Oppenheimer sets Wall Street’s highest S&P 500 price target as it eyes 17% upside for stocks in 2025

Oppenheimer Asset Management just became Wall Street’s biggest bull with its 2025 price target for the S&P 500.

The firm this week set a target of 7,100 for the benchmark index by the end of next year, implying over 17% upside from current levels.

The firm’s analysts, led by chief investment strategist John Stoltzfus, vaulted past other forecasts, eyeing strong fundamentals to keep the two-year bull rally going in the new year.

“Traders and investors of bullish persuasion (of which we are part) point to fundamentals that suggest the current resilience of the economy and the stock market appear poised to continue into next year,” they said in a Monday note.

They also pointed to an increased appetite for equities for “needs-based” investing, which includes things like funding children’s education, charitable giving, and saving for retirement.

With strong fundamentals and a track record for building assets and hedging against inflation, stocks are a popular option for investors looking for stable, healthy returns to provide for such needs, the analysts said.

They added that the ongoing rotation into different stock sectors, market capitalizations, and styles over the last year shows further market strength. Recent consumer and job growth data also signal underlying economic support for the bull market.

Beyond those fundamentals, the analysts point to the potential for a wide-reaching boost to earnings from AI-driven efficiency improvements, likening that impact to the automobile’s contribution to the economy starting in the 1920s.

“Artificial intelligence (AI) presents in our view a watershed point on the historic timeline of technology and economic progress,” the analysts said, adding, “We’re not suggesting paradise on earth nor are we expecting a ‘Goldilocks world’ but rather a genuine potential for AI to provide greater efficiencies in key areas that are challenging progress today across the sectors and society.”

Oppenheimer’s call comes amid a growing number of S&P 500 calls from similar firms. Other top bulls include market vet Ed Yardeni and analysts at Deutsche Bank, both with targets of 7,000. Barclays, Bank of America, and Goldman Sachs, meanwhile, are calling for an around 10% return for the S&P 500 next year.

Among so many bulls, a few more bearish analysts have sounded alarms on the market’s blistering rally, up 28% so far this year. Analysts at BCA Research see stocks tipping into a bear market in the first half of next year, while others have warned of sky-high valuations.