Fundstrat Global Advisors founder Tom Lee is still bullish on the stock market as the fourth quarter approaches. He also has some names he likes, and others to avoid. Lee on Tuesday released a report listing his top large, small and midcap core stock ideas for 2026. Fundstrat used its proprietary, multi-factor quantitative stock selection model to select its picks, in addition to taking into account momentum ratings from Investor’s Business Daily, among other technical factors. The firm also picked five names it thinks investors should avoid. Fundstrat’s latest picks come as stocks hover within striking distance of their all-time highs during a strong month for the overall market. The S & P 500 hit a record 7,816.70 this month, fueled by a strong second-quarter earnings season and optimism toward efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, though stocks hit a rough patch this week as global bond yields rose to multi-year highs. Lee expects momentum will accelerate for stocks, however. Earlier this month, he predicted that the S & P 500 could hit a record of 7,900-8,000 by the end of August. That target suggests that the broad-market index could rise between 2.5% and 4% above the level at which it closed on Wednesday. So far, Lee’s forecasts have proven to be right on target. According to the CNBC Market Strategist Survey , the investor predicted the S & P 500 would hit 7,700 by the end of 2026 — a level that it did, in fact, recently reach. Here are some of Fundstrat’s fresh stock ideas — some to own and some to avoid: JPMorgan Chase is among the most prominent stock picks to come out of Fundstrat. The stock has rallied about 10% since the beginning of this year as the bank has benefited from structural tailwinds such as a broadening in AI capital expenditures. Last week, Wells Fargo hiked its price target on the stock to $390, or roughly 9% above its last closing price, as JPMorgan was poised to become the first bank to cross a $1 trillion market capitalization . Another name that made Fundstrat’s list is Lumentum Holdings . Shares of the photonics firm have jumped more than 130% year to date, largely due to the company positioning itself as a provider of critical infrastructure for hyperscaler’s nearly $700 billion AI data center buildout. In March, Nvidia announced it would invest roughly $2 billion into Lumentum to support the photonics firm’s efforts to lend its light-based technology to AI-focused data storage facilities. Photonics stocks, including Lumentum, were recently named by Bank of America as one of its favorite investment ideas for 2026 . Fundstrat also likes fellow AI-linked stock Arista . The cloud networking solutions firm has surged about 42% in 2026. In addition to naming some of its favorite stocks, Fundstrat also listed a few names from which investors should steer clear, including Robinhood Markets . The company, which has generated a considerable portion of its revenue from crypto trading, is down nearly 16% year to date as digital asset prices have slid. Fellow crypto-linked stocks such as financial services firm Galaxy Digital and bitcoin miner Riot Platforms also made the list of stocks to avoid. Galaxy Digital is up just 2% year to date, while Riot has gained roughly 61% during the same period.
Tom Lee’s favorite buy ideas heading into the fall
Aug 21, 2026
