the nasdaq composite has been on fire so far in 2023 the techheavy index has soared nearly 29 this year and is currently on pace for its best first half since 1983 that year the nasdaq rallied 371 in the first half it finished 1983 up nearly 20 excitement around artificial intelligence propelled the benchmark after a tough 2022 shares of apple googleparent alphabet meta platforms and nvidia have soared in 2023 other winners include ambrx biopharma and cipher mining  with gains of more than 600 and 412 respectively against this backdrop cnbc pro screened the nasdaq composite to find which stocks can help the index keep its momentum going abiding by the following criteria average analyst price targets imply at least 30 upside at least 65 of analysts maintain buy ratings market capitalization of 5 billion or more at least five analysts cover the stock texasbased oil and natural gas firm diamondback energy made the list the stock is down roughly 6 this year however 767 of the 27 analysts polled that cover the it rate the stock as a buy their average price target implies about 34 upside compared to current levels fang ytd mountain diamondback energy stock has slipped more than 6 from january latin american online marketplace mercadolibre also made the cut the stock has gained more than 38 year to date nearly 73 of that cover mercadolibre rate the stock as a buy with their average price targets implying about 38 upside to current levels factset data shows meli ytd mountain shares have soared more than 38 so far this year mobileye global  a company that helps develop technology software and camera for autonomous driving is also expected to drive the nasdaq going forward threequarters of analysts covering the stock rate it a buy and the average price target indicates 30 upside over the next 12 months earlier this month canaccord genuity initiated the stock with a buy rating noting we believe autonomous vehicles avs are set to increase resource utilization improve productivity save lives and much more mbly ytd mountain mobileye stock has added roughly 4 since january sarepta therapeutics also made the cut while the stock has slipped more than 17 this year the company recently received approval from the food and drug administration for a gene therapy for duchenne muscular dystrophy in boys from 45 years old of the 14 analysts covering the stock 71 rate it a buy while the average analyst price target implies upside of nearly 64 srpt ytd mountain sarepta stock has slipped more than 17 so far in 2023