In this piece, we will take a look at the 12 best hot stocks to buy for March. If you want to skip our overview of the latest stock market news, then you can take a look at the 5 Best Hot Stocks to Buy For March.
The stock market of 2024 is dominated by one key theme. If you haven’t been following us regularly, then you’d have missed out on the fact that artificial intelligence, powered by the shares of NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) remains the key factor on investors’ minds when they look at major indexes such as the S&P 500 and the tech focused NASDAQ Composite. No one can blame them for this either, as after inflation and interest rates set records, 2024 has also been a record setting year for the stock market.
The artificial intelligence fueled mania, exacerbated by the earnings season in January that confirmed to investors that the demand for AI products was real and not just hype has pushed the S&P 500 index to cross the coveted 5,000 point mark for the first time in history. This comes after the NASDAQ’s record setting spree last year and follows the second half of 2023 that had seen investors wonder whether the soaring S&P 500 in H1 2023 would continue its upward trajectory in the second half.
This surge in the stock market, even as the Federal Reserve remains worried about inflation, has made NVIDIA one of the most valuable companies in the world and made it surpass the market volumes big ticket mega cap names the likes of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG). The two are worth $1.8 trillion and $1.7 trillion, respectively, while NVIDIA’s 64% rise year to date fueled by the firm’s latest earnings release means that its latest market capitalization now sits at $1.97 trillion with trailing and forward price to earnings ratios of 66 and 33, respectively.
Yet, even though NVIDIA’s shares take off and have no signs of looking back, the broader macroeconomic trends that shaped the stock market discourse in 2022 and 2023 are nevertheless still in play. Interest rates are still too high to be considered easy for business, and most investors expect that the first cuts will come in June – a percentage that increases for a July cut. The last week of February is also quite important because of the data that will become available. This will come in the form of the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) index reading for January. The PCE is one of the most important data to judge the Fed’s future actions since it is the central bank’s preferred inflation metric. If officials believe that inflation is on a sufficiently downward trend to not raise its head again after an interest rate cut, then rates might start dropping before June. Should investors also read this conclusion, then the stock market should do well after the PCE data for January 2024.
Before we move forward to our latest collection of the best hot stocks to buy though, a recent report from the famed investment bank The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) merits a mention. Goldman was one of the few voices on Wall Street that bucked the trend in late 2022 and argued that avoiding a recession might be avoidable despite rapid central bank interest rate hikes. Now, the bank shares that during the week that ended on February 2023, hedge funds sold technology stocks at some of the highest rates for the past five years. It believes that software stocks were among the biggest losers, while bullish bets such as call options for NVIDIA’s shares remain in play and suggest a hesitancy to completely go against technology stocks.
So, with Q1 2024 shaping up to be quite interesting, we decided to take a look at some hot stocks to buy. A couple of these are NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META), and Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER).
Pixabay/Public Domain
Our Methodology
To make our list of the best hot stocks to buy for March, we ranked the 50 best performing stocks of the S&P 500 over the past 30 days by the number of hedge funds that had bought the shares as of Q4 2023 end. Out of these, the top 12 stocks were chosen.
For these best hot stocks for March, we hedge fund sentiment. Hedge funds’ top 10 consensus stock picks outperformed the S&P 500 Index by more than 140 percentage points over the last 10 years (see the details here). That’s why we pay very close attention to this often-ignored indicator.
12 Best Hot Stocks to Buy For March
12. Parker-Hannifin Corporation (NYSE:PH)
Number of Q4 2023 Hedge Fund Shareholders: 63
One Month Share Price Appreciation: 11.40%
Parker-Hannifin Corporation (NYSE:PH) is an American industrial equipment company headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. It marks a strong start to our list of the best hot stocks as the firm has beaten analyst EPS estimates in all four of its latest quarters.
