Bloomberg reports that according to Bank of America Corp., U.S. stocks are likely to see new lows if VIX patterns from yesteryear hold sway.

The current bear-market rally most closely resembles what occurred in 2008, and suggests there's limited further upside before a turn that drags the S&P 500 to fresh lows, strategists led by Benjamin Bowler wrote in a note. They drew that conclusion by measuring from the peak of volatility in the three most recent major sell-offs and comparing those with the present one.

Volatility markets are "underpricing the risk of a secondary market shock," they wrote.

If the S&P 500, which is up about 15% since the March 16 peak in the VIX, continues to trade in line with the 2008-09 bear-market rally, it would top out around 2,960 as the economic impact of this crisis get priced in, according to the report.

In the three previous big sell-offs -- 1987, 2002 and 2008 -- it took between one and a half to four months after the VIX peaks for equity market to bottom, BofA noted. During that time, the S&P 500 rose anywhere from 15% to 25% before falling again, they said.