Want To Buy Stocks In 2025? There's One Conflicting Place To Find Winners, Analyst Says

If you’re analyzing contrarian opportunities in 2025, this list is worth studying. It highlights names that, despite widespread skepticism, have been outperforming more popular picks.

In a year when Wall Street’s darlings have stumbled, some of the most unloved names in the S&P 500 are quietly delivering gains that put high-conviction buys to shame—and the data may challenge how investors think about analyst ratings.

In a newsletter sent Tuesday, DataTrek Research spotlighted what it called "a truly remarkable list": the 10 S&P 500 companies with the highest share of ‘Sell’ ratings from analysts.

“History and year-to-date returns suggest it is a good place to look for longs,” analysts suggested.

The Contrarian Play: Most-Hated, Yet Outperforming

“Wall Street analysts don’t put ‘Sell’ on many stocks,” Datatrek wrote.

FactSet data shows that of the 12,320 ratings issued on S&P 500 stocks, 55.7% are Buys, 38.7% are Holds, and only 5.6% are Sells.

“The percentage of Buy ratings is above its 5-year (month-end) average of 55.0%. The percentage Hold ratings is below its 5-year (month-end) ...