These are the hottest S&P 500 stocks of the summer. Where analysts see them going next

Published Mon, Aug 21 202312:54 PM EDTUpdated Mon, Aug 21 20231:43 PM EDT

It has been a good summer for the S & P 500 , even when accounting for the August slump. This summer has brought another quarterly earnings season , one interest rate hike and one skip , plus some renewed banking fears. Despite a recent pullback as investors take some profit in August, the market has continued to edge higher through it all. The broad index is up about 4.2% since Memorial Day. But those gains have not been equally distributed, with some of the best performers up more than 30% during the same period. CNBC Pro screened for the 10 best performers in the period. All data, which is from FactSet, is current as of Friday's close. Cruise stock Carnival has led the index higher, jumping more than 30% this summer. In late June, the company reported smaller losses per share than expected and revenue that beat the consensus estimate of analysts polled by FactSet for the second quarter. Carnival also raised its full-year guidance on both lines. Shares have given up some of the summer gains in August, putting the stock on trend with the broader market's move. But analysts on average see about 11.5% upside ahead for the stock, according to FactSet. Slightly less than one out of every two analysts rate the stock a buy. Argus Research analyst John Staszak upgraded the stock to buy from hold, noting improved financials and progress toward a more efficient fleet. "Our upgrade reflects the company's increased marketing spending, which should help to boost revenue; improved liquidity ($7.3 billion as of the end of 2Q23); and efforts to reduce debt, which should enable it to avoid issuing new shares," he said. CCL .SPX mountain 2023-05-29 Carnival, the best performing stock in the S & P 500 since Labor Day, against the broad index Marathon Petroleum is the next best performer this summer, up nearly 33%. About three-fifths of analysts rate the stock a buy, with the average price target implying shares could rise more than 6% over the next year. The petroleum refinery beat analysts' expectations for net income attributable per share and revenue in the second quarter when reporting earlier this month. Marathon's stock has been able to avoid the August slump, advancing nearly 9% on the month. Dating stock Match Group was further down on the list with an advance slightly greater than 30%. About three-fifths of analysts also hold buy ratings on the stock, with the average price target signaling shares could rally more than 28%. A chunk of the summer gains came after its earnings report at the start of this month, during which Match beat expectations on both lines and issued better-than-expected forward guidance. BTIG analyst Jake Fuller upgraded the stock to buy from neutral a day after the report, citing a recovery in its Tinder app. "MTCH is a dominant category leader with a strong margin profile and modest valuation," Fuller said. — CNBC's Michael Bloom and Fred Imbert contributed to this report.