Wall Street’s biggest bear suggests year-end price target is too low

Christopher Harvey may soon lose the distinction as Wall Street’s biggest bear.

Harvey, Wells Fargo Securities’ head of equity strategy, suggests his S&P 500 year-end price target of 2,665 may be too low.

“We made that target back in December. We were much more risk-averse at that point in time because we thought the Fed made a mistake. And, the interesting thing is the Fed did turn around. They made a 180. They admitted they made a mistake. They went from gradual hikes to pausing,” Harvey said Thursday on CNBC’s “Futures Now.” “For us, that means that we probably shouldn’t be as risk-averse as we were before.”

His S&P 500 target is the lowest among the biggest firms on Wall Street and 5 percent below where the index stands right now.

Plus, the S&P 500 just ended the week above a key resistance level, closing above 2,800 for the first time since Nov. 8. It’s now up almost 12 percent for the year and more than 19 percent since the December low.

“We do see pretty good things right here, and we do see the fundamentals rather solid,” he said.

Yet, Harvey is stopping short at officially changing his price target due to the fluid nature of the market. He says he’s more comfortable being in wait-and-see mode right now.

“A lot of good news is already priced in. We’ve had a turnaround in the Fed, we’ve had a pretty good earnings season, and we’ve had constructive commentary on trade and tariff,” said Harvey. “As we leave earnings season, a little more volatility, perhaps some downside, makes sense.”

He estimates a pullback would take down stocks about 3 percent and not last more than a month.

If his prediction materializes, Harvey contends it’ll be a buying opportunity and he’d look to add exposure to semiconductors and REITs, a group that’s been largely out of favor.

“This is pretty much a contrarian call,” Harvey said. “In an environment where the economy is not too hot [and] not too cold, that’s a good economy for REITs.”