Wharton School of Business finance professor Jeremy Siegel thinks the recent investor “bearishness” is actually good for stocks in the long run and the market may still hit 20,000 before year’s end.

“If you want to know the truth, I actually think the bearishness that we see on the part of not only ordinary investors but professionals is a positive for the market,” he told CNBC.

“In 1999 and 2000 people were unbelievably bullish. We reached 30 times earnings at the peak of that bull market. That's another 50% higher than we are today," he said.

"Now, I hope we never get there because we know what followed there. But I think things are still very, very different here. I think we got very reasonable valuations in a record low interest rate environment. And for me that is still positive for stocks,” he said.

“In the short run the stock market six months anything can happen. But what I see is a better second half. That's why I think 19,000 to 20,000 is something that's very likely by year end.”

But not all experts are as optimistic as Siegel, a longtime noted market bull.

For example, Seattle-based Russell Investments says American equities are priced too high with too few prospects for earnings growth to rally much more. Other reasons for caution listed in a recent report include weaker job creation and fading price momentum. The firm reiterated an underweight recommendation for U.S. stocks.

“We see the new mediocre, which is a combination of lackluster global GDP growth, weak corporate earnings and expensive U.S. equity market valuations,” Paul Eitelman, investment strategist for North America, told Bloomberg. “The net result of that is that we think medium-term expectations are likely to be subdued.”
   
(Newsmax wire services contributed to this report).

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