The second quarter is underway, and Wells Fargo has laid out its top stock ideas to maximize investor returns during the period. Stocks had a strong start to the year, powered by ongoing excitement around artificial intelligence and poster child Nvidia and expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts later in 2024. The moves drove the S & P 500 to its best first-quarter performance since 2019 and to record highs. Here are some of Wells Fargo’s top names for the next three months: Wells Fargo is bullish on Amazon , naming the stock as an overweight tactical idea. It citied a revamp of the e-commerce giant’s fee structure within its fulfillment services that could drive cost savings. Analyst Ken Gawrelski called this restructuring the “next leg of retail margin expansion” that can yield $5.2 billion in annualized operating income for the company’s retail business in North America. AMZN YTD mountain Amazon shares since the start of 2024 Amazon shares have rallied about 19% this year. Wells Fargo’s $211 price target implies about 17% upside from Tuesday’s close. Insmed offers the most upside of the bank’s picks, with the $55 price target implying shares can more than double. Underpinning this upside scenario are upcoming results for the use of its brensocatib drug to treat a chronic respiratory condition known as bronchiectasis, along with a bet that doctors will prescribe the drug even with “modest efficacy.” “[We] continue to believe INSM has one of the most attractive risk/reward skews in our coverage into the 2Q24 Brenso readout,” said analyst Tiago Fauth. The stock has slumped about 14% this year. Starbucks is another strong contender for the fresh quarter. Despite a difficult start to the year that saw shares slump about 5%, Wells Fargo anticipates about 15% upside in store for the coffee chain retailer. Fiscal second-quarter earnings should serve as a “likely clearing event” given the already low expectations, said analyst Zack Fadem. He also expects company to outline potential ways to revamp growth in the second half. “While headwinds likely persist through FQ2, we see reasons to call a bottom w/ accelerating 2H potential from easier compares … & menu innovation,” he wrote, citing a bottoming valuation and improving margins. The firm also included Citigroup and Devon Energy among its 10 overweight tactical picks for the period. Wells Fargo named Tesla among its four underweight ideas for the quarter, citing slowing delivery growth and dwindling…
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