The S&P 500 finished 2023 in spectacular fashion. The index notched nine consecutive weekly increases, its longest win streak since 2004. In total, the S&P 500 soared 24% last year as market sentiment improved amid signs of economic resilience.
Four sectors were primarily responsible for driving the market higher. The technology sector gained 56% and the communications services sector climbed 53%, helped along in many cases by excitement surrounding artificial intelligence. Consumer discretionary rose 40% as cooling inflation led to an acceleration in spending. Finally, industrials increased 18% as business investments in structures and equipment rebounded.
Not surprisingly, the 10 best-performing S&P 500 stocks in 2023 came from those four sectors, as detailed below:
Nvidia: 239% — technology
Meta Platforms: 194% — communications services
Royal Caribbean: 162% — consumer discretionary
Builders FirstSource: 157% — industrials
Uber: 149% — industrials
Carnival: 133% — consumer discretionary
Advanced Micro Devices: 128% — technology
PulteGroup: 127% — consumer discretionary
Palo Alto Networks: 111% — technology
Tesla: 102% — consumer discretionary
Nine of the stocks listed above have a consensus buy rating among Wall Street analysts (Tesla is the lone exception with a consensus hold rating). But analysts believe Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) is the single best pick of the bunch in 2024. The stock has a median 12-month price target of $650 per share, implying 37% upside from its share price as of this writing.
Carnival currently ranks second with a 12-month median price target of $21.50 per share, implying 32% upside. And Meta Platforms takes third place with a 12-month median price target of $385 per share, implying 12% upside.
Here’s what investors should know about Nvidia.
Nvidia is shaping the artificial intelligence boom
Nvidia is an accelerated computing company that provides hardware, software, and services across four end markets: gaming, professional visualization, data center, and automotive. Its invention of the graphics processing unit (GPU) in 1999 brought…
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