Credit Suisse's research team updated its favorite investment ideas for the months ahead. For the selection criteria, every U.S. and Canadian research analyst at the investment bank identified up to three of his or her favorite stocks from a range of sectors and company sizes. Of the 140 names, 25 are small cap (under $4.3 billion), 60 are SMID cap (under $10.2 billion) and 73 are mid-cap ($2.4-28.7 billion). Below we highlight some of the new additions to the list, along with the upside potential based on Credit Suisse analysts' 12-month price target. The stocks in this report are expected to generate an average return of 23 percent and a median gain of 18 percent over the next 12 months, according to Credit Suisse's bottom-up projections. One of the names on the list is Ameriprise Financial , an asset management firm that's expected to emerge as a beneficiary of deregulation, higher interests rates and lower taxes under President Donald Trump. "AMP is one of our top picks reflecting attractive valuation, much improved risk/reward (particularly relative to the group), and solid upside leverage to both the short and long-ends of the yield curve," equity analyst John Nadel wrote as his investment thesis. Over the past three months, shares of Ameriprise Financial are up 13 percent compared to a gain of 5 percent for the S & P financial sector. "While AMP shares have outperformed our coverage list average since the election, AMP has underperformed vs. a blend of peers with similar business mix, and AMP is the only stock in our coverage with significant positive leverage to the short end of the yield curve (i.e., Fed hikes)," Nadel said. Over the next 12 months, Credit Suisse predicts the stock could trade as high as $154, implying a gain of 17 percent from here. Should the stock come under pressure, the investment bank says management at Ameriprise could step in and accelerate the buyback program, providing additional support for the shares. Other companies with upside potential include Barrick Gold , General Dynamics , Dr Pepper Snapple and BioMarin Pharmaceutical , with each name expected to increase in price by at least 11 percent over the next 12 months, according to Credit Suisse.
