Wall Street is off to a strong start this year, with analysts becoming especially bullish on certain stocks as the second half of the year begins. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 are up 10% this year, with the former posting its best first-half performance since 2021. The Nasdaq rose 15%. Tech stocks led the big gains at the start of the year, as investors poured money into artificial intelligence chipmakers. The Nasdaq 100 soared 19% in the first half of 2026. As the second half of the year begins, analysts expect non-tech stocks such as Intuit and Coster Group to outperform, as well as several tech giants including Oracle and Nvidia. CNBC Pro searched FactSet data for S&P 500 stocks that were rated buys by at least 60% of analysts covering them. We also expect these stocks to appreciate more than 40% from current levels. The stocks that made the list are: Oracle Oracle ranks, with analysts on average predicting a jump of nearly 80% in the coming years. More than two-thirds of those covering the stock rate it a “buy.” The enterprise software company has fallen 26% this year, largely due to concerns over its rapid spending on AI, but analysts are confident the stock can recover. Last month, Piper Sandler highlighted Oracle as a top candidate for the second half of 2026. “For H2, we also like ORCL because 1) it is one of the few acceleration cases in software, 2) it is a direct beneficiary of AI (creating scarcity value), and 3) there is increased confidence in the post-F4Q report on ORCL’s ability to protect OCI manufacturers from rising component costs,” wrote analyst Billy Fitzsimmons. ORCL YTD Line Oracle YTD Intuit Another name that meets the screener requirements is Intuit. The stock has an average upside of 76%, and 70% of analysts covering the stock rate it a Buy, despite poor recent performance. Fintech stocks are down 57% this year, significantly underperforming the S&P 500. Still, Wolf Research reiterated its outperform rating on the stock late last month. 2026 INTU YTD Line CoStar Group CoStar’s average price target suggests an upside of 62%, and 66% of analysts rate it a Buy. True, the stock is down 55% this year, but Benchmark Equity Research has begun reporting on CoStar with a buy rating, saying a significant rebound is needed. “We believe stocks have found a bottom and are poised to rebound. We believe residential AEBITDA is poised to turn positive in the second half of 2026 and margins are likely to expand into 2027,” Michael Lindos said in a June 4 note. “We like the company’s dominant position as an information platform provider to the commercial real estate industry, with 95% of its revenue coming from subscriptions and a 90% renewal rate.”CoStar Nvidia in CSGP YTD Line This Year Analysts remain bullish on Nvidia despite the chipmaker’s lackluster performance so far this year. Although the stock is up just 3% in 2026, 83% of those who cover it rate it a buy and expect it to rise an average of 60% going forward. Evercore ISI ranked the global technology leader as one of its best “core” ideas in a July 2 memo. “We believe the seismic shift to the current parallel processing/IoT computing era began 5-8 years ago, with NVDA being the dominant and only full-stack chip + HW + SW ecosystem working in parallel. This is just the early stages of generating significant returns for investors,” said analyst Mark Lipasis. NVDA YTD Line Nvidia is up 5.3% this year. Micron Technology Micron Technology has soared more than 200% this year, and analysts think there’s more to come. Of those who cover the memory chip maker, 77% rate it a buy, and 57% expect it to rise in the future. After Micron reported its results in June, UBS issued a note emphasizing continued strength in memory and semiconductor stocks. “We believe Micron has cleared this hurdle with strong performance and guidance, supply agreement announcements, and comments suggesting a longer duration cycle,” said analyst Kevin Deneen. “Micron’s results should be positive for memory complex and semiconductor equipment stocks.” MU YTD Line Micron YTD
