegas Sands Corp. | Hotels, Restaurants and Leisure | 45.09 | 65.00 | 44.99% | -5.99% |
| Caesars Entertainment, Inc. | Hotels, Restaurants and Leisure | 43.73 | 62.00 | 42.82% | 4.76% |
| Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) | Life Sciences Tools and Services | 309.62 | 441.00 | 42.03% | -26.23% |
Look Who’s In 17th Place
Beyond the glittering top 10, there’s a basket of stocks offering compelling upside potential, ranging from 30% to 41%.What truly raises eyebrows is the appearance of NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) in the 17th position.
With a jaw-dropping year-to-date performance of 215%, Nvidia has been the star of the S&P 500 in 2023.
Wall Street’s appetite for the chipmaker giant seems insatiable. Nvidia’s median price target set by analysts, with a one-year horizon in mind, stands at $630 per share. This projection implies a rally of 38.45% from its current trading price.
Diving into the mix, we find a significant presence of stocks hailing from the energy sector.
Names like APA Corp (NYSE:APA), Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL), Schlumberger NV (NYSE:SLB), and Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE:MRO) each flaunt an enticing 40% upside potential, while Baker Hughes Company (NYSE:BKR) screens a 31% upside potential.
| APA Corporation | Oil, Gas and Consumable Fuels | 34.12 | 48.00 | 41.05% | -26.71% |
| Halliburton Company | Energy Equipment and Services | 34.80 | 49.00 | 40.56% | -11.56% |
| Schlumberger Limited | Energy Equipment and Services | 48.90 | 69.00 | 40.44% | -8.55% |
| Marathon Oil Corporation | Oil, Gas and Consumable Fuels | 23.76 | 33.00 | 40.19% | -12.19% |
| MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM) | Hotels, Restaurants and Leisure | 40.12 | 55.00 | 39.70% | 19.49% |
| United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) | Passenger Airlines | 41.92 | 57.00 | 39.26% | 11.13% |
| NVIDIA Corporation | Semiconductors and Semiconductor Equipment | 463.05 | 630.00 | 38.45% | 215.83% |
| The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) | Health Care Providers and Services | 256.13 | 351.00 | 36.32% | -22.62% |
| LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ) | Distributors | 45.16 | 61.50 | 35.70% | -15.39% |
| Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) | Chemicals | 44.29 | 59.50 | 34.77% | -24.71% |
| Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) | Passenger Airlines | 36.00 | 48.00 | 34.57% | -16.35% |
| BorgWarner Inc. (NYSE:BWA) | Automobile Components | 32.95 | 44.00 | 34.43% | -17.96% |
| Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) | Health Care Equipment and Supplies | 217.97 | 290.00 | 33.72% | 3.58% |
| Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) | Entertainment | 82.64 | 110.00 | 33.27% | 18.32% |
| Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) | Biotechnology | 237.89 | 311.00 | 32.98% | -14.37% |
| Baker Hughes Company | Energy Equipment and Services | 31.97 | 41.75 | 31.04% | 8.16% |
| Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) | Building Products | 55.22 | 72.00 | 30.81% | -13.75% |
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