JPMorgan updated its list of top stock picks for July, as investors are now eyeing the second half of the year. Markets are coming off a strong beginning to the year, powered by sharp gains from tech names. The Nasdaq Composite added 31.7% for its best first half in 40 years, while the S & P 500 capped its strongest first half since 2019. To kick off this month, JPMorgan added Domino’s Pizza and Dollar General to its focus list. Domino’s Pizza stock has slipped more than 3% in 2023, but it’s still rated overweight by JPMorgan analyst John Ivankoe. “We heard optimism for a reacceleration in US growth in late F23,” he wrote. Further, last month, Stifel upgraded the stock to buy from hold , thanks to forecasted higher sales and lower costs. Another new addition to the list, Roivant Sciences has had a stronger year. Shares are up nearly 37% in 2023. The company is developing treatments for a range of conditions, including atopic dermatitis and thyroid eye disease. “We believe Roivant’s R & D portfolio has attractive upside potential with a robust set of data catalysts near-term,” wrote JPMorgan analyst Brian Cheng. He rates the stock overweight. Holdovers from previous iterations of the focus list include tech stocks Amazon and Microsoft . Both have ample exposure to artificial intelligence, which has helped lift both stocks higher this year. Shares of Amazon have added about 54% in 2023. The company made headlines recently, however, after news broke that the Federal Trade Commission was suing the e-commerce giant . The agency alleged that the company “duped millions of consumers into unknowingly enrolling in Amazon Prime.” Microsoft, meanwhile, has been riding the AI wave all year. Shares are up 42% in 2023. The company is an early backer of OpenAI’s large-language model ChatGPT. Morgan Stanley on Thursday raised its price target on Microsoft to a Street high of $415 , implying a market cap that would exceed $3 trillion. JPMorgan removed multimedia stock Avid Technology from its focus list earlier this week.
