Play Video A handful of S&P stocks are trading at a big discount to analyst targets
A handful of beaten-down stocks could be screaming buys, at least if Wall Street forecasters are any indication.
Names such as Western Digital, Micron and American Airlines have lost double-digits this year, putting them among stocks trading at the largest discounts to their respective average analyst price targets. While these losses are severe even amid the broader market's recent volatility, some strategists see a comeback in the making for a few of these names.
Shares of Western Digital have sunk 33 percent in the past year and would have to surge around 75 percent to touch analysts' average price target of $97.31, according to FactSet data. The stock was trading at $56.74 per share on Friday.
The name may be reaching a bottom on the chart, said Craig Johnson, chief market technician at Piper Jaffray. But that still doesn't make it technically compelling.
"It looks like to me that the analysts kind of missed the mark on this one, because this stock started making lower lows and lower highs back in about the March time frame. So from my perspective I think now we're getting to an area of support at around $53 here on this chart," Johnson said Thursday on CNBC's "Trading Nation."
"We're starting to see a little bit of an inflection point, in terms of the momentum, and from my perspective I think you could have a relief rally here," he added, but he said that's a relief rally he would not buy at this juncture.
Micron, a semiconductor name that's sunk in recent months, would have to rally by about 62 percent to reach its average analyst price target of $68.52. On Friday, stock was trading at $41.02 per share. That's one name that could be poised to make a turnaround, said Stacey Gilbert, head of derivative strategy at Susquehanna. The firm covers Micron with a positive rating and a price target of $75.
Gilbert said one way to play that name would be through the options market.
"The volatility is not significantly high; it is elevated, but everything out there is elevated. It's not astronomical, so I think investors who are looking for a name where there could be potential upside over the next year" could look to Micron by using calls, Gilbert said on Thursday.
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