As Apple and Facebook lead Nasdaq to a record, here are the next potential winners in the index

Published Wed, Feb 8 20171:52 PM EST

The Nasdaq composite index jumped to a record this week as technology stocks rebound from an initial underperformance following the election of Donald Trump. There's still an investment opportunity for traders to ride the comeback with biotech and other shares in the Nasdaq, based on consensus expectations from Wall Street analysts. Year to date the Nasdaq composite is up about 5 percent, compared with a return of around 2 percent for the S & P 500 and a gain of 1.4 percent for the Dow. "Tech is quickly becoming our favorite group as it has been left behind in the Trump bump," Jefferies' strategist Steven DeSanctis wrote in a note to clients at the end of December. "The sector is cyclical and so a faster economy in which rates rise helps this sector." Large-tech companies such as Apple and Facebook are now hovering near record territory, each up more than 13 percent this year. So which are some of the next potential winners? Using data from FactSet, CNBC PRO first identified the Nasdaq-100 index components with consensus buy ratings from the Street. The Nasdaq-100 contains the largest stocks in the Nasdaq composite. Among those firms, we then used analysts' 12-month price targets to identify the stocks with the most upside potential from current levels. Analysts appear to be most bullish on biotechnology and pharma companies given the sector's underperformance on investor concerns around drug pricing and regulatory hurdles. Our stock screen returned biotech names such as Alexion Pharmaceuticals , Gilead Sciences , Regeneron and BioMarin Pharma , with shares of each of these companies expected to rise at least 23 percent over the next 12 months. Pharma companies Shire and Mylan also made the list. Even though the so-called FANG stocks ( Facebook , Amazon , Netflix and Google ) didn't rise to the top of the list, expected gains over the next 12 months for these stocks range between 16 percent and 22 percent, according to data from FactSet. In fact, the average projected 12-month return for all the Nasdaq 100 components stands at 10 percent, according to our analysis.

A technician prepares a flow cell slide for loading onto a genetic sequencing machine at a Regeneron Pharmaceuticals laboratory in Tarrytown, N.Y.

Mike Segar | Reuters

The Nasdaq composite index jumped to a record this week as technology stocks rebound from an initial underperformance following the election of Donald Trump.

There's still an investment opportunity for traders to ride the comeback with biotech and other shares in the Nasdaq, based on consensus expectations from Wall Street analysts.

Year to date the Nasdaq composite is up about 5 percent, compared with a return of around 2 percent for the S&P 500 and a gain of 1.4 percent for the Dow.

"Tech is quickly becoming our favorite group as it has been left behind in the Trump bump," Jefferies' strategist Steven DeSanctis wrote in a note to clients at the end of December. "The sector is cyclical and so a faster economy in which rates rise helps this sector."

Large-tech companies such as Apple and Facebook are now hovering near record territory, each up more than 13 percent this year.

So which are some of the next potential winners?