10 Best ESG Stocks To Buy Now

6. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Percentage of holdings in the fund: 2.06%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 216

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL), the parent company of Google, has introduced the Google Renewable Energy Addendum, a new initiative asking its largest hardware manufacturing suppliers to commit to matching 100% of their energy use with renewable sources by 2029. This program is part of Google’s broader effort to reduce its carbon footprint. The company has set ambitious environmental goals for 2030, including achieving net-zero emissions across its operations and value chain, and reducing its combined Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions by 50% from 2019 levels. To achieve this, Google plans to invest in both nature-based and technology-based carbon removal solutions to offset any remaining emissions.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) delivered strong Q2 2024 results, with revenue increasing 15% year-over-year and diluted EPS rising 31%. The Google Cloud Platform (GCP) saw nearly 29% year-over-year growth, strengthening its position in the cloud market. Analysts have set a price target of $203.74, indicating a potential upside of 25.03% as of August 20.

Additionally, a recent UBS report highlights Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) as a key player across all three layers of the AI value chain: enabling, intelligence, and application. The company’s Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) and Google Cloud Platform position it as an AI enabler, while its Gemini project strengthens its role in the intelligence layer. These factors suggest the company could significantly benefit from the projected $1.2 trillion AI market opportunity by 2027.

Patient Capital Opportunity Equity Strategy stated the following regarding Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:

“Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) was a top contributor in the second quarter, finally catching up to its peers in the Magnificent 7. The company gained 20.8% in the period following strong first quarter earnings, a new $70B repurchase program (3% of shares outstanding) and the initiation of a cash dividend ($0.20 per share; 0.42% yield). We continue to believe the market underappreciates Google’s exposure to AI with its Gemini model being integrated into search results, YouTube advertising and its cloud offering. We continue to think that the cloud players will be the AI winners in the long-term, with Google being well positioned to take advantage. While the company trades at 24x 2024 earnings, if you remove the money-losing and under-earning businesses, you realize that you are paying below a market multiple for the core Google business. We do not believe there are many other AI winners trading at such an attractive multiple.”