• Just months after setting a 2024 target for the S&P 500 Index, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists have boosted their forecast for a second time as the stock market eclipsed the significant 5,000 milestone this month.
• “Increased profit estimates are the driver of the revision,” a team led by David Kostin wrote in a note to clients dated Friday.
• Kostin now sees the S&P 500 rising to 5,200 by the end of this year, raising his forecast by about 2% from the 5,100 level he predicted in mid-December. The new target implies a 3.9% jump from Friday’s close.
• Goldman’s 5,200 price target for the S&P 500 in 2024 is now among the highest on Wall Street, joining the ranks of Wall Street bulls including Tom Lee of Fundstrat Global Advisors and Oppenheimer Asset Management chief strategist John Stoltzfus, who both hold a similar year-end outlook.