Analysts love these stocks set to report earnings in the week ahead

Published Sun, Oct 23 20228:26 AM EDT

The corporate earnings season is in full swing, with roughly 100 companies having reported third-quarter results. So far, the results have been better than feared. FactSet data shows that 73% of the companies that have already reported have beaten earnings expectations, while 68% of those names have outperformed revenue forecasts. To be sure, an environment such as this one — in which recession fears and inflationary pressures persist — can make it even more difficult for investors to navigate the earnings season. One approach that could help is by looking at the names most beloved by analysts heading into earnings. CNBC Pro screened the S & P 500 for companies reporting this week that meet the following criteria: Rated a buy by at least 65% of analysts covering them Upside to average price target of 35% or more Amazon made the list, with roughly 77% of analysts covering the stock rating it a buy, according to FactSet data. Analysts also see upside of about 38% from current prices. JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth, who rates the stock as overweight, trimmed his earnings estimates for the company last week, citing increasing currency headwinds, but noted that the stock remains his favorite for the long term. Amazon shares are down 28% year to date. The e-commerce giant is slated to report earnings Thursday. Another tech giant that made the list is Alphabet. The Google parent has buy ratings from 76% of analysts covering it. On average, analysts see the stock rallying nearly 40% going forward. Alphabet, which is set to report earnings Tuesday, has struggled in 2022, losing 30% in that time. The company's third-quarter numbers may not help much either, according to Deutsche Bank analyst Benjamin Black. "Heading into the 3Q print, we think the set-up for GOOG is somewhat difficult and the company has a fairly high bar to clear for a post-print rally. More specifically, we are observing a noticeable disconnect between the broadly bearish third-party data and current Street estimates," wrote Black in a note Friday. The analyst has a buy rating on Alphabet. Bio-Rad Laboratories has the most potential upside of any stock on the list, with the average analyst price target implying a gain of more than 87%. To be sure, the stock has lost nearly half of its value year to date. The company is slated to report earnings Thursday. ServiceNow and Alexandria Real Estate have the most buy rating from analysts covering them at 83.5% each. Analysts on average also see ServiceNow rallying 51% from current levels and Alexandria Real Estate going up 41%. That said, shares of ServiceNow have tumbled more than 44% in 2022, while Alexandria has fallen nearly 41%. — CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed reporting.