Barclays just updated its top global stock picks — and says these 6 could soar

Published Thu, Oct 21 202110:24 PM EDT

Lucy Handley @in/lucy-handley-b2b0a61a/@lucyhandley

Analysts at Barclays have updated their favorite global stocks going into the fourth quarter, and six of them have an average upside of 39% compared with the bank's 12-month price target. The stocks are all overweight-rated, meaning Barclays analysts expect them to outperform the market, and all of its price targets have a 12-month window. These are Barclays' fourth-quarter "conviction stock ideas with catalysts": Watch and jewelry company Swatch Group , with a 48% potential upside to Barclays price target. "With sentiment seemingly changing and management reiterating its guidance in October, we see room for another potential earnings beat," the bank said of its results for 2021, due in January. Swiss pharmaceuticals company Idorsia , which is "on the cusp of becoming a serious biotech contender," according to Barclays. The bank also likes its management team who sold drug company Actelion to Johnson & Johnson for $30 billion in 2017. The stock has a potential 46% upside to the bank's price target, and its current underperformance "is a buying opportunity," the analysts said. French electricity company EDF . With power prices going up, the firm is set to benefit, Barclays said, and it expects it to raise its guidance for the year. Barclays gave EDF a potential 44% upside to its price target. Canadian company International Petroleum , which is set to become debt-free by the end of 2022 and Barclays expects the company to return more than $50 million to shareholders in the form of buybacks. It has an upside potential of 38%, according to the bank. Automaker Daimler , which is set to spin out its truck business in December, creating two companies: Daimler Trucks & Buses and Mercedes-Benz Cars & Vans. "After spin, Mercedes-Benz Cars & Vans could release > €10bn [$11.4 billion] in working capital in the coming years, that could be returned to shareholders," the analysts said. French oil giant TotalEnergies , which Barclays gave an estimated 27% potential upside to its price target and said: "We continue to see the ability of companies to generate value from low-carbon businesses as key to long-run value creation. TotalEnergies remains a leader in this area." "We stick to a positive outlook for equities, but see a higher volatility/lower returns regime ahead," the bank stated. However the analysts prefer stocks to bonds, saying bonds are "more vulnerable" to inflation.

Tolga Akmen | AFP | Getty Images

Analysts at Barclays have updated their favorite global stocks going into the fourth quarter, and six of them have an average upside of 39% compared with the bank's 12-month price target.