Top Picks For The Rest Of 2017, Courtesy Of UBS

For many, it is hard to believe, but the halfway point of 2017 is inching closer, and quickly. Analysts at UBS released a mid-year report card with its top six picks for the bottom half of 2017 from six different sectors.

Here is a summary of six stocks, one from each sector. As a note, the inclusions in this article doesn't necessarily represent UBS's top pick.

Consumer: Coca-Cola

The Coca-Cola Co KO's bottom half of 2017 will be led by its new CEO James Quincey while the company will show "clearer evidence" of margin improvements and earnings per share upside as bottler re-franchising deals close.

Energy: Halliburton

Financials: JPMorgan

Healthcare: Allergan

Industrials: Dow Chemical

Dow Chemical Co DOW was named a top pick in the industrials sector as the pending merger with E I Du Pont De Nemours And Co DD could close within three months and early stage cost savings of $3 billion could end up surprising to the upside. When the merger finalizes the analysts see the combined entities trading at a premium to their current combined valuation.

Technology, Media And Telecom

Within the crowded technology, media and telecommunication group, Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL is a top pick given its prospects for continued growth in mobile search and YouTube. Beyond these two segments, the analysts also see continued momentum in Alphabet's core Google operations. Related Links: Mark Cuban Argues Why FANG Stocks Are Still Undervalued 4 Big Takeaways From Nvidia's Sell-Side Meeting

Shares of Coca-Cola are Buy rated with a $48 price target.

Honorable Mention: Buy-rated Coach Inc COH with a $49 price target.

Halliburton Company HAL is a top energy pick for four reasons: 1) the company's significant leverage to the U.S. onshore market, 2) potential for incremental margin growth, 3) expectations for positive earnings revision and 4) strong balance sheet and a "well respected" management team.

Shares of Halliburton are Buy rated with a $70 price target.

Honorable Mention: Buy-rated Anadarko Petroleum Corporation APC with an $80 price target.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM is a top pick in the financial sector as the analysts expect a net interest growth of 9.2 percent for the full year 2017 and 6.9 percent next year. Both of these estimates are among the highest within the research firm's coverage universe.

Shares of JPMorgan are Buy rated with a $101 price target.

Honorable Mention: Buy-rated S&P Global Inc SPGI with a $154 price target.

Allergan plc Ordinary Shares AGN was named a top pick in the healthcare sector given its superior risk to reward profile. The company is in a strong position given its strong and diversified portfolio, greater visibility into its pipeline growth and the ability to drive a mid-single-digit top-line growth for at least the rest of the decade.

Shares of Allergan are Buy rated with a $275 price target.

Honorable Mention: Buy-rated Johnson & Johnson JNJ with a $136 price target.

Shares of Dow Chemical are Buy rated with a $72 price target.

Honorable Mention: Rockwell Collins, Inc. COL with a $122 price target.

Shares of Alphabet are Buy rated with a $1,050 price target.

Honorable mention: Buy-rated Apple Inc. AAPL with a $165 price target and Buy-rated Netflix, Inc. NFLX with a $175 price target.

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Posted In: Analyst ColorLong IdeasTop StoriesMarketsAnalyst RatingsTrading IdeasGeneral2017 Top PicksJames Quinceytop picksUBS
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