While the S&P 500 had a big downside reversal lower today, it's still more than 8% above the average year-end price target that Wall Street strategists placed on the index at the start of 2013. Below is a table highlighting these price targets (collected by Bloomberg), including where they are now and where they were on Jan. 1. Price targets shaded in green have been increased since the start of the year.
As shown, even with increases from eight strategists, the average year-end S&P 500 price target is currently at 1,612, which is actually 2.49% below the index's current level. Only five of the 14 strategists are bullish on the index for the remainder of the year, while nine are bearish. Goldman Sachs has the most bullish year-end target at 1,750, followed by Oppenheimer (1,730), JPMorgan (1,715), and Stifel Nicolaus (1,700). Wells Fargo is the most bearish on the index with a year-end target of just 1,390. This is 15.91% below where the index is currently trading. UBS is the second-most bearish with a target of 1,425, while Barclays is the third-most bearish at 1,525.
