Each had catalysts the market hadn't yet fully priced in
As one year closes and another opens, the perennial human search for what is undervalued and overlooked turns again to the markets. In late 2023, analysts identified three companies — First Solar, Schlumberger, and Bio-Rad Laboratories — each believed to carry catalysts not yet fully recognized by the broader market, with projected upside ranging from 32 to 52 percent over the coming year. The exercise is ancient in spirit if not in form: finding where the present has failed to account for the future.
- Three companies across three distinct industries — solar energy, oilfield services, and laboratory diagnostics — share a rare common thread: analysts believe the market is meaningfully underpricing what each is about to deliver.
- First Solar carries the most dramatic earnings forecast, with EPS expected to surge 63.7% in 2024, powered by a utility-scale order backlog stretching through 2026 and expanding gross margins in a sector with structural tailwinds.
- Schlumberger, despite slipping 2% in 2023, commands near-unanimous bullish conviction from Wall Street — 28 of 31 analysts rate it a buy — with a dividend yield softening the wait for projected 32% upside.
- Bio-Rad's opportunity is quieter but potentially sharper: its operating margins trail what its revenue volume should produce, and analysts see that gap closing as a lever that could unlock 42 to 52 percent gains without requiring dramatic top-line growth.
- Together, these picks represent the kind of conviction calls research teams make when they believe the crowd has not yet caught up to what the data already shows.
As 2023 drew to a close, analysts were already scanning the horizon for 2024's standout performers. Three names emerged from the data: First Solar, Schlumberger, and Bio-Rad Laboratories — each carrying analyst forecasts of more than 32 percent upside potential in the year ahead.
First Solar operates in utility-scale solar, a meaningful distinction from the residential market, which faces pressure from weak demand and interest rate sensitivity. With an order book extending through 2026 and earnings per share expected to climb 63.7 percent in 2024, the company offered unusual revenue visibility. Gross margins were forecast to expand from 18 percent to 25 percent by 2025, and price targets ranged from a conservative 36 percent upside to more aggressive projections of 50 to 55 percent.
Schlumberger, the century-old Houston-based energy services giant, told a different kind of story. The stock had dipped 2 percent in 2023, but analyst sentiment remained overwhelmingly positive — 28 of 31 ratings were buys, with no sells. Full-year 2024 models projected 22.4 percent EPS growth and 13.1 percent revenue growth, with consensus upside of 32 percent and a 1.92 percent dividend yield rewarding patient holders.
Bio-Rad Laboratories, a California-based maker of diagnostic and laboratory instruments founded in 1952, presented the subtlest case. Its growth forecasts were modest — roughly 2.6 percent on earnings and 2.8 percent on revenue — but analysts pointed to a structural inefficiency: the company's operating margins lagged behind what its volume should naturally produce. That gap, if closed, represented significant profit expansion without needing accelerated sales growth. Price targets implied 42.5 percent upside, with some models reaching 52 percent.
What united these three was not their industries but their shared condition: each held a catalyst the market had not yet fully priced in. Sector tailwinds, analyst consensus, and operational leverage — three different keys, analysts argued, to the same kind of overlooked value.
As 2023 wound down, market analysts were already hunting for the next year's winners. Three companies stood out to researchers scanning the data: First Solar, Schlumberger, and Bio-Rad Laboratories. Each carried analyst forecasts suggesting more than 32 percent upside potential over the following twelve months—the kind of projection that catches a portfolio manager's eye when the new year arrives.
First Solar manufactures solar panels for utility-scale projects across the United States, Japan, France, Canada, India, and Australia. The company has positioned itself squarely in the utilities market rather than residential solar, a distinction that matters. Residential solar faces headwinds from weak demand and interest rate sensitivity, but utility-scale solar is expanding as the country shifts toward carbon-neutral energy. First Solar's order book extends through 2026, providing visibility into revenue for more than two years ahead. Analysts expected earnings per share to climb 63.7 percent in 2024, with revenues rising 31.4 percent. The company's gross margins were forecast to expand from 18 percent in 2023 to 25 percent by 2025. Conservative Wall Street estimates pegged the stock's twelve-month upside at 36 percent, while more aggressive forecasters saw potential gains of 50 to 55 percent. The stock had already gained 10.6 percent during 2023.
Schlumberger, founded in 1926 and based in Houston, supplies technology and services to the global energy industry. The company was expected to report earnings on January 19, with revenue projected to rise nearly 4 percent that quarter. For the full year 2024, analysts modeled earnings per share growth of 22.4 percent and revenue growth of 13.1 percent. The stock had declined 2 percent over 2023, but Wall Street remained decidedly bullish: 28 of 31 analyst ratings were buys, with none rated as sells. The consensus saw 32 percent upside potential over the next year. The company also paid a dividend yielding 1.92 percent.
Bio-Rad Laboratories, headquartered in Hercules, California, manufactures diagnostic equipment and laboratory instruments used in clinical and research settings across North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. The company was founded in 1952. Its 2024 earnings and revenue growth forecasts were modest—2.6 percent and 2.8 percent respectively—but analysts saw a different opportunity. The company's operating margins lagged behind what volume growth should deliver, creating what analysts called a margin expansion opportunity. If the company could narrow that gap, it would unlock significant profit growth without requiring top-line acceleration. Analyst price targets suggested 42.5 percent upside potential, with some models pointing to 52 percent gains.
What tied these three together was not similarity in their businesses but rather a shared characteristic: each had catalysts that analysts believed the market had not yet fully priced in. First Solar had visibility and sector tailwinds. Schlumberger had analyst consensus and a dividend. Bio-Rad had operational leverage waiting to be pulled. For investors building a 2024 portfolio, these three represented the kind of conviction calls that research teams make when they believe the market is undervaluing what's coming next.
Citas Notables
First Solar's focus on utilities rather than residential solar insulates it from weak residential demand and interest rate volatility— Analyst consensus cited in the research
Bio-Rad's operating margins lag behind what volume growth should deliver, creating a margin expansion opportunity— Analyst assessment in the research
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why would an analyst pick these three companies specifically? What do they have in common?
They don't have much in common operationally—one makes solar panels, one does oil and gas services, one makes lab equipment. What they share is that analysts see a gap between what the market is pricing in and what they think will actually happen. Each has a different catalyst.
So it's not about the sector or the industry?
Not at all. First Solar benefits from a structural shift toward renewable energy and has orders locked in. Schlumberger is in energy services where margins are improving. Bio-Rad just needs to execute better on margins it already has the capacity to achieve. Three different stories, same conclusion: undervalued.
What's the risk here? If analysts are right, why hasn't the market already caught up?
Markets are slow sometimes, especially with smaller-cap names or companies that don't get as much attention. And these forecasts assume things go as planned—earnings growth materializes, margins expand, demand holds. If any of those assumptions break, the upside evaporates.
So this is a bet on execution?
Partly. But it's also a bet that the market will eventually see what analysts see. That's always the wager in growth stock analysis.
What would make you skeptical of one of these picks?
If I saw earnings guidance get cut, or if the catalysts started to fade. For First Solar, if utility-scale solar demand slowed. For Schlumberger, if energy prices collapsed. For Bio-Rad, if they couldn't actually improve those margins. The thesis only works if the underlying assumptions hold.