A bunch of small, under-the-radar stocks got Wall Street endorsements today, including one expected to surge nearly 30%
Shops on the Street are liking some smaller and lesser-known stocks, including e.l.f. Beauty, pointing to their ability to offer robust returns to investors. This week, analysts have hiked their ratings and price targets on more than half-a-dozen names with market capitalizations under $30 billion. The relatively small stocks span a variety of sectors, from technology to consumer discretionary and industrials. Here are some smaller stocks that were recently endorsed by Wall Street. e.l.f. Beauty e.l.f. Beauty is aiming to take a bite out of the massive haircare market, which could drive up its shares, according to Bernstein. The investment firm upgraded the beauty stock to outperform from market perform. It also hiked its price target on shares to $113 from $60, implying 29% upside from Tuesday’s close. “While still early, we see a potential roadmap [for e.l.f. Hair] in e.l.f. SKIN, which grew market share from 0.6% in 2022 to 1.4% in 2026 across Nielsen-tracked channels,” analyst Cristian Rios said in a note to clients. “Applying a similar playbook, we estimate ELF could reach ~0.9% market share in hair care by 2029, which would translate to ~$210m of fully incremental annual net sales.” e.l.f. began rolling out its haircare line on TikTok Shop on June 16, later making the new products available at Target and other shopping venues. Since the debut of e.l.f Hair, shares have jumped about 39%. ELF mountain 2026-06-16 Shares of e.l.f. Beauty have advanced more than 30% since June 16. Advanced Energy Industries The power products firm is likely to see its shares surge, so investors would be wise to scoop up the stock, according to Seaport. Advanced Energy Industries received an upgrade to buy from neutral from the investment firm. Seaport also has a $410 price target on shares, suggesting 20% upside from Tuesday’s close. “Semiconductor and Datacenter Computing sales exceeded our views and both are poised to accelerate in 2H26 and stay very favorable in 2027,” analyst Scott Graham said in a note. “AEIS is managing concurrent accelerated throughput and capacity increases very well. We expect this to continue.” Shares of AEI have more than doubled over the past year amid rising demand for its manufacturing solutions for semiconductors, or a key hardware component in artificial intelligence models. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Kratos Defense & Security Solutions is looking like a more attractive addition to portfolios as it follows a path to notching greater gains, according to Piper Sandler. “A number of items have changed for us over the last six months…we have greater comfort on the company’s near-term growth with a clearer bridge on how the MACH-TB program, expanded turbojet / turbofan production, and potential new tactical drone production could contribute to the model over the next 12 Months… [and] recent funding events and award activity have increased our comfort in the pipeline of new contributions to revenue,” senior research analyst Clarke Jeffries said Tuesday in a note to clients. The analyst upgraded the defense technology name to overweight from neutral. It has a $75 price target on shares, or nearly 45% above the stock’s closing price on Tuesday. Shares have fallen about 27% in the year to date. KTOS YTD mountain KTOS in 2026 Versigent Versigent , an electrical architecture designer and manufacturer, is expected to gain considerable ground in the market, according to RBC Capital Markets. The bank upgraded Versigent to outperform from sector perform. It also raised its target on shares to $52 from $41 — a figure that suggests roughly 14% upside from Tuesday’s close. “VGNT has hit the ground running, demonstrating the strength of its best-in-class wire harness capabilities across a challenging global automotive backdrop,” analyst Tom Narayan said Tuesday in a note to clients, referencing the stock’s spin-out from Aptiv earlier this year. Versigent has gained more than 60% since its listing on the New York Stock Exchange on April 1. Coupang Coupang is a buy as the e-commerce company makes progress toward rebuilding its customer base, according to Deutsche Bank. The bank upgraded Coupang to buy from hold. It lowered its price target on shares to $21.50 from $23, or 28% above the price at which shares last closed. “Rebuild costs are hurting – but enough value now exists – [we are] lifting [Coupang] to buy,” analyst Peter Milliken said Wednesday in a note to clients. The stock has sunk 46% over the past year, largely due to its loss of customers tied to a massive breach of its data last fall. The firm has also faced regulatory and legal scrutiny in South Korea. Bitdeer Technologies The cryptocurrency-turned-AI stock is likely to see rise, according to Cantor. Bitdeer Technologies received a stock rating upgrade to overweight from neutral from Cantor. The investment bank also hiked its price target on shares to $18 from $15, suggesting 58% upside from the stock’s last closing price. The company said Tuesday that it has signed a nearly $5 billion deal for its AI and high-performance computing colocation and services. However, shares of the technology firm were last trading flat on the day, leading Cantor analyst Brett Knoblauch to predict that the catalyst will push the stock higher in the near future. “With the muted reaction in shares post-deal announcement, we would very little, if any, of the pipeline is being priced in,” Knoblauch said Wednesday in a note to investors. “As such, we are upgrading shares … as we now account for its recent lease.”
