The stocks Wall Street analysts love most are getting crushed this year

Wall Street analysts are paid to study companies and recommend winners to investors.

So far in 2016, this hasn't gone so well.

According to the analysts at Bespoke Investment Group, companies with the most "Buy" ratings from Wall Street analysts have done much worse than the rest of the market.

"The stocks with the most Buy ratings by analysts have gotten slammed in 2016, falling an average of 16.5% year-to-date," Bespoke wrote in a note to clients Tuesday. "The most unloved stocks, on the other hand, have outperformed."

According to Bespoke, the most likely explanation is that analysts tend to favor growth stocks rather than value or others. Growth has been slammed in 2016 - 2015's winners, for example, have been among the biggest losers this year - so the fact that analyst favorites have tanked isn't a total surprise.

But for the professional analysts of Wall Street, 2016 has not gotten off to a good start.

Bespoke Investment Group