Markets

After new record, these are the stocks Wall Street thinks will lead the next market leg higher

Key Points
  • The S&P 500 hits an all-time record high on Monday, boosted by runups in companies such as Apple and J.P. Morgan.
  • CNBC screens the largest 50 companies in the S&P 500 and finds the stocks that analysts predict will contribute the most to the next leg of the bull market.
  • Despite the recent underperformance of growth stocks, Wall Street expects a recovery in the so-called FANG group.
The S&P just hit a record high—Here's what four experts are watching now
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The S&P just hit a record high—Here's what four experts are watching now

The S&P 500 hit an all-time high on Monday, but investors are already wondering who's going to lead the next leg of the bull market.

The index topped the 3,027.98 level, thanks to Apple, UnitedHealth and J.P. Morgan, the largest point contributors to the new record.

Now, analysts see social media giant Facebook, Disney and red-hot software company Salesforce taking over.

CNBC screened the largest 50 companies in the S&P 500 and found which stocks have the most upside to their consensus 12-month price target set by analysts on Wall Street. In other words, these are the big U.S. stocks analysts believe will be up the most in the next one year.

Despite the recent underperformance of growth stocks, specifically the so-called FANG (Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google) stocks, data shows Wall Street is bullish on a recovery in the group. Netflix, Facebook and Amazon are all expected to rally, and with such large market values, these stocks can certainly move the needle on the index.

Shares of Jeff Bezos-led Amazon tanked last week when it reported earnings that fell short of Wall Street's expectations, as a return to a heavy investment cycle cut into the e-commerce giant's profitability. However, the stock is only down 1% since the disappointing results. Facebook reports third-quarter earnings after the bell on Wednesday.

Salesforce has remained relatively insulated from the recent pullback in software stocks. Health-care company Merck reports earnings before the bell on Tuesday.

PayPal surged 8% last week after growth in its Venmo business led the company to the strongest earnings results in at least a year.