What sets the 10 best internet of things stocks to buy right now apart from the competition is that they are stocks of large, well-established companies. Companies like Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) have a lot of capital on their balance sheets, which they can use to fund their projects in the Internet of Things industry, which is still in its inception phase. In addition, these companies are well diversified and have solid business models that allow them to generate revenue, while venturing into riskier and new areas of the tech space.
We will get to the best internet of things stocks further on, but first let’s take a closer look at the industry itself and the latest trends. While there were some projects aimed at connecting physical devices to the internet since it was first introduced in 1989, the term “Internet of Things” was coined in 1999 by Kevin Ashton, a British technology pioneer, who worked on the development of radio-frequency identification (RFID) and developed a system of sensors that would connect physical objects to the internet.
During the first decade of the 21st century, the term started to gain some traction and it is accepted that the Internet of Things was officially born between 2008 and 2009, with Cisco saying that the Internet of Things was born when there were more things or objects connected to the Internet than people. In 2010, the number of smartphones, tablets, and other devices connected to the internet amounted to 12.5 billion, versus the human population of 6.8 billion.
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The Internet of Things is aimed at creating systems that connect things to the internet through electronics, sensors, and software in order to allow them to collect and exchange data within a network. The objects within the Internet of Things space each have a unique identifier that allows them to provide context and give visibility into the network, the devices, and their environment. In this way, the Internet of Things will encompass many areas of life and business, leading to the development of smart homes, smart cities, intelligent transportation, and smart grids.
Right now, the Internet of Things industry is booming as there are all sorts of objects connected to the internet, including cars, thermostats, light bulbs and more, and more companies are trying to capitalize on that, including some of the best internet of things stocks to buy right now, which use the resources they have at hand, such as big userbases and strong brand names that allow them to find customers for their new IoT products and services. Other companies venture into providing services for other businesses that are engaged in the IoT industry by providing them cloud space and processing power.
In this way, the Internet of Things industry seems to be booming. Gartner estimates that there are over 8 billion devices currently connected to the Internet (excluding smartphones, tablets, etc.), up by 31% compared to 2016. It also forecasts that the number of connected devices will reach 20.42 billion. The majority of IoT devices are from the consumer category, which generate the bulk of hardware spending of around $725.70 billion. Going forward, it is expected that consumer devices will remain the dominant market in the IoT space, while hardware spending in this market will reach $1.49 trillion by 2020.
Having said that, let’s take a closer look at the 10 best internet of things stocks to buy right now. The stocks are sorted based on their hedge fund sentiment, for which we used the aggregate number of funds tracked by us that held shares of each of the companies in question. While it’s most likely that the majority of the best internet of things stocks to buy right now enjoy the support of smart money investors for reasons other than their involvement in the IoT space, it is certain that this industry is not overlooked by investors in their analysis.
This is why the 5 best internet of things companies to invest in, which are all present on this list, may be good investments regardless of their success in the IoT space, although all of them have achieved a great deal of success in this area. Therefore, in addition to discussing the hedge fund sentiment surrounding the best internet of things stocks to buy right now, we will also discuss the endeavors of these companies in the IoT industry. Check out the list beginning on the next page.
10. International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM)
Number of Hedge Funds with Long Positions: 54
The number of funds long International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) declined by seven during the second quarter. International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) ventured into the IoT space by providing applications for a variety of industries, including electronics, energy and utilities, automotive, insurance, and retail. For example, in the automotive space, IBM provides solutions for connected cars, which include a variety of services for drivers, such as health monitoring, navigation, and digital marketing, as well as services for businesses, which include fleet management, remote access, and vehicle care-related services.
