In this article, we will look at the 10 Best Performing Stocks in May.
May 2026 proved to be a good month for the American stock market, as the S&P 500 gained around 5.12% to top 7,500 points, and the NASDAQ Composite also gained roughly 7.8% to top 27,000 points. On May 26, Ed Yardeni, president of Yardeni Research, appeared on CNBC for an interview. Yardeni recently raised his S&P 500 year-end target from 7,700 to 8,250. He believes that the index will surpass the 10,000 mark by the end of the decade.
He noted that the reason behind these targets is earnings growth, which he believes has been driving the markets higher. He added that it is not FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), but FEMO (Fabulous Earnings Momentum), which has been leading the markets. Yardeni also highlighted that there is still a tremendous amount of capital which is waiting to be invested in the American market. Moreover, he noted that most of the recent market pull-backs have proved to be attractive buying opportunities. Yardeni remains bullish on the overall market health and believes earnings momentum will drive growth in the future as well.
With that, let’s take a look at the 10 Best Performing Stocks in May.
Stocks
Our Methodology
To curate the list of 10 Best Performing Stocks in May, we used the Finviz stock screener and Insider Monkey’s hedge funds database. Using the screener, we aggregated a list of stocks that have gained more than 50% in May 2026 and ranked them in ascending order of their performance. We have also added the number of hedge fund holders, sourced from Insider Monkey’s database. We have limited our final selection to companies that have recently reported noteworthy developments likely to impact investor sentiment.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Insider Monkey’s quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 599.2% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 372 percentage points (see more details here).
10 Best Performing Stocks in May
10. NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP)
Performance in May 2026: 60.33%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 38
NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) gained more than 60% in May 2026. Much of these gains came after the company posted strong results for fiscal Q4 2026 earnings released on May 28. The stock has gained more than 26% since the release. NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) ranks among our Best Performing Stocks in May.
During the quarter, the company posted $1.95 billion in revenue, reflecting a 12% year-over-year increase and ahead of the Street’s anticipation of $1.87 billion. The EPS of $2.43 also topped the expectations of $2.27. The quarter was recognized as record-breaking as the net revenue, gross profit, operating income, cash flow from operations, and free cash flow reached record highs.
Management highlighted the all-flash array business as a standout performer with a record Q4 revenue of $1.2 billion, reflecting 18% year-over-year growth. Moreover, public cloud revenue also reached a record $182 million in Q4, growing 11% annually.
Recently, on June 2, Goldman Sachs raised its price target on NetApp, Inc. from $127 to $200, while maintaining a Buy rating on the stock. The firm noted that the company delivered better than expected Q4 earnings and believes that its broad portfolio of solutions and consumption models can position the company to benefit from on-premise AI infrastructure buildout.
NetApp, Inc. provides software, systems, and services for managing and sharing data on-premises. The company also provides private and public clouds worldwide. It operates in two segments: hybrid cloud and public cloud.
9. Flex Ltd. (NASDAQ:FLEX)
Performance in May 2026: 61.41%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 59
Flex Ltd. (NASDAQ:FLEX) was a standout performer in May 2026 with a share price gain of more than 61%. Much of the gains, almost 40%, came in a single day after the company reported its fiscal Q4 2026 earnings on May 6. Flex Ltd. (NASDAQ:FLEX) is also one of the Best Performing Stocks in May.
Flex Ltd. wrapped up fiscal year 2026 on a strong note, reporting full-year net sales of $27.9 billion, up 8% year-over-year, with Q4 alone delivering $7.5 billion, reflecting a 17% increase from the prior year period. A key highlight was margin consistency. Flex posted its sixth consecutive quarter with an adjusted operating margin of 6% or greater, with Q4 coming in at 6.7%. Full-year adjusted operating margin reached a record 6.3%. The company attributed its performance to disciplined execution, targeted acquisitions, and strategic capital investments aligned to long-term growth.
Following the release, recently on May 28, Freedom Capital initiated coverage of Flex Ltd. with a Hold rating and a $144 price target. The firm noted that the stock has gained more than 49% since the announcement of the Cloud and Power Infrastructure business spinoff. Freedom Capital believes that the rally has already priced in much of the upside and cautioned investors to wait until the stock price pulls back to the $120 to $130 range for an attractive valuation.
Flex Ltd. is a global manufacturing and supply chain company that designs and builds products for industries including automotive, cloud computing, healthcare, and industrial technology.
8. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (NYSE:HPE)
Performance in May 2026: 64.51%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 58
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (NYSE:HPE) has gained more than 60% during the last month, making it one of the Best Performing Stocks in May. Recently, on June 3, Goldman Sachs raised the price target on the stock from $32 to $79 and maintained a Buy rating on the shares.
The increased price target comes after Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company posted strong earnings for its fiscal second quarter of 2026. During the quarter, the company posted record revenue of $10.7 billion, reflecting 40% year-over-year increase and ahead of the consensus of $9.76 billion. Hewlett also posted all-time highs in gross margin, non-GAAP EPS, and free cash flow for the second quarter. Management highlighted profitability as GAAP gross margins reached 36.5% after increasing 810 basis points year-over-year.
