Nearly 40% of the S&P 500 is in a bear market. Here are 10 of those stocks that analysts say can gain up to 81%.

By Philip van Doorn

Those companies are expected to at least triple the pace of S&P 500 revenue growth from 2026 through 2028

Among the S&P 500's component stocks, 191 are in bear markets, including Oracle.

A quick note: Starting Monday, Oct. 19, MarketWatch Editor in Chief Mark DeCambre will be bringing a fresh approach to Need to Know. Here's Mark: "I'll be handpicking the stories worth your time each morning, with more of MarketWatch's best reporting and perspective on what it all means for your money. See you Monday!"

This year is shaping up to be another excellent one for stocks, if you look at the performance of the S&P 500. But a closer look highlights a number of stocks that are in bear markets.

The S&P 500 SPX has risen 13.1% so far in 2026, and it closed on Thursday 1% below the intraday high it set on Oct. 6. However, among the large-cap U.S. benchmark index's component stocks, 191 are in bear markets - down at least 20% from their 52-week highs.

We screened those 191 stocks to identify 15 companies that are expected to increase their revenue from calendar 2026 through 2028 at compound annual growth rates (CAGR) of at least three times the 8.6% weighted sales growth CAGR for the S&P 500. The sales projections are adjusted for calendar years for companies whose fiscal reporting periods don't match the calendar.

Then we narrowed the list further to stocks rated "buy" or the equivalent by at least 80% of analysts polled by FactSet.

Here are the 10 companies that passed the screen, sorted by how much analysts expect the stocks to rise over the next year, based on consensus price targets:

 
Company                         Decline from 52-week high  Projected sales CAGR from 2026 through 2028  Oct. 15 price  Cons. price target  Implied 12-month upside potential 
Oracle                                               -58%                                        41.1%        $134.47             $242.84                                81% 
Micron Technology                                    -26%                                        34.4%        $931.24           $1,612.83                                73% 
Seagate Technology Holdings                          -40%                                        35.9%        $690.81           $1,177.95                                71% 
Axon Enterprise                                      -45%                                        28.9%        $417.19             $707.65                                70% 
Coherent                                             -43%                                        39.3%        $250.60             $410.83                                64% 
Sandisk                                              -41%                                        29.9%      $1,394.83           $2,275.85                                63% 
Broadcom                                             -30%                                        60.9%        $344.33             $529.30                                54% 
Applied Materials                                    -42%                                        26.3%        $430.01             $656.48                                53% 
Marvell Technology                                   -27%                                        61.0%        $241.24             $346.90                                44% 
Lumentum Holdings                                    -24%                                        61.0%        $869.54           $1,180.18                                36% 
                                                                                                                                                             Source: FactSet 

The markets

U.S. stock futures (ES00) are mixed, with technology pointing lower again, as Treasury yields BX:TMUBMUSD10Y BX:TMUBMUSD02Y creep up, gold (GC00) continues to climb and the dollar DXY drops.

 
Key asset performance                                                Last       5d      1m      YTD     1y 
S&P 500                                                              7744.06    -0.27%  1.39%   13.13%  16.82% 
Nasdaq Composite                                                     26,713.03  -1.77%  1.12%   14.93%  18.40% 
10-year Treasury                                                     5.092      -14.50  9.50    92.00   107.80 
Gold                                                                 4197.2     -0.55%  -4.95%  -3.12%  -1.65% 
Oil                                                                  97.58      6.46%   2.21%   69.97%  70.45% 
Data: MarketWatch. Treasury yields change expressed in basis points 

The buzz

Speaking Thursday night from the International Monetary Fund annual conference in Thailand, Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh offered no clues about the central bank's direction at its next meeting in two weeks, but indicated recent data came in more or less as he expected.

Tesla shares (TSLA) are higher after the company showed off a levitating Roadster sports car, with plans for production to start in 2028.

Some Anthropic investors have reportedly been discussing a potentially lower $1.5 trillion valuation for the AI company from $2 trillion amid worries about a revenue slowdown.

Import prices are due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, with industrial production at 9:15 a.m.

The U.S. Treasury will release its primary dealer questionnaire for the November refunding at noon.

Indonesia's benchmark index ID:JAKIDX plunged 11% after the MSCI launched a consultation to possibly exclude it from its emerging-market classification.

AI agents bring new headaches to online sellers.

The chart

Institutional investors are in wait-and-see mode when it comes to popular AI stocks, according to the chart from Vanda Analytics. "This on its own tells you a lot about where conviction sits on the street right now," said global market strategist Viraj Patel, who added that retail investors, meanwhile, aggressively bought CoreWeave (CRWV) after the selloff earlier this week. A bigger near-term risk for markets is trend-following trading firms could drive another leg lower for stocks, given institutional investors are on the sidelines.

Top tickers

These were the top-searched tickers on MarketWatch as of 6 a.m.:

 
Ticker  Security name 
TSLA    Tesla 
NVDA    Nvidia 
GME     GameStop 
SPCX    SpaceX 
MU      Micron 
AMZN    Amazon 
TSM     Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing 
AMD     Advanced Micro Devices 
AAPL    Apple 
NIO     NIO 

-Philip van Doorn

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