S&P 500's Hidden Gems: 27 Stocks With 30%+ Upside Potential According To Wall Street Analyst Targets

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).

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.

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