Small-cap stocks are on track to score their best performance in more than 30 years, and investors would be wise to scoop up several smaller companies to ride that momentum, according to two Wall Street investment banks. Bank of America and TD Cowen compiled lists of small-cap stocks in healthcare technology, retail, biotech and other industries, saying they’re poised to rise. Among them: Freshpet and Omnicell . Small-cap stocks are publicly traded companies with relatively modest market values, usually between roughly $250 million and $2 billion. Other small small stocks recently recommended by either Bank of America or Cowen were Baldwin Insurance , Agios Pharmaceuticals and Shoals Technologies . Here is a list of their small-cap picks as compiled by CNBC: The Russell 2000 index, which tracks small caps, touched 3,033.75 on Thursday, an all-time high and up 21% in 2026. By contrast, the S & P is ahead 7.5% this year. That outperformance also puts the Russell on track for its best first half of the year since 1991. “The Russell 2000 has been the best-performing size index,” in the first half, Bank of America analyst Jill Carey Hall wrote to clients Thursday. “We still see upside opportunities within small caps for less rate-sensitive stocks given how concentrated Russell 2000 performance has been” in 2026, she said. The rally in small caps comes as other areas of the market have pulled back. The S & P 500 is poised to close out the week in the red, largely due to a sweeping selloff in technology stocks that began on Monday. The Nasdaq Composite fell on Thursday, extending a four-day slide, despite blockbuster earnings from Micron Technology that lifted several memory chip makers. Momentum may be at investors back when it comes to small caps. Here are a few stocks that are still favored by Bank of America and TD Cowen. Freshpet The pet food seller has room to run thanks to a combination of industry tailwinds, and as consumers seek out higher-end products for their furry friends, according to TD Cowen. “Freshpet is still in the middle innings of capitalizing on the ‘pet humanization’ trend,” analyst Robert Moskow said in a June note to clients. “With only 2.7% volume share of the dog food category, Freshpet has plenty of headroom to convert dry kibble users to its healthier refrigerated fresh format.” TD Cowen has a buy rating on Freshpet, and an $80 price target suggests about 50% upside from Thursday’s close. Moskow added that the super-premium segment of dog food continues to grow at about 7% to 10% annualy, even as consumers tighten purse strings elsewhere and canine adoption rates decline. Freshpet has a market capitalization of $2.6 billion. Omnicell Healthcare technology stock Omnicell is poised to exceed expectations by gaining ground utilizing new pharmacy automation offerings, according to Bank of America. The Forth Worth, Texas-based company “is set to benefit from a once-in-a-decade product replacement cycle,” Bank of America analyst Allen Lutz said in a note to clients. “The market is underappreciating this [potential] given a lag in bookings growth.” The analyst added that Omnicell has recently debuted a new automated dispensing cabinet, Titan XT, as well as a cloud analytics platform called OmniSphere, both of which are set to drive analysts’ earnings estimates higher. Bank of America has a buy rating on Omnicell and $70 price objective on the stock, implying 77% upside from Thursday’s close. Omnicell has a market capitalization of $1.8 billion.
