Stocks could be due for a pullback this summer given high second-quarter earnings growth expectations, according to Citi. Scott Chronert, U.S. equity strategist at Citi, worries the S & P 500’s advance this year is in danger as companies will have a high bar to clear next month with the start of the second-quarter reporting season. In the second quarter, S & P 500 companies are expected to post a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 8.8%, according to a FactSet estimate. That is a forecast Chronert said is “probably a reach,” especially for the 493 S & P 500 companies outside of Nvidia and the megacaps. “What you’ve done is begun to set a very, very high bar for what companies need to deliver beginning with the Q2 reporting period,” Chronert told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.” “So, essentially, what all this sets up for from our perspective is that we have to be prepared for a pullback as we go through the summer months into the fall,” Chronert added. “And then set up, we think, for a better opportunity into the end of the year.” .SPX YTD mountain S & P 500 Last week, Chronert was among several strategists on the Street to hike their S & P 500 year-end target on the strength of a handful of megacap tech stocks that have carried the broader index to all-time highs. Chronert raised his 2024 year-end target to 5,600 from 5,100 previously. Goldman Sachs and Evercore ISI also raised their forecasts. Even with those upgrades, many investors worry gains are limited in the second half of 2024. According to a CNBC Pro survey , strategists on a median basis anticipate the S & P 500 will rise to just 5,500 by the end of the year. The broader index was last hovering around 5,460.