With the second half of the year underway, Oppenheimer is highlighting what it calls its top small- and midcap seasonal standout investment ideas. Smallcap stocks have underperformed the S & P 500 this year, with the Russell 2000 virtually unchanged, up a scant 0.12% through Tuesday.
The broad market index, however, has advanced around 17%. Midcaps haven't done much better, with the S & P 400 MidCap higher by only 3.8% in 2024.
On the basis of price charts alone, Oppenheimer tapped midcap growth stocks as its top rotation idea from a technical perspective. Oppenheimer's 25 "smidcap" stock picks all have a market capitzalization between $1 billion and $10 billion, and are rated outperform by the investment bank. The stocks are drawn from a universe of high-growth themes, including artificial intelligence, obesity drugs, online sports betting and pet humanization, among others.
Here are some of Oppenheimer's smidcap standouts: Of the five AI-related stocks on Oppenheimer screen, Zeta Global Holdings leads in year-to-date returns, soaring 92%. Oppenheimer sees even more upside ahead for the stock, which has a market value of $3.9 billion.
Oppenheimer has a $20 price target on Zeta, implying 18% upside from Tuesday's close. Zeta, a marketing technology software maker, is positioned to benefit from the next generation of marketing automation and has positive secular trends on its side due to increased customer data regulations and the AI investment cycle, Oppenheimer said. "We rem.