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By finding the best stocks to buy, an initial £500 investment can transform into something far more substantial in the long run. But what are the stocks that investors should be looking at in 2026?
That’s the question many institutional analysts have been busy trying to answer. Yet the team at Peel Hunt has highlighted 21 different businesses that are now on its Buy list.
So what are these stocks? And should investors follow these recommendations?
21 top stock picks for 2026
In no particular order, Peel Hunt’s list of top stocks to buy in 2026 is:
- Avon Technologies (LSE:AVON)
- Kier Group
- MITIE Group
- Renishaw
- Rightmove
- Atalaya Mining Copper
- Boku Inc
- Everplay Group
- Galliford Try
- Renew Holdings
- AO World
- Dunelm Group
- CVS Group
- Energean
- Genus
- Premier Foods
- Sirius Real Estate
- Volex
- WAG Payment Solutions
- Mortgage Advice Bureau
- Bytes Technology Group
Are these no-brainers?
Diversifying across 21 growth stocks definitely sounds like a solid foundation for a new portfolio. But with only £500, that may be far from practical, given that a lot of capital is being gobbled up by transaction fees.
Even if an investor had considerably more money to invest, blindly buying this basket of 21 companies is still likely a bad idea. Why? Because Peel Hunt’s track record, while solid, is far from perfect.
Like most institutional analysts, not all recommendations end up going as planned. And investors can be left disappointed with the results. That’s why to minimise the risk of making a bad investment decision it’s crucial to investigate and understand what the opportunities and risks are.
So let’s start by taking a closer look at Avon Technologies.
Avon: bull vs bear
Avon specialises in manufacturing mission-critical personal protective equipment for both the military and local law enforcement.
Given rising geopolitical tensions and high defence spending trends across NATO, it isn’t surprising to see Avon on Peel Hunt’s list. The group’s already seen a massive surge in its order book. And earlier this month, management announced a new $12.7m contract for respiratory filters.
This multi-year structural tailwind, combined with a near-completed transformation programme, is paving the way to vastly superior growth and profit margins – a trend that has already started to emerge in its latest results.
However while encouraging, it’s important to recognise the risks surrounding this enterprise. A large chunk of orders is coming predominantly from the US Department of War.
As one of the biggest military spenders in the world, that’s not a major surprise. However, it does expose Avon to the fluctuations in the US military budget, which is routinely debated and contested among American politicians.
Budget cuts or spending freezes could have nasty knock-on effects for Avon. And while European orders are steadily helping diversify the revenue stream, it remains a relatively small part of the firm’s cash flow in 2026.
The bottom line
While far from risk-free, Avon Technologies does appear to offer a compelling bull case today. And the same appears to be true for the other stocks on this list, which may indeed be terrific buys for investors who do the due diligence and understand where the risks lie.