The revenue was driven by the networking segment, which grew 148% year-over-year to $2.7 billion. The growth in this segment was aided by Juniper Networks’ acquisition. Moreover, the data center networking alone skyrocketed 233%, and the cloud & AI segment grew 23% to $7.7 billion, with server revenue up 33%. Based on the strong momentum, HPE raised its full-year fiscal 2026 guidance and now projects revenue growth of 29% to 33% and free cash flow of at least $3.5 billion.
Goldman Sachs noted that they have increased confidence in the company’s differentiated position in the AI infrastructure buildout, following the Q2 results.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company operates as a global technology provider focused on intelligent solutions. Its platforms help customers capture, analyze, and act on data from edge to cloud. The customer base ranges from small and medium-sized businesses to large enterprises and government organizations.
7. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)
Performance in May 2026: 65.94%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 87
With more than 65% gains in May 2026, Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) is one of the Best Performing Stocks in May. Recently, on June 3, Wedbush raised the price target on the stock from $300 to $340 and maintained an Outperform rating on the shares.
The rating follows Palo Alto Networks, Inc.’s fiscal Q3 2026 earnings. During the quarter, the company posted $3 billion in revenue, reflecting 31% year-over-year growth and ahead of the consensus of $2.94 billion. The EPS of $0.85 also came in ahead of the expected $0.80.
CEO Nikesh Arora highlighted that the bookings accelerated for the company as enterprises increasingly rely on PANW to secure their AI infrastructure. Revenue was partly boosted by the recent acquisitions of CyberArk and Chronosphere. Moreover, the Next-Generation Security ARR also grew by 60% to exceed the $8 billion mark. Notably, the remaining performance obligations grew 36% to $18.4 billion, signaling strong future revenue visibility.
On the profitability front, the picture remained mixed on a GAAP basis, with a net loss of $177 million compared to a profit of $262 million a year ago, largely due to acquisition-related costs. However, non-GAAP net income rose to $684 million, reflecting healthy underlying business performance.
Wedbush sees PANW’s AI-native, integrated security platform as a key competitive advantage for winning new deals. The firm has placed it as a strong pillar in its “AI 30” list of top AI-era investments.
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. provides network security solutions to service providers, enterprises, and government entities.
6. Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT)
Performance in May 2026: 70.52%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 52
Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) has gained more than 70% during the last month. Most of the gains came after the company posted strong results during fiscal Q1 2026 earnings, which were released on May 6. The stock is also among our Best Performing Stocks in May.
During the quarter, Fortinet, Inc. posted $1.85 billion in revenue, reflecting a 20% year-over-year increase and ahead of Wall Street’s guidance of $1.73 billion. The EPS of $0.82 also came in ahead of the expectations of $0.62. Management attributed revenue growth to the Product revenue, which improved 41% year-over-year, reflecting strong hardware demand alongside its software business.
Profitability was equally solid as GAAP earnings per share grew 29% to $0.72, while non-GAAP EPS climbed 41% to $0.82. The company also generated record operating and free cash flow of $1.08 billion and $1.01 billion, respectively. Notably, the billings surged 31% to $2.09 billion. CEO Ken Xie attributed the results to broad-based demand and Fortinet’s long-standing strategy of converging networking and security. He also highlighted how an increasingly AI-driven threat environment is accelerating that demand.
Looking ahead, the company has guided revenue of up to $1.93 billion and billings up to $2.19 billion, suggesting continued momentum heading into the rest of the year.
Fortinet, Inc. is engaged in offering cybersecurity and the convergence of networking and security solutions.
5. CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD)
Performance in May 2026: 71.66%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 79
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) has gained more than 70% in May, and the company recently released strong results for fiscal Q1 2027 on June 3. CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) is also one of the Best Performing Stocks in May.
Stocks
During the quarter, the company posted $1.39 billion in revenue, up 26% year-over-year and ahead of the consensus of $1.36 billion. The EPS of $1.10 also topped the Street’s expectations of $1.07. CEO George Kurtz framed the quarter as an AI inflection point as net new ARR hit a record $256 million, up 32% year over year. The ARR was also up 24% during the same time and reached $5.51 billion. Profitability showed meaningful improvement as GAAP net income came in at $27.8 million, a sharp turnaround from a $104 million loss a year ago.
Notably, management announced a four-for-one stock split, with trading expected to begin on a split-adjusted basis on July 2, 2026.
Just before the earnings, on June 3, J.P. Morgan had raised the price target on CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. from $475 to $800 and reiterated a Buy rating on the shares.
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. is a leading cloud-native cybersecurity and threat intelligence company specializing in endpoint protection, cloud security, identity security, and next-generation SIEM solutions through its Falcon platform.
4. Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)
Performance in May 2026: 90.98%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 154
Despite Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)’s impressive 90% gains in May 2026, the Street continues to increase price targets, reflecting continued bullish sentiment on the stock. Micron Technology is also among our Best Performing Stocks in May.