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9. Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)
Number of Hedge Funds with Long Positions: 57
Next in line on our list of the best internet of things stocks to buy right now is Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO), which saw the number of bullish investors fall by seven between April and June. Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)’s involvement in the Internet of Things industry is also very broad. The company provides platforms like Cisco Kinetic to process data and Cisco Jasper Control Center, which is an automated connectivity management platform. In addition, Cisco has a large portfolio of products that can be used for wireless connectivity like industrial routers, low-power, wide-area wireless, and embedded routers and switches.
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8. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)
Number of Hedge Funds with Long Positions: 59
In Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), the number of investors with long positions slid by five during the second quarter. Among the IoT solutions presented by Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) is the cloud-based platform called ThingSpace, which developers can use to create end-to-end IoT solutions for various industries. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) is also updating its network to be able to handle more traffic from IoT as more devices get internet connectivity.
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7. Dell Technologies Inc (NYSE:DVMT)
Number of Hedge Funds with Long Positions: 66
Between April and June, the number of funds bullish on Dell Technologies Inc (NYSE:DVMT) fell by 12. Dell Technologies Inc (NYSE:DVMT)’s investments in the IoT space include a couple of labs where it showcases its developments. Among the solutions that the company offers are Internet of Things Infrastructure, Analytics, Security, and IoT technologies that can be used for manufacturing and smart cities.
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6. Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)
Number of Hedge Funds with Long Positions: 70
Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) saw 70 funds in our database holding its shares at the end of June, which puts it on the sixth spot in our list of the best internet of things stocks to buy right now; a quarter earlier this number stood at 56. In the IoT space, Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) provides a number of cloud-based applications used for asset monitoring, production monitoring, and fleet monitoring. Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) also offers an IoT Connected Worker Cloud to monitor data regarding workers’ health, safety, and work environment.
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5. salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM)
Number of Hedge Funds with Long Positions: 76
In salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM), the number of bullish investors inched down by three during the second quarter. salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM) offers an IoT Cloud platform based on Thunder, its proprietary scalable event processing engine, that collects and processes data generated from a business’ customers, partners, sensors, devices, etc., which allows businesses to improve customer experience and get a more complete picture of their customers.
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4. Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL)
There were 115 funds in our database long Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) at the end of June, up by two compared to the end of March. Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) is relatively new to the IoT space and it doesn’t offer any solutions or platforms for industrial or enterprise use. Instead, the iPhone maker chose to capitalize on the popularity of its devices and the brand loyalty of millions of its customers. Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s HomeKit is a platform that allows users to control their homes. In addition, it has the Apple Watch and, reportedly, it is also working on a car.
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3. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Number of Hedge Funds with Long Positions: 124
Next in line is Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), in which the number of funds with long positions appreciated by three between April and June. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has a large Internet of Things portfolio, which includes devices and software for connected factories, smart buildings, and predictive management. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) also has an IoT platform on its Azure cloud, while its Windows 10 operating system is universalized and can be used on a variety of devices.
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2. Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL)
Number of Hedge Funds with Long Positions (class A stock): 128
Number of Hedge Funds with Long Positions (class C stock): 127
Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s class A stock saw the number of bullish investors tracked by us decline by seven during the second quarter. On the other hand, the number of funds holding class C shares of the tech giant jumped by ten. Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) offers the Android Things platform that can be used for IoT devices. It has also bought Nest, which provides devices for a connected home, and a home speaker.
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1. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Number of Hedge Funds with Long Positions: 132
The top spot on the list of the best internet of things stocks is held by Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), in which there were 132 funds holding shares at the end of June, compared to 129 investors a quarter earlier. Aside from being a leader in online retail and having a very popular cloud platform for individuals and businesses, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) also launched a platform called AWS IoT, which represents a managed service that connects devices to the cloud. In addition, it has a range of smart speakers under the Echo brand that can be used for a connected home.
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These are the 10 best internet of things stocks to buy right now based on hedge fund sentiment. Most of the companies in the list capitalized on their existing assets like a strong brand name to attract customers to their new products, or existing cloud infrastructure that allowed them to expand into the new market.
Disclosure: None
