Some highly-rated stocks rely on rapid sales growth, while the list also includes value-oriented companies. A recent screening of the most popular stocks in the S&P 500 index revealed that, although many names are familiar, a deeper analysis of valuations indicates that these stocks are favored for different reasons.

According to a FactSet survey, these stocks were selected based on the highest percentage of buy or equivalent ratings from analysts. The screening covered 492 companies in the S&P 500 index, each with at least nine FactSet analysts providing coverage. These analysts are "sell-side" researchers, typically providing research reports for brokerage firms.

Among these companies, the ten with the highest buy rating percentages are: Axon Enterprise (AXON), Delta Air Lines (DAL), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), NVIDIA (NVDA), Schlumberger (SLB), Micron Technology (MU), Walmart (WMT), General Electric (GE), and Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX). The total returns for these companies in 2025 indicate that six have surpassed the overall S&P 500 return of 28.2%.

Axon Enterprise ranks first, being the only stock with a 100% buy or equivalent rating, with a return rate of 147% this year, only behind NVIDIA's 173%. Axon focuses on providing electroshock weapons and cloud-based AI solutions for law enforcement. Jefferies analyst George Notter described its new product lineup as a "game-changing masterpiece," which includes "Draft One," designed to reduce the burden of report writing for officers.

Additionally, the list features some value stocks, such as Delta Air Lines, Schlumberger, Micron Technology, and Becton, Dickinson and Company, all of which have price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios below the overall S&P 500 index. Based on price-to-sales (P/S) ratios, five of these companies, including Walmart, have valuations lower than the S&P 500 average.

How to Trade on uSMART

After logging into the uSMART HK APP, click on the search icon at the top right of the screen. Enter the stock code, such as "AXON.US" to access detailed information, trading history, and trends. Click the “Trade” button at the bottom right, select the “Buy/Sell” function, and submit your order after filling in the transaction conditions.

（Source: uSMART HK）