On April 1, Chris Verrone, chief market strategist at Strategas Research Partners, appeared on CNBC’s ‘Closing Bell’ to talk about his outlook on the tech sector. Verrone believes that most of the current market’s negative sentiment has already been factored into recent stock prices. He highlighted that even after the market’s decline, the VIX, and the currency and bond volatility are lower than they were during the mid-March stress period. Plus, fewer stocks are hitting new lows. He thinks that market lows are formed during periods of bad news, and the market will rally from its current level with an anticipated range of 5,900 to 5,950.
Verrone believes that the current downturn is more than a typical 10% correction so it will take some time to figure out the market’s true direction. He emphasized the importance of monitoring market breadth, new highs, and credit conditions in the upcoming weeks and months. He also acknowledged the shift in investor sentiment, with more bears than bulls. As the conversation touched on the impact of the Fed and politics in a market, Verrone stated that he pays more attention to what the 2-year Treasury yield tells him instead of listening to what Fed officials have to say. He noted that the 2-year yield’s decline from 3.83% to 3.85% suggests a shift in the market expectations for the Fed’s actions. He highlighted the resilience of financials during the correction and contrasted it with the weakness of tech. He thinks that, unlike financials that entered the correction as leaders, the tech sector might not be able to regain the leadership role.
While Verrone’s stance acknowledges the current weakness in tech, it’s important to note that the tech sector remains one of the more innovative markets in the long run. For instance, MAG7 continues to be a driving force for this market. That being said, we’re here with a list of the 12 best tech stocks to buy for long-term investment.
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Our Methodology
We first sifted through financial media reports to compile a list of the top tech stocks that are being touted as long term investment plays. We then selected the 12 stocks that were the most popular among elite hedge funds and that analysts were bullish on. The stocks are ranked in ascending order of the number of hedge funds that have stakes in them, as of Q4 2024. The hedge fund data was sourced from Insider Monkey’s database which tracks the moves of over 900 elite money managers.
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 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
12 Best Tech Stocks to Buy For Long-Term Investment
12. Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 64
Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) builds and deploys software platforms for the intelligence community to assist in counterterrorism investigations and operations globally. One of its offerings includes the Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) which provides unified access to open-source, self-hosted, and commercial LLMs that transform structured and unstructured data into LLM-understandable objects.
In 2024, the company’s US commercial sector grew by 54% year-over-year due to AIP and generated $702 million in revenue. In Q4 alone, the sector grew by 64%. It booked $803 million in Total Contract Value in Q4, which indicated a 134% year-over-year improvement. The customer base for this segment also jumped by 73%. Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) now projects US Commercial revenue to surpass $1.079 billion in 2025 at a 54% growth rate.
To drive this, the company has been investing in technical talent and product development to remain at the forefront of the AI revolution. One of its initiatives, called Warp Speed, is modernizing American manufacturing and will expand the company’s pipeline. On March 18, Jefferies reiterated an Underperform rating on the company with a $60 price target.
Alger Mid Cap Focus Fund is positive on the company due to its strong financials and stated the following regarding Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) builds advanced platforms for data integration, management, and security, enabling interactive, AI-assisted analysis for its users. Its core offerings include Palantir Gotham, designed for government clients, and Palantir Foundry, tailored for commercial customers. Originally focused on U.S. intelligence agencies, Palantir has expanded into defense contracts with western governments and entered the commercial market in 2016. During the quarter, shares contributed to performance after the company reported better-than-expected fiscal third quarter operating results, along with management raising its full year 2024 revenue guidance. Management noted that the recent launch of its AI platform (AIP), which leverages generative AI to optimize business operations, has driven significant growth and investor interest. Additionally, we believe Palantir could be a key partner for the U.S. government’s new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), as its AI-driven platforms are ideally suited to help identify inefficiencies, allocate resources effectively, and achieve cost reductions.”
11. Mastercard Inc. (NYSE:MA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 151
Mastercard Inc. (NYSE:MA) is a technology company that provides international transaction processing and other payment-related products and services. It offers integrated products and value-added services for account holders, merchants, financial institutions, businesses, and other organizations. It offers payment solutions and services under the MasterCard, Maestro, and Cirrus.
The company’s Value-Added Services and Solutions segment made about $11 billion in 2024 revenue. Currently, this segment has captured only ~7% of its potential $165 billion SAM. Despite this, the company saw a 17% increase in its net revenue during Q4 alone which was fueled by acquisitions and differentiated products. For instance, the company recently acquired Recorded Future, which is the world’s largest threat intelligence company. Recorded Future’s client base includes over 50% of the Fortune 100 and government agencies in 45 countries, which positions Mastercard Inc. (NYSE:MA) for significant growth.
For the full year 2025, the company projects net revenue growth in the low teens range, which excludes the impact of acquisitions. Acquisitions are alone expected to add 1% to 1.5% to this growth. Value-Added Services and Solutions segment creates a powerful virtuous cycle with the company’s core payments business. Through this segment, the company generates substantial revenue and strengthens the security and efficiency of its entire ecosystem.
Conventum – Alluvium Global Fund favors Mastercard Inc. (NYSE:MA) due to its high growth potential. The fund stated the following regarding the company in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“Last quarter we wrote about the credit card companies and the Fund’s latest investment, Visa (up 15.2%). With its strong share price performance, that position had grown to be greater than 5%. As we had discussed here, we consider there to be negligible differences in investment merits when compared to Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) (up 6.8%). Whilst Visa appears a little cheaper on traditional price metrics, our view is that Mastercard has marginally higher growth prospects. Irrespective, both are deserving positions in the portfolio, and given their similarities, and the 5/10/40 rule, in order for us to maintain maximum portfolio flexibility it made sense to sell a little Visa and buy a little Mastercard, and their combined position is 6.2%.”
