Bank of America (BofA) analysts have a massively bullish outlook on stocks over the next two years.
The financial giant predicts the S&P 500 will surge by more than 50% to a high of 9,914 in September 2027, Axios reports.
BofA cites historical precedent, noting that the 14 bull markets in the past century have witnessed average gains of 177% in 59 months. Stocks have gained roughly 80% since the lows in October 2022.
Sven Henrich, the founder of the market analysis firm NorthmanTrader, appears to criticize the bank’s prediction for “suggesting past performance is indicative of future results.”
The S&P 500 is trading at 6,448.26 at time of writing.
Last month, BofA’s analysts, led by strategist Michael Hartnett, predicted that gold, commodities, crypto assets and emerging market (EM) assets would be key winners in a trend of investors looking to hedge against a weaker dollar.
In a recent survey, BofA found that 91% of polled fund managers think US stocks were overvalued, the highest rate since 2001.
The bank’s poll also found that investor allocation to foreign markets has climbed to its highest weight since February, signaling a potential sentiment shift away from US markets.
Hartnett warned in August that the stock market rally could be at risk of turning into a bubble, especially given that the bank’s survey showed that cash levels as a percentage of total assets were at 3.9% – a level that has historically signaled an incoming sell-off.
