S&P 500 screen highlights discounted stocks with analyst upside ahead of August

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S&P 500 discounted stocks

Highlights

Devon Energy trades at a forward P/E of 9, offers 36% upside to analyst price targets, and 76% buy ratings after its $58 billion Coterra merger.
Carnival stock, down over 9% year-to-date, shows 25% analyst upside and 69% buy ratings despite mixed June results and Middle East booking headwinds.
Micron Technology posts fourfold fiscal Q3 revenue growth in June, with 79% analyst upside and 76% buy ratings despite continued sector volatility.

Valuation screen finds bargains beyond technology

As reported by CNBC Pro, the stock screen focuses on S&P 500 companies trading at least 30% below the index on a forward price-to-earnings basis, or at 14.8 times earnings or less, while also offering 20% or more upside to average analyst price targets and buy ratings from at least 55% of analysts tracked by FactSet.

The backdrop is a market that remains near record levels even as sharp swings hit some of the biggest artificial intelligence-linked names. The S&P 500 is about 2% below its all-time closing high of 7,609.78 set on June 2, while analysts broadly still expect the benchmark to finish the year higher.

Among the names identified, Devon Energy stands out as the cheapest, with a forward P/E of 9. FactSet data show the oil and gas producer has 36% upside to the average price target, and 76% of analysts covering the stock rate it a buy.

Devon completed its $58 billion merger with Coterra Energy in May and updated its annual outlook in June, including expected production averaging 1.380 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, with oil volumes of 500,000 barrels per day. Chief Executive Clay Gaspar says the company is reviewing its portfolio as it works to improve free cash flow growth and shareholder returns.

Energy, travel and media names draw support

Carnival also appears on the list, with roughly 25% upside to the average analyst price target and buy ratings from 69% of covering analysts, according to FactSet. The cruise operator reports mixed results in June, beating expectations on adjusted earnings per share but missing on revenue.

Carnival says its booked position for the second half of 2026 is running above last year at historically high prices in constant currency, despite geopolitical volatility affecting booking trends for European deployments, especially in the Mediterranean region near the Middle East conflict. The stock is down more than 9% this year.

Micron Technology is another screened name, showing that some technology shares still qualify despite heavy volatility. The memory chip company reports a fourfold increase in fiscal third-quarter revenue in June, beating Wall Street expectations, and it carries 79% upside to the average price target, while 76% of analysts rate it a buy.

Walt Disney rounds out the group as investors weigh a weaker share performance against improving fundamentals. The stock is down nearly 16% this year, but FactSet data show 32% upside to the average price target and buy ratings from 73% of analysts, while portfolio manager Sarat Sethi points to profitable streaming, strong parks performance and cash flow as reasons he sees value in the shares.

Amazon’s AWS-driven rally after its June-quarter results was the focus of our earlier coverage, highlighting how big-tech earnings and AI-related capex plans can move markets sharply. We also noted that Amazon lifted its 2026 capital expenditure outlook to $220 billion to expand AI and data-center capacity, even as signs of stress appeared in parts of the AI trade and energy profits strengthened on higher crude prices.

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