Investors are bracing for a potentially rocky ride as the corporate earnings season kicks off this week. Companies worldwide are expected to report a 3.39% decline in first-quarter earnings per share compared with the same period last year, according to analyst estimates compiled by FactSet. More than 35% of stocks in the MSCI World index have had their price target cut this year, according to Tech Zone Daily Pro’s calculation of FactSet data, in addition to several stocks hit by downgrades by a majority of analysts. “I think the analysts are a bit too optimistic. You have nominal growth that is collapsing. You have margins that are under pressure because of a lot of things. Earnings will probably disappoint,” Luca Paolini, chief strategist at Switzerland-based Pictet Asset Management, told Tech Zone Daily’s “Squawk Box Europe” Tuesday. “My impression is that everyone is positioned for some kind of disappointment,” he continued. “I think we have to be careful to see how the market will take the earnings [season] that I think will be clearly quite negative because its difficult to expect anything else.” Despite this gloomy outlook, there are a handful of stocks that appear to be bucking the bearish trend. Tech Zone Daily Pro identified the following seven companies by screening the MSCI World index , excluding the U.S., for stocks that meet the following criteria: On average, analysts have raised price targets since the start of this year; Upside potential has risen alongside a share price increase this year; At least 75% of analysts covering the stock have a buy rating on it. The standout stocks include Germany’s industrial giant Siemens AG , pan-European financials BNP Paribas and Prudential , Canadian asset manager Brookfield , and insurance firm Intact Financial . On Siemens, Morningstar analyst Denise Molina said the company had “unusually high visibility for 2023 on revenue growth and margins due to an exceptionally high order backlog,” in a note to clients on Feb. 10. The equity analyst, who has a 160 euro ($175) price target on the stock — giving it 11% upside from the current price — noted that the large order book is largely due to “supply chain constraints causing slower-than-normal supply chain issues” in 2022. For investors with an appetite for U.S. stocks , the following table shows stocks that meet the same criteria in the S & P 500 . These stocks include Mastercard and S & P Global — both financial services companies — as well as Marathon Petroleum , Valero Energy and Targa Resources within the energy sector. Delta Air Lines , also included on this list, stood out for having a 50% upside potential from its current share price. The stock, up 3.38% so far this year, is rated as buy or overweight by all 21 analysts covering it.