Not every corner of Wall Street has benefited from a stronger-than-expected first half of 2023. Markets are showing signs of slowing down in recent days after a string of gains . Investors are seemingly turning their attention to comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell last week, in which he indicated rates will have to go up further before the end of the year. Investor excitement over artificial intelligence has helped lift stocks with exposure to AI, from the explosion of Nvidia to tech players such as Google parent Alphabet and Microsoft . But not all sectors of Wall Street have been as fortunate. The worst-performing corners of the market in the first half of the year have been utilities, finance and energy. CNBC Pro used FactSet data to scan for stocks within these sectors that could potentially stage a comeback in the second half of the year and meet the following criteria: The stock is a member of the S & P 500 utilities, financials and energy sectors. 55% or more of analysts covering the stock maintain a buy rating. Average analyst forecast implies 25% or more upside. PayPal stock thrived during the Covid-19 pandemic due to consumers relying on the platform to shop online. The stock has fallen off course in 2023, however, and is down more than 6%. Still, more than 60% of analysts covering the stock polled by FactSet maintain a buy rating, while the average price target implies more than 34% upside from current trading levels. PYPL YTD mountain PayPal stock has slipped more than 6% from January. In energy, Halliburton posted a stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings report in April , highlighted by a 33% year-over-year increase in revenue. However, the stock is still down nearly 20% in 2023. Analysts are big believers in Halliburton stock, however, with nearly 83% of those covering the company rating shares as a buy. The average analyst price target implies roughly 54% upside to the stock’s current trading levels. HAL YTD mountain Halliburton stock has slumped more than 19% so far this year. MetLife stock has pulled back 25% in 2023. The slump in the stock price hasn’t swayed analysts’ optimism, however. More than 66% of analysts polled by FactSet covering MetLife rate shares as a buy, while their average price target implies nearly 40% upside from the stock’s recent trading levels. MET YTD mountain Shares of MetLife have declined more than 25% from the start of 2023.
