Stocks that have surged significantly this year may not continue the same momentum in 2025, as shown by the consensus target price from Wall Street analysts. $S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ This year, it has risen nearly 26%, reaching the 6,000-point mark on Tuesday, as investors continue to pour into technology, energy, industry, and utilities companies related to ai and datacenter.

However, the recent momentum in some sectors has slowed, reflecting changes in expectations for next year and the economic policy impacts following Trump's election as president. For instance, the energy sector has lagged in performance over the past month, as traders have increased their short sell bets on oil companies based on Trump’s plan to encourage oil production.

According to the stock screener from CNBC Pro, the top three performing stocks in the s&p 500 index this year are $Vistra Energy (VST.US)$ 、$Palantir (PLTR.US)$And$Texas Pacific Land (TPL.US)$However, the consensus on analysts' target prices indicates that the future gains of these stocks will be very limited, and they may even decline.$NVIDIA (NVDA.US)$As another outstanding stock this year, its prospects remain bullish, but other individual stocks face the risk of adjustment.

The best-performing stocks this year and future expectations:

$Vistra Energy (VST.US)$The stock price of this electrical utilities company has risen over 320% this year. However, according to the consensus target price from analysts, the stock price may only increase by less than 3% in the next 12 months. Vistra energy benefits from the AI wave, with an increasing number of henry hub natural gas and nuclear power plants supplying electricity to datacenters that have high energy demands. Despite this, analysts believe the upside potential for the stock is limited.

$Palantir (PLTR.US)$ This data analysis software company's stock price surged nearly 277% this year and rose 47% in the past month. However, analysts project the stock could decline nearly 42% next year. Palantir's recent performance report, which exceeded expectations, as well as its upgraded earnings forecast and decision to move from the New York Stock Exchange to nasdaq, has led to a significant increase in its stock price, but analysts generally maintain a hold rating.

$Axon Enterprise (AXON.US)$Another strong-performing stock this year, taser manufacturer axon, also faces the risk of a potential pullback in the future, though analysts are bullish on its future AI potential. Analysts at bank of america are especially optimistic about axon's AI applications in the law enforcement market, anticipating that axon's revenue will grow over 25% by 2026.

$NVIDIA (NVDA.US)$And$Constellation Energy (CEG.US)$These two companies remain among this year's stock market winners, and analysts expect their stock prices to potentially rise by about 23% and 11% respectively over the next 12 months.

The performance of these stocks indicates that, despite their significant upward momentum this year, future investment returns may not continue to grow strongly. Investors need to be cautious in their operations and pay attention to changes in the company's fundamentals and market expectations.

Editor/Rocky