Investing

6 Analyst Stocks With 50% to 100% Upside Calls

While the bull market is six years old, most investors either feel the stock market needs a breather or that they are going to find their next real rewards in some of the companies that are not going to just move up or down with the Dow or S&P 500 each day. That leaves the lesser covered stocks, value stocks and other hidden gems to deliver big returns.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst upgrades and downgrades each day of the week, and there are often many hidden value stocks and stocks with massive upside in the analyst calls. Most analyst calls in Dow stocks come with predictions of 8% or 10% on the lower side, and 15% to 25% on the higher side, but other analyst calls in small cap and lesser known stocks come with upside projections that are nearly 50% and even up to 100% or more.

Investors cannot ignore the riskier nature of these stocks. Some of the analyst views mentioned are also standout calls against other analysts who have negative views of these companies. 24/7 Wall St. also showed how each consensus price target from Thomson Reuters compares to these aggressive calls, and additional color was added on each as well.

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Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) may have its shares of woes, but the firm Northland Securities threw a Hail Mary pass this past Tuesday. AMD closed at $2.31 on Friday and has a consensus price target of $2.63. Northland’s new Outperform rating came with a massive $5.00 price target. This implies a 100% upside and then some, against a 52-week range of $2.14 to $4.80.

Most analysts are much more cautious in AMD, but the firm’s Gus Richards sees AMD’s data center penetration carrying the company and also believes there is a takeover chance as well. Wells Fargo has been positive on AMD for much of the downdraft, but with a fair value range that is about 10% higher than the consensus price target.

J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) could have a lot more upside, if Piper Jaffray was right in its call this week. The firm reiterated its Overweight rating and its $15.00 price target after Mike Ullman gave a keynote presentation at its consumer conference. Piper Jaffray’s Neely Tamminga believes that J.C. Penney is on track to achieve $1.2 billion or so in EBITDA by 2017, and another takeaway was that J.C. Penney is getting ready to become aggressive to reclaim customers lost under prior management.

Piper Jaffray also has J.C. Penney as one of its top picks, but be advised that this is the most bullish view that has been offered. With shares at $8.22, Piper Jaffray is calling for 82% upside — but be advised that the consensus price is a mere $8.64.

ALSO READ: 4 Oil Services Stocks to Buy With Big Upside Potential

Vical Inc. (NASDAQ: VICL) has been on a marching rally of late, with a gain of nearly 50% this past week following positive research. Vical was started as Buy at H.C. Wainwright on Friday. The firm’s price target of $2.50, compared to a $1.47 closing price, left an implied upside of 70%. What investors need to consider here is that Roth Capital initiated coverage of Vical with a Buy rating and $4.65 price target in the prior week as well.

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