[Bloomberg] It’s been two decades since Wall Street analysts were this upbeat.About 56% of all recommendations on S&P 500 firms are listed as buys, the most since 2002. It’s one more data point that shows the extent of the euphoria sweeping markets after a blockbuster earnings season.
While analysts are historically a bullish bunch, they’re turning even more optimistic in the face of relentless stock-market gains and corporate earnings that topped even the highest expectations. For all the concerns about the delta variant, China’s regulatory crackdown or waning Federal Reserve stimulus, it hasn’t made much of a dent yet on stock prices.
"It’s not just financial conditions and low rates fueling the appetite for risk assets -- tremendous fundamental improvement is forecast into 2022," Todd Jablonski, chief investment officer at Principal Global Asset Allocation, said in a note.