Analysts like these beaten-down stocks heading into the second half of 2025
Select technology and paper stocks could win big heading into the second half of the year. At least for now, it looks like the bull case for stocks will remain intact over the next few months. Stocks rose on Monday, with Wall Street shaking off any fears associated with the United States' bombing of Iran over the weekend and a subsequent retaliation from Iran . That same day, Fundstrat co-founder and head of research Tom Lee said that Monday's rally should actually strengthen the case for stocks to perform better in the latter half of 2025. "At the start of this year, we would have said the U.S. bombing a nuclear facility is a 'Black Swan.' Oil would be $120, stocks should be down 10%," he said on CNBC's " Squawk on the Street " Monday morning. "And then we have the event, and oil is not really surging. … So I'd almost say that you put another stress test into the market, we've seen it pass it, and I think it means stocks should do pretty well into year's end." In particular, analysts believe that some of this year's beaten-down stocks would win big in the second half. CNBC Pro used FactSet data to screen the S & P 500 for stocks that could climb as the third quarter begins. To be included in the following table, stocks had to meet the below criteria: Be down at least 5% for the year Have buy ratings from at least 60% of analysts covering the name Have an upside to average price target of at least 25% Have an expected earnings per share growth rate of at least 10% One name on the list was cloud stock Arista Networks , which has stumbled 17% this year, as of Monday's close. But 79% of analysts covering the name have assigned it a buy rating, and the average price target suggests 19% upside, according to FactSet. Views of the stock could be taking a turn. Shares jumped 6.6% on Monday. Earlier this month, Morgan Stanley reiterated its overweight rating on the stock. "There has been significant debate on ANET in the 1H of this year, with us tending to find bear case arguments overblown," wrote analyst Meta Marshall. "Not expecting to get meaningful resolution to arguments on AI webcast later this week, but do see attractive setup to the 2H and remain OW." Solar technology manufacturer First Solar has plunged 18% this year, but analysts believe it could rise 40% from here. Approximately 80% of Wall Street shops covering the name are bullish on its future prospects. Earlier in June, Jefferies upgraded the name to a buy rating from hold, calling it the "only game in town" after the Senate version of President Donald Trump's tax bill cut out incentives for the renewable energy industry. "We believe IRA is going to shape-out net positive for FSLR … or at least better than contemplated," analyst Julien Dumoulin-Smith wrote. Around 87% of analysts also see positive prospects for financial technology company Fiserv , which could rise 29% to its average price target, according to FactSet. The stock has tumbled 17% in 2025, as of Monday's close. Shares of Fiserv gained 4.4% on Monday after the company announced plans to broaden its operations in the stablecoin industry through the launch of both a stablecoin and a digital-asset platform. To help meet these objectives, Fiserv said it would partner with Circle and PayPal .
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Miami Herald
44 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
Mapping C&S and SpartanNash's combined footprint
The grocery industry is on the brink of seeing a new distribution company with a nationwide reach. On Monday, C&S Wholesale Grocers announced plans to acquire SpartanNash in a $1.77 billion deal that is expected to close by the end of this year. The companies each operate a distribution network that spans multiple regions, as well as regional grocery banners and private label lines. The companies have positioned the merger as an opportunity to gain leverage over "extremely large global grocers in the U.S. food-at-home space," and they aim to do so by bringing together distribution facility portfolios that stretch across different regions of the U.S. and only overlap in three states. If given the green light to combine, the merged companies will serve nearly 10,000 independent retail locations, according to Monday's announcement. C&S has a distribution presence in 15 states, with facilities as well as offices along the West Coast, in the Northeast and across multiple Hawaiian islands. Meanwhile, SpartanNash's 14 distribution centers are primarily concentrated in the Midwest, with centers in southern and southeastern states, as well. Texas, Florida and Maryland are the only states where the companies both have distribution facilities out of the nearly 30 states where they collectively operate. C&S and SpartanNash's grocery retail footprints tell a similar story. SpartanNash operates close to 200 supermarket locations across a dozen grocery banners in 10 states, including Family Fare, Martin's Super Markets and D&W Fresh Market, per the company's website. C&S's company-operated retail business is smaller, consisting of stores across the Piggly Wiggly and Grand Union Supermarkets banners. C&S, which acquired Piggly Wiggly Midwest in 2021, would not confirm how many Piggly Wiggly stores it operates. C&S was part of a consortium of investors that, early this year, acquired roughly 170 Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket stores from Aldi. C&S lost out on the ability to gain hundreds of grocery stores in the failed Kroger-Albertsons merger. The merger with SpartanNash, however, could help C&S to step up its retail presence with little worry about store overlaps that might draw regulatory scrutiny. Copyright 2025 Industry Dive. All rights reserved.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Why Israel's stocks are hitting record highs during its war with Iran
