Best stocks to buy now
Updated 2026-08-28
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 |  MARA Marathon Digital🔬 Small cap | $11.87 | 🎯 median $27 +128% · 1 reliable analyst Market consensus : Buy | 58.3% profitable BTIG · Crypto · 12 calls |
| 2 |  INVA Innoviva, Inc.🔬 Small cap | $20.96 | 🎯 median $46 +120% · 1 reliable analyst Market consensus : Buy | 61.1% profitable HC Wainwright & Co. · Health · 321 calls |
| 3 |  UTI Universal Technical Institute🔬 Small cap | $21.62 | 🎯 median $45 +108% · 1 reliable analyst Market consensus : Buy | 60.5% profitable Rosenblatt · Cons. disc. · 43 calls |
| 4 |  RUN Sunrun🔬 Small cap | $9.06 | 🎯 median $18 +99% · 2 reliable analysts Market consensus : Buy | 60.3% profitable Citigroup · Industry · 68 calls |
| 5 |  AHCO AdaptHealth Corp.🔬 Small cap | $5.8 | 🎯 median $11.5 +98% · 2 reliable analysts Market consensus : Buy | 61.8% profitable Jefferies · Health · 136 calls |
| 6 |  DY Dycom Industries🏢 Mid cap | $308.01 | 🎯 median $610 +98% · 1 reliable analyst Market consensus : Buy | 63.2% profitable Keybanc · Industry · 446 calls |
| 7 |  APP AppLovin🏛️ S&P 500 | $312.63 | 🎯 median $615 +97% · 10 reliable analysts Market consensus : Buy | 81.2% profitable Wedbush · Tech · 372 calls |
| 8 |  EYE National Vision Holdings🔬 Small cap | $17.87 | 🎯 median $34.5 +93% · 2 reliable analysts Market consensus : Buy | 58% profitable UBS · Cons. disc. · 157 calls |
| 9 |  AESI Atlas Energy Solutions, Inc.🔬 Small cap | $13 | 🎯 median $25 +92% · 1 reliable analyst Market consensus : Hold | 58.2% profitable Raymond James · Energy · 91 calls |
| 10 |  ADEA Adeia, Inc.🔬 Small cap | $26.22 | 🎯 median $50 +91% · 1 reliable analyst Market consensus : Buy | 75.6% profitable BWS Financial · Tech · 45 calls |
| 11 |  KTOS Kratos Defense & Security Solutions🏢 Mid cap | $53.69 | 🎯 median $102 +90% · 8 reliable analysts Market consensus : Buy | 68.6% profitable Truist Securities · Industry · 204 calls |
| 12 |  DKS Dick's Sporting Goods🏢 Mid cap | $131.77 | 🎯 median $250 +90% · 2 reliable analysts Market consensus : Buy | 57.3% profitable DA Davidson · Cons. disc. · 82 calls |
| 13 | FUN Six Flags🔬 Small cap | $15.96 | 🎯 median $30 +88% · 1 reliable analyst Market consensus : Buy | 58% profitable UBS · Cons. disc. · 157 calls |
| 14 |  BAH Booz Allen Hamilton🏢 Mid cap | $74.88 | 🎯 median $140 +87% · 1 reliable analyst Market consensus : Hold | 61.5% profitable Cantor Fitzgerald · Industry · 13 calls |
| 15 |  VIR Vir Biotechnology, Inc.🔬 Small cap | $11.31 | 🎯 median $21 +86% · 1 reliable analyst Market consensus : Buy | 60% profitable Leerink Partners · Health · 10 calls |
| 16 |  NRG NRG Energy🏛️ S&P 500 | $114.41 | 🎯 median $209 +83% · 5 reliable analysts Market consensus : Buy | 78% profitable Scotiabank · Utilities · 50 calls |
| 17 |  MIR Mirion Technologies, Inc.🔬 Small cap | $14.85 | 🎯 median $27 +82% · 1 reliable analyst Market consensus : Buy | 57.3% profitable B. Riley Securities · Tech · 157 calls |
| 18 |  PRIM Primoris Services Corporation🔬 Small cap | $77 | 🎯 median $138 +79% · 1 reliable analyst Market consensus : Buy | 62.7% profitable UBS · Industry · 83 calls |
| 19 |  CWEN Clearway Energy, Inc. (Class C)🔬 Small cap | $32.4 | 🎯 median $58 +79% · 1 reliable analyst Market consensus : Buy | 57.6% profitable Morgan Stanley · Utilities · 33 calls |
| 20 |  TTMI TTM Technologies🏢 Mid cap | $124.73 | 🎯 median $222 +78% · 2 reliable analysts Market consensus : Buy | 62.4% profitable Needham · Tech · 500 calls |
Educational selection, not investment advice. Recomputed Yahoo data (point-in-time backtest). Past performance does not predict the future. The method →