With the start of a new trading month, JPMorgan is out with its latest group of stocks that it thinks are poised to outperform from here. The bank released its September “focus list” on Tuesday during a volatile time for the market. During a global rout in early August, the S & P 500 lost as much as 7.3% before eventually closing out the month 2.3% higher. Similarly, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down as much as 5.4% in August before ending the month ahead almost 1.8%, while the Nasdaq Composite slumped as much as 10.7% but ended August 0.7% higher. But shares were hit again on the first day of September trading on Tuesday. With possibly a tough month of trading in store in September, JPMorgan has updated its list of top ideas geared toward growth, income, value and short selling strategies, adding three stocks and removing four compared to the August list of best ideas. Among the additions are Adobe and Caesars Entertainment , while the removals include Tapestry and Wynn Resorts . Here are some of JPMorgan’s picks for September: JPMorgan added Adobe as part of the bank’s growth strategy., citing traction for AI products as one of the catalysts in the second half of the year. While Adobe is down more than 4% this year through Tuesday, it’s soared about 30% in the past three months. After Adobe’s earnings and revenue for the second quarter topped Wall Street estimates , JPMorgan upgraded Adobe to overweight from neutral, saying it could benefit from “relative resiliency in growth rates, an elite profitability structure, and strong competitive positioning to benefit from IT vendor consolidation tailwinds.” The stock is set for “smoother sailing ahead,” the bank said. “We see a decent likelihood that investors are stuck in a Firefly trough of disillusionment currently, and our sense is that monetization could start to gradually build in the 2H and into next year,” analyst Mark Murphy said in a June note to clients. Abercrombie & Fitch is another stock identified as part of JPMorgan’s growth strategy. Though the stock has surged around 62% this year, shares took a hit last week despite the better-than-expected earnings in the retailer’s latest quarter. Abercrombie slid 17% following management’s warning that the rest of the year may prove turbulent. ANF YTD mountain Abercrombie & Fitch, year-to-date Still, JPMorgan remains bullish on the apparel company and its 12-month price target implies more than 35% upside from Tuesday’s close. Notably, the bank expects Abercrombie to build brand momentum internationally and see modest annual EBIT margin expansion over the long term. “Following marketing & merchandising improvements over the last few years, the Abercrombie brand has successfully expanded its customer reach to an 18-40 year old customer demographic, with strong new customer acquisition globally supporting broad-based topline results, in addition to greater full price selling,” analyst Matthew Boss wrote in a note last week. “Further, the Hollister brand inflection is only in ‘middle innings’ w/ Men’s and Tops representing two opportunities for further upside.” Lowe’s is another retailer on JPMorgan’s focus list, landing as part of the bank’s value strategy. The home improvement chain recently cut its full-year outlook in anticipation of weaker consumer spending in the second half of 2024. But JPMorgan still sees room for Lowe’s to run, with its stock price target implying some 10% upside from Tuesday’s close. The stock has risen more than 10% year-to-date. Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein owner PVH – whose shares fell more than 6% last Wednesday after it issued a disappointing third-quarter forecast – and newly-added Caesars Entertainment are also part of JPMorgan’s value strategy. Based on the latest price targets, JPMorgan sees more than 59% upside in PVH and more than 48% upside in Caesars Entertainment from Tuesday’s close.
