Cash underpins the stock market – without liquidity, there’s no investing. And according to Savita Subramanian, equity and quant strategist at Bank of America, a significant pool of capital is sitting on the sidelines, ready to move.
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Subramanian has turned her attention to investors’ liquid assets – and notes that money market funds now stand at a record $7 trillion. That’s a huge potential boon for the stock markets. The money markets hold these funds in instruments that are geared toward short terms and high liquidity – but right now, the stock market is offering much higher returns for investors willing to shift toward a long-term strategy.
“We’ve still got a lot of cash and a lot of fixed income on the plate,” Subramanian noted, adding that these instruments are not generating high returns. With another round of rate cuts likely from the Fed, she believes this $7 trillion cash reserve may soon be unleashed for a wave of stock buying.
Subramanian’s colleagues at Bank of America are following this logic and pointing out stocks that are likely to jump in such a bullish environment.
According to TipRanks data, these picks also carry Strong Buy ratings from the broader analyst community – so let’s take a closer look at what makes them compelling opportunities.
Affiliated Managers Group (AMG)
We’ll start in the world of financial services, where Affiliated Managers Group provides a set of asset management services, working through a network of partners and affiliates. The company’s basic strategy is simple: to generate returns and long-term value by investing in an array of diverse, high-quality firms, and by allocating resources in the portfolio to target the areas of highest growth.
The company’s affiliates, while part of the larger network, have a high degree of autonomy. They are kept under AMG’s larger aegis through direct equity ownership, giving them a stake in the success of the larger partnership. This arrangement has proven itself successful for more than 30 years, and today AMG can boast that it has some 40 affiliates, managing over 500 investment strategies – and that the company as a whole has approximately $771 billion in total assets under management. AMG is based in Florida, has offices in New England, and outside the US it maintains offices in London, Dubai, and Tokyo.
AMG’s overall portfolio is split into two main segments, each making up 50% of the whole: alternative assets and differentiated long-only assets. The former contains both private market and liquid alternative assets, while the latter aims mainly at equities. Per the company’s 2Q25 financial report, the private market and liquid alternatives are showing high momentum, and were the primary drivers of the firm’s $8 billion positive net client cash flow in the quarter.
Elsewhere in the Q2 print, we find that AMG had consolidated revenues of $493.2 million. This figure was down 1.4% year-over-year and missed the forecast by $13.26 million. At the bottom line, however, AMG performed better; the non-GAAP EPS of $5.39 was up 15% year-over-year and beat the forecast by a dime.
For Bank of America’s Craig Siegenthaler, an analyst ranked amongst the top 2% on Wall Street, this asset manager presents investors with a sound path toward gains. Describing that way forward, the 5-star analyst writes, “In 2Q25, AMG’s net flows inflected positively to $8B after generating net outflows every year since 2016. This equated to +4.5% annualized organic growth and was AMG’s strongest flow quarter in 12 years… AMG’s strategic pivot into growth verticals should improve the company’s organic growth trajectory. AMG’s upward net flow trajectory is supported by two emerging themes in the HNW channel: Tax aware liquid Alts and Private markets. In tax aware, AMG via its AQR affiliate is the industry leader with a first mover advantage. In private markets, we view the competitive landscape as becoming increasingly crowded although secondaries are in a sweet spot.”
Siegenthaler quantifies his stance on AMG with a Buy rating and a $331 price target that points toward an upside in the coming year of 43%. (To watch Siegenthaler’s track record, click here)
The Strong Buy consensus rating on this financial stock is unanimous, based on 5 recent positive analyst reviews. The shares are priced at $231.96 and have an average target price of $267, suggesting a one-year gain of 15%. (See AMG stock forecast)
Silgan (SLGN)
From financial services we’ll shift to industry, where Silgan Holdings has been working in the packaging field since 1987. The company’s three main product lines are Dispensing & Specialty Closures; Metal Containers; and Custom Containers. The first of these, which includes a wide range of spray-capable caps and closures for plastic, metal, and glass containers, is the company’s fastest-growing segment.
Silgan’s second segment focuses on metal containers for the food industry. The company boasts that its metal containers are among the most frequently recycled such products in the food industry. According to Silgan, the metal food and beverage packages are infinitely recyclable, and each one contains as much as 77% recycled content. In its third business segment, Custom Containers, Silgan uses highly engineered, unique polymer materials to create containers that meet the exacting specifications of the pharmaceutical, health care, and personal care industries.
Packaging products are essential in today’s world, and Silgan’s lines have found applications in many of the world’s largest industries: food and beverages; health care; personal care; pet care; and home care. Today, Silgan has 123 manufacturing facilities, mostly in North America. This network employs some 17,200 people, and the company generated $6 billion in sales last year.
At the end of July, Silgan released its financial results for 2Q25, and investors were less than impressed by some of what the company had to say. The top line was positive; at $1.54 billion, the company’s quarterly revenue was up almost 12% year-over-year and beat the forecast by $6.21 million. Earnings, however, told a different story.
At the bottom line, the non-GAAP EPS of $1.01 per share was 2 cents lower than had been expected. And, Silgan revised its full-year adj. EPS downward, from the range of $4.00 to $4.20 to a new range of $3.85 to $4.05; at the midpoints, this was a reduction of 15 cents per share. Shares in Silgan fell by 15% after these results were digested.
For analyst George Staphos, however, this fall in Silgan’s share price represents an opportunity for investors. He sees several positive catalysts coming up for the stock, and writes, “We think SLGN should be bought after it dropped over 15% on reduced earnings guidance, a call-out of weak bev-closure vols and food can-customer bankruptcy issues. SLGN is partly defensive (less aligned with our strategy call) because of food cans, but its sell-off and the potential for improved volumes supports a Buy… Catalysts for 2H25 and 2026 should include a positive ‘pack’ (harvesting), potential for more promotional activity in canned foods (albeit, while customers pass through higher pricing), strong canned wet petfood volumes, and some other positives.”
As noted above, the Bank of America analyst gives SLGN shares a Buy rating, and his price target, now set at $57, implies a one-year upside potential of 28%. (To watch Staphos’ track record, click here)
Once again, we’re looking at a stock with a unanimously positive Strong Buy consensus rating – this one based on 8 recent reviews. The stock is priced at $44.50 currently, and its average price target of $59.57 suggests a gain of 34% in the next 12 months. (See SLGN stock forecast)
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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.