For their fourth quarter of 2023 shareholdings, 63 out of the 933 hedge funds part of Insider Monkey’s database had held a stake in Parker-Hannifin Corporation (NYSE:PH). Ric Dillon’s Diamond Hill Capital was the firm’s biggest hedge fund investor due to its $450 million investment.
Along with Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META), NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), and Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER), Parker-Hannifin Corporation (NYSE:PH) is a hot stock that hedge funds are buying.
11. Eaton Corporation plc (NYSE:ETN)
Number of Q4 2023 Hedge Fund Shareholders: 63
One Month Share Price Appreciation: 14.31%
Eaton Corporation plc (NYSE:ETN) is another industrial products company that sells power management equipment, emergency handling products, and other systems. The shares are rated Buy on average, and the average analyst share price target is $278.
During 2023’s December quarter, 63 out of the 933 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were the firm’s investors. Eaton Corporation plc (NYSE:ETN)’s largest stakeholder among these is Philippe Laffont’s Coatue Management as it owns $960 million worth of shares.
10. American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)
Number of Q4 2023 Hedge Fund Shareholders: 64
One Month Share Price Appreciation: 8.02%
American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) is an iconic American firm known for its credit cards and travel services. The fact that it’s a great hot stock to buy for March is clear from its 12 month performance which has seen the shares rise by 25%.
Insider Monkey dug through 933 hedge fund portfolios for last year’s fourth quarter and found that 64 had bought American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)’s shares. None other than Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway was the biggest investor as it owned 151 million shares that were worth $28.4 billion.
9. Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)
Number of Q4 2023 Hedge Fund Shareholders: 70
One Month Share Price Appreciation: 20.82%
Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) is a backend semiconductor equipment company whose products enable chip designers and makers to design and test their products. A key stock for the AI era, Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) made a big announcement in February 2024 that saw it share a new portfolio of products designed to help chip makers in making advanced and leading edge semiconductors with feature sizes smaller than 2-nanometer.
As of December 2023 end, 70 out of the 933 hedge funds profiled by Insider Monkey were the firm’s investors. Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s largest hedge fund shareholder is David Blood and Al Gore’s Generation Investment Management due to its $1.1 billion stake.
8. The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)
Number of Q4 2023 Hedge Fund Shareholders: 76
One Month Share Price Appreciation: 14.53%
The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) is an American healthcare plans and benefits management company headquartered in Bloomfield, Connecticut. Its investors were in for some great news in February 2024 when the firm announced a new $3.2 billion accelerated stock buyback.
During 2023’s fourth quarter, 76 out of the 933 hedge funds covered by Insider Monkey owned The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)’s shares. Larry Robbins’s Glenview Capital was the biggest investor through its $641 million investment.
7. General Motors Company (NYSE:GM)
Number of Q4 2023 Hedge Fund Shareholders: 83
One Month Share Price Appreciation: 12.43%
General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) is an American car manufacturer that is one of the biggest of its kind in the country. Even though the electric vehicle industry is struggling as of late due to demand slowdown, this hasn’t stopped General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) from expanding its global EV presence as it announced in February 2024 that its Cadillac Lyriq EV will be available in France.
For their December quarter of 2023 investments, 83 out of the 933 hedge funds polled by Insider Monkey had invested in General Motors Company (NYSE:GM).
6. The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)
Number of Q4 2023 Hedge Fund Shareholders: 89
One Month Share Price Appreciation: 10.45%
The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) is the globally well known media, hospitality, and entertainment giant. These days, as the stock market continues to soar on the back of AI, the firm is in the crosshairs of activist investor Blackwells Capital who argues that The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) is not fully leveraging AI in its business.
89 out of the 933 hedge funds part of Insider Monkey’s Q4 2023 database had bought the firm’s shares. The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)’s largest stakeholder among these was Nelson Peltz’s Trian Partners as it owned $2.9 billion worth of shares.
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META), and Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER) are some top hedge fund stocks with noticeable share price performance.
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Disclosure: None. 12 Best Hot Stocks to Buy For March is originally published on Insider Monkey.