Israel's stock market is shrugging off a string of conflicts to hit record highs. The country's currency, the shekel, has soared against the dollar in recent weeks. Investors see a brighter outlook for Israel now that Iran is less of a threat, but that's not certain. Falling missiles, business closures, and citizens shuttling in and out of bomb shelters are poor conditions for a market boom. Yet Israel's war with Iran has sent its stocks to record highs and bolstered its currency. The TA-125, Israel's answer to the S&P 500, climbed higher every day of its last trading week, which runs from Sunday to Thursday. It gained 0.6% to breach 2,940 points for the first time in midday trading on Wednesday. The index has now notched a 21% increase this year, trouncing the S&P's 4% return. Unsurprisingly, one of the big winners this year has been Elbit Systems, a military tech specialist and defense contractor whose stock is up about 116%. Israel's flagship stock index is booming "presumably because a major war spanning the Middle East is not breaking out, the Netanyahu government seems to have US backing on foreign policy and security issues, and the country appears to be on the front foot in terms of achieving its military and geopolitical aims, at least for now," Russ Mould, AJ Bell's investment director, told Business Insider. He noted the TA-125 has "barely wavered" since August 2023, and is "packed with" banks, tech companies, and industrial groups such as Elbit. Meanwhile, the Israeli shekel has appreciated from 3.82 against the US dollar in early April to 3.41, its strongest level in more than two years and a far cry from its 4.05 level shortly after the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023. Investors are buying Israeli stocks and shekels because they're betting the Iran threat has faded and a new era of peace and prosperity may lie ahead. If Israel is perceived as safer and more secure by the financial world, it could see more foreign investment, lifting asset prices and fueling economic growth. In recent months, Israel has landed heavy blows against two of Iran's proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah, decimated the country's military leadership, and set back its nuclear ambitions. The US-brokered ceasefire between the two countries has also tempered concerns of retaliation. "The Israeli stock market suggests that we may be witnessing a radical transformation of the Middle East now that Iran has been de-nuked," Ed Yardeni, the president of Yardeni Research, said in a recent note published by Besides the lifting of a dark cloud over Israel, the country's stocks are also supported by a growing economy with historically low unemployment. It's safe to say that Israeli investors are somewhat inured to war after decades of conflicts and not easily spooked. Yet it's worth underscoring that the Iran threat hasn't dissipated entirely, and the two countries could still enter a larger-scale conflict in the future. Read the original article on Business Insider Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Why Shares in Novo Nordisk Lost Weight Today
The breakup between Novo Nordisk and Hims & Hers remains acrimonious. Recent remarks highlight the competition facing Novo Nordisk's Wegovy. 10 stocks we like better than Novo Nordisk › Shares in Denmark's pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) were lower by 4% as of 11 a.m. ET today. The move comes as the fallout from the sudden termination of its partnership with telehealth company Hims & Hers continues to escalate. On Monday, Novo Nordisk terminated the partnership, claiming Hims & Hers "failed to adhere to the law which prohibits mass sales of compounded drugs under the false guise of 'personalization'" and is "disseminating deceptive marketing." It's a strong statement to make, and Hims & Hers management, led by CEO Andrew Dudum, isn't wasting any time in responding. The argument centers around Novo Nordisk's weight loss drug, Wegovy. Novo Nordisk believes it had an agreement with Hims & Hers to stop the mass sales of compounded, copycat versions of Wegovy, but the latter failed to comply. In response, Dudum gave an interview with Bloomberg and argued that Novo Nordisk had been pushing his company to guide patients toward Wegovy. "They've been losing a tremendous amount of market share, there's been a huge amount of turmoil with management, and I think they're just under real financial strain to try to drive sales," Dudum said. If Dudum's remarks were intended to hurt the stock price, then they arguably did their job today. The breakup of the relationship with Hims & Hers and subsequent remarks highlight the threat from competitors to Wegovy, like Eli Lilly's Zepbound. Still, Wegovy sales are growing at a whopping rate (up 85% in the first quarter on a reported basis), and there's enough growth in the market for everyone. Before you buy stock in Novo Nordisk, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Novo Nordisk wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $689,813!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $906,556!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 809% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 175% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 23, 2025 Lee Samaha has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Hims & Hers Health. The Motley Fool recommends Novo Nordisk. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Why Shares in Novo Nordisk Lost Weight Today was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
