The S & P 500 could top its February all-time highs by as much as 6% this year, even as the U.S. struggles to see a post-coronavirus path toward reopening the economy, veteran market strategist Jeff Saut predicted Tuesday. "I think the bottom is in at 2,191 on March 23. I think we trade up from here. I don't know if it's straight up because of the damage that has been done," Saut told CNBC's "Squawk Box" "I think the upside target by year-end is going to be 3,400 to 3,600." Saut, chief investment strategist and portfolio manager at Florida-based Capital Wealth Planning, is not among the strategists tracked in the CNBC Market Strategist Survey. But at 3,600 on the S & P 500 by year-end, Saut's upside target far exceeds even the most rosy Wall Street forecasts. The highest estimate in the CNBC Market Strategist Survey is 3,435 from CFRA's Sam Stovall, followed by 3,400 from JPMorgan Chase's Dubravko Lakos-Bujas. Bank of America's Savita Subramanian has the lowest forecast at 2,600. U.S. stock futures were pointing to a big gains at Tuesday's open. The S & P 500 surged 7% to 2,663 on Monday, but remained in a bear market, defined by a decline of at least 20% from recent 52-week highs. In February, before states started issuing stay-at-home orders and the economy ground to a halt, the S & P 500 hit an all-time of 3,393. Saut's upside call for 3,600 would be 6% higher than that. "Last week, our models turned positive again and we started to recommit cash," Saut told CNBC on Tuesday. "If there is a cure for the virus or a vaccine for the virus, those [S & P 500] lows are not going to be retested." Saut was formerly chief investment strategist at Raymond James.
