9 Good Stocks to Buy Now

In this article, we will look at the 9 Good Stocks to Buy Now.

​On March 21, Tom Lee, CIO at Fundstrat, appeared on a CNBC Television interview to discuss the market potential amid the war. Despite the volatility and more than 7% year-to-date decline in the S&P 500 index, Lee maintains his target of 7,700 for the index. He noted that the 7,700 was already a modest target and assumed only modest P/E expansion. Moreover, the market has already been re-pricing the stocks on a P/E basis due to the volatility. Lee also highlighted that, despite the war creating major setbacks in the market and on monetary policy, history tells us that such events have been beneficial for the US economy and stock market.

​Lee believes that once we enter the second half of 2026, investors will be thinking less about the war and more about the opportunities. He elaborated that in times of conflicts, investors can easily list down all the major threats to the stock market, and the negative impact gets priced in the market very quickly. However, the threats are always counterbalanced with opportunities. Lee quoted that during the past 8 major conflicts involving the US, the market was bottoming very early in the conflict, but recovered quickly.

​With that, let’s take a look at 9 Good Stocks to Buy Now.

​Our Methodology

We used quality factor ETFs, including iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF, to identify good stocks, and limited our final selection to companies that have recently reported noteworthy developments likely to impact investor sentiment. These stocks are also popular among analysts and elite hedge funds.

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. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 498.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 303 percentage points (see more details here).

​9 Good Stocks to Buy Now

​9. KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 67

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) is one of the Good Stocks to Buy Now. KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) held its analyst day on March 12, where the company reaffirmed its fiscal Q3 2026 outlook and also announced its 2030 targets. The stock has gained more than 9% since the analyst day.

​Following the event, Wolfe Research reiterated an Outperform rating on the stock with a price target of $1,800. During the event, management reaffirmed its fiscal Q3 guidance of revenue around $3.35 billion, along with a non-GAAP gross margin of around 61.75%.

​The company noted that the industry environment for calendar year 2026 remains strong across all segments. Management noted that they expect Wafer Equipment, incl. The Advanced Packaging industry during calendar year 2026 to be in the range of $135 billion to $140 billion, up around 11% year-over-year. Moreover, the calendar year 2027 is also expected to remain strong with a growth rate similar to or higher than that of 2026.

​Similarly, management also presented its 2030 target that indicates revenue of around $26 billion along with an EPS of $84. These targets rely on a $215 billion wafer fab equipment market, KLA’s process control share gains, rising inspection intensity, and service growth accelerating to 13% to 15% annually. Wolfe Research noted that DRAM inspection intensity and advanced logic checks will rise due to AI-driven compute and memory needs.

​KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) is involved in the supply of process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related nano-electronics industries.

​8. SLB N.V. (NYSE:SLB)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 73

SLB N.V. (NYSE:SLB) is one of the Good Stocks to Buy Now. On March 25, Reuters reported that SLB N.V. (NYSE:SLB) is deepening its partnership with Nvidia to build out advanced AI infrastructure and models for the energy sector. The report noted that this collaboration targets faster data processing, lower costs and emissions, and new growth avenues in AI-driven services.

​Reuters noted that SLB and Nvidia first partnered in 2008, when SLB adopted Nvidia’s accelerated computing technology in its workflows. This collaboration was deepened in 2024 into the development of generative AI solutions for energy use cases, including subsurface analysis and production optimization.

As part of this partnership, SLB will act as a design partner for modular AI data centers built on Nvidia technology. This will help design scalable systems that energy operators can deploy more quickly. The partner companies plan to create an “AI Factory for Energy,” which is a platform intended to let oil and gas producers and power companies run AI on large volumes of operational data, turning it into actionable insights for planning and operations.

​SLB N.V. (NYSE:SLB) provides energy technology and operates through the following business segments: Digital and Integration, Reservoir Performance, Well Construction, and Production Systems.

​7. Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 86

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) is one of the Good Stocks to Buy Now. On March 10, Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) was reiterated with a Buy rating from Bank of America Securities and a price target of $825.

​The analyst noted that he co-hosted a call with Williams Companies CEO Chad Zamarin. The discussion implied a positive outlook for Caterpillar due to Williams’ role as a major energy infrastructure player operating single-cycle turbines. Williams Companies noted that the incremental demand for turbine capacity remains strong, driven by strong growth prospects and elevated capital expenditure.

​This benefits Caterpillar as the turbine unit is a high-margin unit for the company, and the strong demand trends signal long-term earning power for the company. Moreover, Feniger noted positive commentary on long-term service agreements in the turbine sector, based on BofA’s checks over the past 10 months.

​Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) is a global manufacturer of construction, mining, and energy equipment. The company offers financing solutions, engines, and turbines, and integrates AI, autonomy, and connectivity to improve productivity in the infrastructure, industrial, and power markets.

​6. Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 137

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) is one of the Good Stocks to Buy Now. On March 20, Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating on Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) with a price target of $1,300.

​The rating is based on the company’s prescription data for GLP-1 medications. Oral Wegovy had roughly 89,300 IMS prescriptions and 76,800 Symphony prescriptions in the 10th week of its launch. The data outpace comparable launches of injectable Wegovy and Zepbound.

​On the other hand, data from other GLP-1 drugs witnessed declines, including Zepbound falling 3% to 17,100 prescriptions, Mounjaro dropping to 13,100 after a 2% decline, and injectable Wegovy decreased 3% to 9,710.

