As we get closer to second quarter earnings, many investors on Wall Street and Main Street are starting to concentrate on having stocks in portfolios that can not only hit or beat the forecast numbers, but provide solid guidance for the balance of the year. Jefferies pointed out in a new report that lower expectations and a history of beating estimates, despite a possible year over year earnings decline of 2% in the quarter, the potential for the market to go higher in July is solid.

The Jefferies team is out with this week’s top U.S growth stock picks. 24/7 Wall St. screened for the stocks with the best upside to the Jefferies price targets. They include a very contrarian call they may not be for the faint of heart

Adobe Systems

This is a high profile old-school software company that makes sense for growth investors. Adobe Systems Incorporated, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) operates in three segments: Digital Media, Digital Marketing, and Print and Publishing. The Digital Media segment provides tools and solutions that enable individuals, small and medium businesses, and enterprises to create, publish, promote, and monetize their digital content.

The Digital Marketing segment offers solutions for how digital advertising and marketing are created, managed, executed, measured, and optimized. This segment provides analytics, social marketing, targeting, media optimization, digital experience management, and cross-channel campaign management solutions, as well as video delivery and monetization to digital marketers, advertisers, publishers, merchandisers, Web analysts, chief marketing officers, chief information officers, and chief revenue officers.

The Print and Publishing segment offers products and services, such as eLearning solutions, technical document publishing, Web application development, and high-end printing, as well as publishing needs of technical and business, and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) printing businesses. There was some controversy surrounding around the guidance the company issued following earnings last week, and the Jefferies team thinks that any weakness in the stock is a buying opportunity, continue to like the secular growth in creative/multimedia demand

Adobe is also reasonably safe route for investors looking to own a company with Marketing Automation product, which has become huge. The Jefferies price target for the stock is posted at $90. The Thomson/First Call consensus price target for the stock is set at $87.83. Shares closed on Friday at $79.70.

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Eli Lilly & Co.

This stock checks in high on the Jefferies global pharmaceutical list. Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) is somewhat surprisingly out of consensus with portfolio managers at mutual fund and hedge funds, or what is known as the buy side. It also has more neutral ratings than buy ratings on Wall Street.

The company easily beat analysts’ earnings expectations for the first quarter, reporting earnings of 87 cents per share that topped guidance of 76 cents per share by 11 cents. Revenues for the period declined 1% to $4.65 billion, but were still enough to top analysts’ $4.63 billion expectations.

While generic competition is eating into profits with the company’s Cymbalta and Evista drugs, and currency headwinds took a toll on overseas sales, the drug giant still affirmed forward expectations. The company’s new cancer drug Cyramza won FDA approval for label expansion just last month. It treats patients suffering from metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). This was the fourth Cyramza approval in a one year period; it already has approval to treat advanced or metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma and metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Cyramza has so far generated sales of $67.5 million.

The Jefferies team loves the company’s product pipeline and the also thinks that the potential for evacetrapib (lowers LDLs) should begin to be realized during the next 12 months, and there could be pressure on portfolio managers to own the stock into the event.

Lilly shareholders are paid a solid 2.42% dividend. The Jefferies price target for the stock is $100, and the consensus price target for the stock is $81.39. Shares closed Friday at $82.63.

Avalanche Biotechnologies

This stock got absolutely crushed last week, but the Jefferies team is sticking with the company. Avalanche Biotechnologies (NASDAQ: AAVL) blew up huge last week with the release of top-line results for AV-101, a gene therapy directed at wet age-related Macular degeneration or AMD. The study met its primary endpoint for safety but failed to impress on other clinical results. In a perfect world the gene therapy would have meaningfully reduced the number of Lucentis injections (standard of care in the setting) required to maintain vision over the course of a year, when compared to a placebo, and/or improve vision relative to the comparator.

The Jefferies team feels that despite what was viewed as very negative results that there is enough positive news in the data to continue taking a solid long-term view on the company. Avalanche Biotech plans to design a phase IIb study on AVA-101 based on the data.

The Jefferies price target for the stock is a sky-high $51. The consensus target is posted at $37.83. Shares closed on Friday at $15.65 after being absolutely eviscerated last week.

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Molina Healthcare

Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE: MOH) is one of the top small cap picks at Decade Capital. The company provides Medicaid-related solutions to meet the health care needs of low-income families and individuals; and to assist state agencies in their administration of the Medicaid program. Throughout the company’s locally operated health plans in 11 states across the nation, they currently serve over 3 million members.

The company recently completed a secondary stock offering, and the head of the company has been selling stock. Both seem like indicators that a deal is not imminent for the company, despite recent chatter that they could be a takeover target. However, the tide can turn at any point and a buyer could come in.

The Jefferies analysts recently met with the company’s management, and they were optimistic about growth and proposed Medicaid regulations. The price target for the stock is $80, and the consensus price objective for the stock is $74.75. the stock closed Friday at $68.87.

The Jefferies stocks to buy are a nice blend of super risky and conservative. There is a little something for all growth investors in these top picks.

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