Recently, on June 3, Morgan Stanley raised the firm’s price target on Micron Technology, Inc. from $520 to $1,050, while maintaining a Buy rating on the shares. Earlier, on May 29, Susquehanna also raised its price target on the stock from $600 to $1,750 and maintained a Buy rating.
Morgan Stanley noted that their thesis around memory stocks is simple: that there is no quick fix to the ongoing memory shortage. The firm expects the supply tightness to persist for two to three years or more, creating a sustained favorable environment for memory producers like Micron. Despite memory stocks already performing strongly in both 2025 and 2026, Morgan Stanley believes the rally has further room to run.
Similarly, Susquehanna’s thesis is based on the strengthening average selling prices and growing confidence that elevated margins are sustainable, not temporary. The firm noted that a key driver for the company is the evolving memory and storage landscape, where changes to KV Cache offloading are discouraging manufacturers from aggressively adding wafer capacity. Susquehanna believes that this keeps the supply tight and expects this tightness throughout 2027.
Micron Technology, Inc. provides memory and storage solutions sold into client, cloud server, enterprise, graphics, networking, smartphone, mobile-device, automotive, industrial, and consumer markets, among others.
3. Datadog, Inc. (NASDAQ:DDOG)
Performance in May 2026: 97.46%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 80
Datadog, Inc. (NASDAQ:DDOG) has been among the top performers in May 2026 with impressive gains of more than 97%. Most of these gains came in after the company posted strong results for fiscal Q1 2026, on May 7. Datadog, Inc. (NASDAQ:DDOG) is also among our Best Performing Stocks in May.
During the quarter, the company posted $1.01 billion in revenue, ahead of the consensus of $959.95 million. The EPS of $0.6 also came in ahead of the expectations of $0.51. CEO Olivier Pomel noted the 32% year-over-year revenue growth and more than $1 billion in revenue to be a significant milestone, driven by strong execution across customers of all sizes and industries adopting cloud-based, AI-enabled solutions. Management noted that customer growth remained healthy as the company had around 4,500 customers spending $100,000 or more annually, reflecting a 21% growth from a year ago.
Recently, on May 29, RBC Capital raised the price target on the stock from $219 to $250 and maintained a Buy rating on the shares. The firm met with Datadog’s management and came back reassured about the firm’s bullish thesis. The firm sees the company benefiting from three key tailwinds, including ongoing cloud migration, rising AI adoption, and new product innovation.
Datadog, Inc. is a SaaS-based observability and security platform that provides cloud monitoring, analytics, and cybersecurity solutions for applications and infrastructure.
2. Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:SNOW)
Performance in May 2026: 98.70%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 80
Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:SNOW) has gained more than 98% in May. A large proportion of these gains came during the last three days of the month after the company reported fiscal Q1 2027 earnings on May 28. Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:SNOW) ranks among our Best Performing Stocks in May.
Recently, on June 3, Needham raised the firm’s price target from $300 to $330, while maintaining a Buy rating on the stock. The positive rating came after the company’s annual user conference. Following the conference, Needham’s confidence in the overall strategic direction of CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy remains high. The firm noted that the CEO’s strategy has started to translate into financial numbers.
The firm finds the company’s core business to be growing strongly. Needham specifically highlighted CoWork and CoCo as driving tremendous adoption and growth, suggesting Snowflake’s AI-native product expansion is resonating with customers and becoming a meaningful contributor to the company’s momentum.
Snowflake Inc. during its fiscal Q1 2027 results posted $1.39 billion in revenue, which came in ahead of the expectations of $1.32 billion. The EPS of $0.39 also topped the consensus of $0.32. CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy highlighted the 33% year-over-year revenue growth and 34% product revenue growth as a clear AI inflection point. Management noted that customer momentum was strong as the company added 616 net new customers, up 38% year over year, and now counts 779 customers spending over $1 million annually.
Snowflake Inc. provides a cloud-based data platform for organizations in the United States and internationally.
1. Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL)
Performance in May 2026: 121.71%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 72
Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL) is one of the Best Performing Stocks in May. Recently, on June 1, Mizuho raised the price target on Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL) from $435 to $500 and maintained an Outperform rating. The rating comes after the stock has already posted strong gains of more than 121% in May 2026.
Mizuho noted the increase in price target to be part of a broader upgrade across the semiconductor and server ecosystem. The firm’s core thesis is that agentic AI is driving strong and accelerating demand for CPUs and servers. The firm noted that suppliers remain supply-constrained into 2027, which is a meaningful upside for Dell’s server business as customers struggle to source enough hardware.
Mizuho has also flagged some potential risks for the second half of 2026, noting that tight memory and CPU supply could act as a ceiling on how much upside Dell can capture, even as underlying demand remains robust.
Overall, the Street remains bullish on the stock as analysts’ average 12-month price target suggests more than 18% upside from the current level.
Dell Technologies Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, markets, sells, and supports integrated technology solutions, products, and services internationally.
