Best stocks to buy now
Updated 2026-10-14
Universe : 🏛️ S&P 500 🎯 JPI Fair — the balance (recommended)
The top 20 stocks where ≥2 sector-reliable analysts (≥55% hit rate, beat their sector) are bullish, ranked by median target. 11-year backtest, top 20 out of ~1,500 stocks: +19.8%/yr vs +11.5% for the S&P 500 → $100,000 becomes $728,916 instead of $332,028, ~21% volatility, ratio 0.93. Beats the index in 8 of 11 years. The most robust. Still a bet, not a guarantee.
The top 20 stocks where ≥2 sector-reliable analysts (≥55% hit rate, beat their sector) are bullish, ranked by median target. 11-year backtest, top 20 out of ~1,500 stocks: +19.8%/yr vs +11.5% for the S&P 500 → $100,000 becomes $728,916 instead of $332,028, ~21% volatility, ratio 0.93. Beats the index in 8 of 11 years. The most robust. Still a bet, not a guarantee.
💡 Many of these stocks are down over 12 months — that's expected: the method targets upside (gap to target), so it leans toward beaten-down names. In the backtest, ~half the picks rebounded +38%/yr on average the following year. ⚠️ But it varies a lot by year — best used as a satellite, not your whole portfolio.
UniverseMethod
The top 20 stocks to buy now
| # i ↕ | Stock ↕ | Price ↕ | Reliable analysts' target i ▼ | Reliability (best analyst) i ↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  CHTR Charter Communications🏛️ S&P 500 | $106.95 | 🎯 median $280 +162% · 2 reliable analysts Market consensus : Hold | 74.4% profitable TD Cowen · Comm. · 43 calls |
| 2 |  KTOS Kratos Defense & Security Solutions🏢 Mid cap | $40.35 | 🎯 median $88.5 +119% · 6 reliable analysts Market consensus : Buy | 80% profitable Guggenheim · Industry · 10 calls |
| 3 |  UTI Universal Technical Institute🔬 Small cap | $20.66 | 🎯 median $45 +118% · 1 reliable analyst Market consensus : Buy | 60.5% profitable Rosenblatt · Cons. disc. · 43 calls |
| 4 |  ADEA Adeia, Inc.🔬 Small cap | $23.13 | 🎯 median $50 +116% · 1 reliable analyst Market consensus : Buy | 76.1% profitable BWS Financial · Tech · 46 calls |
| 5 |  COLL Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc.🔬 Small cap | $21.53 | 🎯 median $45 +109% · 1 reliable analyst Market consensus : Buy | 63.6% profitable Leerink Partners · Health · 11 calls |
| 6 |  VIR Vir Biotechnology, Inc.🔬 Small cap | $10.61 | 🎯 median $22 +107% · 1 reliable analyst Market consensus : Buy | 59.9% profitable HC Wainwright & Co. · Health · 329 calls |
| 7 |  CLSK CleanSpark🔬 Small cap | $10.15 | 🎯 median $21 +107% · 1 reliable analyst Market consensus : Buy | 76.2% profitable Chardan Capital · Crypto · 21 calls |
| 8 |  ICHR Ichor Holdings, Ltd.🔬 Small cap | $51.57 | 🎯 median $105 +104% · 1 reliable analyst Market consensus : Buy | 57.6% profitable B. Riley Securities · Tech · 158 calls |
| 9 |  ESAB ESAB🏢 Mid cap | $66.86 | 🎯 median $135 +102% · 3 reliable analysts Market consensus : Buy | 64.2% profitable Stifel · Industry · 475 calls |
| 10 |  RCUS Arcus Biosciences, Inc.🔬 Small cap | $22.51 | 🎯 median $45 +100% · 1 reliable analyst Market consensus : Buy | 59.9% profitable HC Wainwright & Co. · Health · 329 calls |
| 11 |  EYE National Vision Holdings🔬 Small cap | $17.04 | 🎯 median $34 +100% · 1 reliable analyst Market consensus : Buy | 56.8% profitable UBS · Cons. disc. · 162 calls |
| 12 |  DY Dycom Industries🏢 Mid cap | $269.64 | 🎯 median $537.5 +99% · 6 reliable analysts Market consensus : Buy | 80% profitable Guggenheim · Industry · 10 calls |
| 13 |  KTB Kontoor Brands🔬 Small cap | $68.47 | 🎯 median $136 +99% · 1 reliable analyst Market consensus : Buy | 56.8% profitable UBS · Cons. disc. · 162 calls |
| 14 |  NRG NRG Energy🏛️ S&P 500 | $107.18 | 🎯 median $209 +95% · 5 reliable analysts Market consensus : Buy | 72.6% profitable Barclays · Utilities · 317 calls |
| 15 |  WDC Western Digital🏛️ S&P 500 | $380.71 | 🎯 median $740 +94% · 3 reliable analysts Market consensus : Buy | 73% profitable Rosenblatt · Tech · 560 calls |
| 16 |  ARWR Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals🏢 Mid cap | $58.13 | 🎯 median $111.5 +92% · 6 reliable analysts Market consensus : Buy | 71% profitable HC Wainwright & Co. · Health · 248 calls |
| 17 |  PTON Peloton Interactive, Inc.🔬 Small cap | $5.22 | 🎯 median $10 +92% · 1 reliable analyst Market consensus : Buy | 56.8% profitable UBS · Cons. disc. · 162 calls |
| 18 |  MTZ MasTec🏢 Mid cap | $206.12 | 🎯 median $394 +91% · 10 reliable analysts Market consensus : Buy | 80% profitable Guggenheim · Industry · 10 calls |
| 19 |  BOOT Boot Barn Holdings, Inc.🔬 Small cap | $117.57 | 🎯 median $224 +91% · 1 reliable analyst Market consensus : Buy | 63.3% profitable Craig-Hallum · Cons. disc. · 49 calls |
| 20 |  AMKR Amkor Technology🏢 Mid cap | $47.61 | 🎯 median $90 +89% · 2 reliable analysts Market consensus : Buy | 62.8% profitable Needham · Tech · 506 calls |
Educational selection, not investment advice. Recomputed Yahoo data (point-in-time backtest). Past performance does not predict the future. The method →