Now that 2016 is coming to a close, most Wall Street firms are coming out with their top stock picks for 2017. But before traders go all in on the latest round of Wall Street recommendations, it may be wise to take a look back at the picks some of these firms made for 2016 to see which analysts have been delivering the best returns. The firms’ performances can be measured against the 2016 return of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE: SPY), which is up 10.1 percent in 2016.
Benzinga took a look at some 2016 stock picks from four of the largest U.S. investment banks, Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS), JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) and Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC). Predictions from German rival Deutsche Bank AG (USA) (NYSE: DB) are included as well. Here’s a look at the results.
JPMorgan
In a comprehensive year-end note to investors last December, JPMorgan analysts made 53 stock recommendations to clients for 2016. As expected with a list that big, there were plenty of winners and losers.
Top-performing 2016 picks included Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd (USA) (NYSE: AEG) and Stillwater Mining Company (NYSE: SWC), which surged 54.1 percent and 86.3 percent in 2016, respectively. However, JPMorgan’s home run pick this year was United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X), which is up 339.2 percent.
The firms biggest duds of 2016 were Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: VRTX) and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ADR) (NYSE: TEVA), both of which were down more than 40 percent on the year.
Goldman Sachs
In January, Goldman Sachs analyst David Kostin compiled a list of Goldman’s nine stocks with the most upside. Big winners included Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE: MRO) and Kinder Morgan Inc (NYSE: KMI), which are up 39.1 percent and 41.7 percent, respectively. Goldman’s big 2016 dud was Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F), which is down 13.1 percent this year.
Bank of America
In late 2015, Bank of America put together a list of 10 top stock picks for 10 different sectors of the market. Top-performing picks included QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) and 3M Co (NYSE: MMM), which are up 31.4 percent and 18.2 percent on the year. However, Bank of America dropped the ball with Walt Disney Co (NYSE: DIS) and The Coca-Cola Co (NYSE: KO), which are both down modestly in 2016.
Morgan Stanley
In early 2016, Morgan Stanley compiled a list of 30 stocks to buy and hold until 2019. Top picks included WhiteWave Foods Co (NYSE: WWAV) and T-Mobile US Inc (NASDAQ: TMUS), which are both up more than 40 percent this year. However, 2016 pick CVS Health Corp (NYSE: CVS) is down 184 percent year-to-date, and Nike Inc (NYSE: NKE) is down 18.9 percent.