S&P 500 Shatters Records as Wall Street Frantically Hikes Price Targets

S&P 500 rockets to unprecedented heights—Wall Street scrambles to keep up with reality.

The Targets Game

Analysts rush to revise forecasts upward, playing catch-up with a market that's already left them behind. Price targets get lifted across the board as institutions chase momentum they should've seen coming.

Market Momentum

Buying pressure intensifies while skeptics watch from the sidelines—another classic case of traditional finance reacting rather than anticipating. The street's always late to its own party.

Wall Street's perpetual cycle of surprise at success continues—because why predict growth when you can just raise targets after the fact?

Elevate Your Investing Strategy:

• Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence.

First, Barclays hiked its 2025 price target to 6,450 from 6,050, its second upward revision in three months. The British bank also raised its 2025 EPS estimate to $268 from $262 on strong earnings led by AI growth.

S&P 500 Price Targets Supported by AI Optimism

Wells Fargo joined in by raising its price target to 6,650 from between 6,300 and 6,500, citing strong investments in AI.

“There is froth, but as long as AI capex remains intact, the bull market should continue,” said Wells Fargo’s chief equity strategist Ohsung Kwon.

Finally, Deutsche Bank is the most bullish of the trio, boosting its target to 7,000 from 6,550. Chief equity strategist Binky Chadha believes that more cyclical areas of the benchmark index will begin to carry the load, although he warned that inflation could temporarily “pick up some” amid a high valuation backdrop.