Wall Street analyst forecasts fuel S&P 500 rally — Bloomberg

According to Jefferies LLC, Wall Street analysts issued a record number of buy recommendations for S&P 500 companies in May—the highest in two decades—following a strong market surge. However, the target prices for these stocks suggest only a 10% upside over the next 12 months, close to the historical average for the US market.

Steven Greenebaum, Senior Vice President at Jefferies, noted that analysts used the recent market pullback to upgrade ratings. The S&P 500 has rallied nearly 20% from its April lows, partly due to easing trade tensions under Donald Trump’s tariff policies. Greenebaum argues that individual stock forecasts provide a clearer market outlook than broad index targets as they factor in corporate earnings.

His calculations suggest the S&P 500 could reach a new resistance level of 6,528 over the next year—10% above Friday’s closing price. Yet, economic headwinds persist: US GDP contracted by 0.2% in the first quarter, as the Bureau of Economic Analysis commented.