​The firm noted that the data for oral Wegovy is encouraging for Eli Lilly’s Orforglipron, ahead of its PDUFA date on April 10, 2026. The firm projects $2 billion in 2026 Orforglipron revenue, exceeding the $1.55 billion consensus, against Lilly’s guidance of $80 billion to $83 billion total revenue.

​Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) develops, manufactures, discovers, and sells pharmaceutical products. These products span oncology, diabetes, immunology, neuroscience, and other therapies.

​5. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 169

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is one of the Good Stocks to Buy Now. After a long waiting period, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s Siri is expected to get more powerful AI features and a standalone app for Mac and iPhone, as per a March 24 report by Bloomberg.

​Mark Gurman from Bloomberg reported that people familiar with the matter said that Apple is testing a standalone Siri app with next-generation voice assistants that would have the ability to refer back to previous conversations in a chat-like interface.

​Earlier in February, the company had indicated that it plans to roll out the long-awaited upgrades to the Siri app by the end of 2026. According to Bloomberg’s source, Apple is expected to present and unveil the upgrades on June 8 at the Worldwide Developers Conference.

​The app is expected to have a chat-like user interface similar to that of the company’s messenger app. Moreover, the app will also allow you to give access to what content can be accessed by the voice assistant.

​Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories, and other varieties of related services.

​4. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 256

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is one of the Good Stocks to Buy Now. According to a recent March 25 report by Reuters, Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is expected to lay off a few hundred people across various teams.

​Earlier in March, Reuters had reported that the company was planning to lay off employees, which could affect around 20% or more of the company’s total workforce. The report noted that the March 25 lay-offs are on a much smaller scale compared to the earlier report. A separate report by The Information suggests that the lay-offs could impact the company’s Reality Labs division, social media teams, and recruiting ​operations.

​A spokesperson of Meta told Reuters that these changes in structure are to ensure that the company is in the best position to achieve its goals. This step is seen as a measure to offset the rising costs as the company is expected to spend around $162 billion to $169 billion in 2026. As of December 31, the company had around 79,000 employees.

​Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is a California-based company that develops social media applications. Dedicated to connecting people and growing businesses, the company has two segments: Family of Apps (FoA) and Reality Labs (RL).

​3. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 264

NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is one of the Good Stocks to Buy Now. On March 25, Reuters reported that Reflection AI, which is a heavily backed NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) start-up, is expected to raise $2.5 billion at a valuation of $25 billion.

​The report noted that people familiar with the matter said that JPMorgan& Chase via the bank’s Security and Resiliency Initiative is expected to participate in the funding round. Moreover, the report also highlighted that the $25 billion valuation is a pre-money valuation for the $2.5 funding; prior to the funding, the start-up was valued at around $8 billion.

​Reflection AI is a group of companies that works closely with Nvidia to build open-source AI models. According to WSJ, the funding is aimed at enhancing the company’s efforts to counter the AI offerings from China. Earlier in 2024, the start-up had raised $2 billion.

​NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is a fabless semiconductor company. It designs and develops graphics processing units and related technologies used in gaming, data centers, artificial intelligence, and autonomous systems.

​2. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 288

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is one of the Good Stocks to Buy Now. On March 25, Reuters reported that Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Meta lost a case in Los Angeles for neglecting the harmful impacts on young people in designing their social media.

​The verdict found both the companies liable to pay $6 million in damages, with Alphabet to pay $1.8 million and Meta liable for $4.2 million. Although the payable amount for the companies is minimal considering their market capitalization, the report noted that this verdict is expected to serve as a bellwether for other similar cases.

​For reference, the case involves 20-year old women named Kaley, who noted that she became addicted to Alphabet’s YouTube and Meta’s Instagram at a very young age, due to the attention-grabbing design of the apps. As the case progressed, the jury found both companies to be negligent in designing the app and also noted they failed to warn about the potential harmful impacts of the attention-grabbing design.

​Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) owns several notable platforms, including Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail, and YouTube. The company is also known for pioneering work and research in cloud computing, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence.

​1. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 312

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is one of the Good Stocks to Buy Now. On March 25, UBS lowered its price target on Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) from $600 to $510, while maintaining a Buy rating on the shares.

​The firm said in a research note that the reduced price target comes after analyst Karl Kierstead met Microsoft’s investor relations team in Asia and Australia. Through these discussions, the analyst found that the narrative around the company’s Microsoft 365 and Copilot needs to improve for the stock to re-rate higher. The firm noted that they value the share at 19 times the calendar year 2026 estimates of non-GAAP EPS. Moreover, the analyst also noted reviewing investor debates, management’s response, and the firm’s research before lowering the price target by $90.

​Earlier on March 24, Bank of America Securities reiterated a Buy rating on Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) with a price target of $500. The firm noted that the company enjoys a significant strategic edge in AI, which spans over infrastructure and applications. BofA emphasized Microsoft Azure as the compute and data backbone for enterprise AI workloads, enabling scalable AI deployment. Moreover, its software suite, which includes Office 365, Dynamics, GitHub, and Windows, integrates AI into routine workflows, boosting adoption and usage.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a Washington-based company operating through Productivity and Business Processes, Intelligent Cloud, and Personal Computing segments. Founded in 1975, the company provides software, services, devices, and solutions worldwide.​

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