In this article, we are going to discuss the 10 most volatile stocks to buy in the S&P 500.
The S&P 500 index has had a roller coaster of a year so far in 2026, getting off to a decent start, dropping significantly following the onset of the Middle East war, and then recovering rapidly since the end of March.
The index went on a 9-week winning streak, but then volatility picked up this week as investors booked profits from the recent stock gains and digested shifts in expectations for Fed interest rates. As a result, the S&P 500 fell by 2.63% on June 5, witnessing its single worst day of the year.
The volatility didn’t come as a surprise, as the Cboe S&P 500 Constituent Volatility Index, which measures the market’s expectation of 30-day volatility for the S&P 500, closed at its highest level in more than a year last week. This indicates that individual stocks were already reflecting greater risk, both to the downside and upside, than before.
However, after all the ups and downs, the index has posted overall gains of 7.66% since the beginning of the year.
The analysts over at Goldman Sachs expect these gains to continue and raised their outlook for the S&P 500 on May 28. The firm now expects the index to rise to 8000 by the end of this year, up from its previous forecast of 7600. The boosted outlook is primarily driven by an upgrade in earnings estimates, as well as the investment boom in AI infrastructure.
With that said, here are the Most Volatile Stocks to Buy in the S&P 500.
Photo by Viacheslav Bublyk on Unsplash
Our Methodology
To collect data for this article, we referred to screeners to identify stocks that are part of the auspicious S&P 500 and then shortlisted the ones with a Beta of more than 1.5. We then limited our final selection to companies that have recently reported noteworthy developments likely to impact investor sentiment. The following are the Most Volatile Stocks to Buy in the S&P 500.
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10. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)
Beta Value (5Y Monthly): 1.51
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) is the premier specialty retailer of high-quality products for the home. Its family of brands includes Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, Pottery Barn Teen, West Elm, Williams-Sonoma Home, Rejuvenation, Mark & Graham, GreenRow, and Dormify.
On May 29, Argus analyst Christopher Graja raised his firm’s price target on Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) from $225 to $230, while maintaining a ‘Buy’ rating on the shares. The target boost represents an upside potential of over 12% from the current levels.
The analyst highlighted that Williams-Sonoma has built “a huge lead over competitors” in e-commerce, noting that around two-thirds of its sales come from online channels. Moreover, Argus believes that the company’s industry-leading digital marketing capabilities and strong social media presence will help it to better engage with both US and international customers, supporting continued growth in the future.
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) exceeded top- and bottom-line estimates in its Q1 2026 report on May 21. The company expects revenue growth of 2.7% to 6.7% in full-year 2026, translating to a range of $8.02 billion and $8.33 billion. It is also projecting comparable sales growth of between 2% and 6% and an operating margin of 17.5% to 18.1% for the year.
9. Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)
Beta Value (5Y Monthly): 1.73
Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) is a leading provider of microcontroller, mixed-signal, analog and Flash-IP solutions that also offers outstanding technical support.
Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) was in the spotlight on June 1 when the company announced that it expects its Data Center Solutions Business unit revenue to grow by about 65% YoY to around $500 million in calendar year 2026. The business unit generated $302.7 million in revenue in calendar year 2025, and already delivered a growth of 62.9% in the March 2026 quarter.
Microchip revealed that its data center and compute end market, which also includes power management, catalog MCUs, analog, and security products, represented about 18% of the company’s total revenue.
Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore highlighted Microchip’s data center announcement with the following comments:
“The stock is up ~10% after hours at the time of writing, which we find surprising as the data center numbers are basically in-line with prior commentary; perhaps most of the strength is being driven by the pricing component of the announcement, as MCHP was one of the only analog companies to state clearly on their most recent earnings call in May that it was not raising prices at that time. While we view the PR as positive overall, the share price reaction seems exaggerated – the after hours move implies a low-30s NTM P/E multiple, which is a meaningful premium to MCHP’s historical average. The [data center] disclosure is helpful, though it comes with some definitional nuance, as it includes both AI and enterprise DC, while other companies define the category differently. For example, Infineon and ON speak more directly to “AI Data Center,” while TXN and MCHP include broader enterprise DC exposure, so group comparisons are useful but not all like-for-like.”
The analyst firm maintains an ‘Equal Weight’ rating and a price target of $94 on Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP).
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