In this article, we discuss the 5 Best COVID Stocks To Buy Now. If you want to read our detailed analysis of the Covid stocks, go directly to read the 10 Best COVID Stocks To Buy Now.
5. Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)
Number of Hegde Funds: 67
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE), an American biotech company, benefitted a lot from its vaccinations as the company’s vaccine revenue stood at $7.8 billion in the second quarter of 2021. Moreover, the company expects to develop over 3 billion vaccine doses by the end of this year as it showed 91% efficacy in children, making it one of the best Covid stocks to buy now.
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) pays an annual dividend of $1.56 per share to shareholders, yielding 3.66%. The company has a track record of 12 years of consistent dividend growth. Recently, Matthew Harrison of Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) to $48, while keeping an Equal Weight rating on the shares.
The number of hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey having stakes in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) increased to 67 in Q2, from 65 in the previous quarter. The total worth of these stakes is over $2.35 billion.
ClearBridge Investments mentioned Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) in its Q1 2021 investor letter. Here is what the firm has to say:
“Our underweights in health care and staples contributed to relative performance during the period. As we continue to focus the portfolio on high-conviction ideas, we sold Pfizer in late 2020, in the health care sector.”
4. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 88
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), an American healthcare company, saw its sales boost during the pandemic, fueled by its Covid-19 vaccine. In Q2, the company presented a positive hedge fund sentiment, as 88 hedge funds in the Insider Monkey’s database have positions in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), up from 81 in the previous quarter. The total worth of these stakes is over $7.05 billion. The company’s health care products and single-shot Covid-19 vaccines will hold it in good stead in the post-pandemic world.
In Q3 2021, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) reported revenue of $23.3 billion, up 11% from the same period last year. Vaccine revenue accounted for $503 million of the gross revenue. On October 21, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) declared a quarterly dividend of $1.06 per share, yielding 2.6%.
Recently, Baird lifted its price target on Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) to $370, with an Outperform rating on the shares. The stock gained 12.48% in the past year.
Distillate Capital mentioned Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) in its Q2 2021 investor letter. Here is what the firm has to say:
“The largest additions in the rebalance, Johnson & Johnson was around 50 and 40 basis points incrementally. J&J underperformed in the quarter while its normalized free cash flows held steady and so its position size was topped off to match the stable cash flows.”
3. Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 89
Cloud and computer software company Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) didn’t face any disruption due to the pandemic. It was widely used for content creation, with a 50% increase in the number of PDF documents shared using Adobe’s software in Q1 2020. With the boom in remote working, Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) will benefit from various fields, making it one of the best Covid stocks to buy now.
This September, Piper Sandler lifted its price target on Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) to $670, with an Overweight rating on the shares.
As of Q2, 89 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey reported owning stakes in Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE), down from 107 in the previous quarter. The total value of these stakes is over $13 billion.
Richie Capital Group mentioned Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) in its second-quarter 2021 investor letter. Here is what the firm has to say:
“Adobe Systems (ADBE – up 24.8%) – In the last 15 years, Adobe has transformed itself into a software behemoth, more than tripling its revenue since 2010. The company is famous for its namesake PDF-reader and photo-editing software Photoshop. However, ADBE sells a full suite of software products through a recurring subscription model. The company transitioned from selling boxed software to recurring subscriptions in 2013 and revenues have grown consistently since. The company achieved $13B in revenue in 2020 with 88% Gross Margins.”
2. Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX)
Number of Hedge Funds: 113
In the first three months of 2020, Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), an American online digital media services company, gained over 16 million subscribers due to the lockdown. The stock soared 36.01% in the past year.
As the company’s subscription growth slows down, it’s exploring new revenue streams, such as gaming.
Smart money is also taking interest in Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) in Q2, as 113 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey reported owning stakes in the company, up from 110 in the previous quarter. The total value of these stakes is over $13.2 billion.
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) announced its Q3 results on October 19, with a GAAP EPS of $3.19, beating the consensus by $0.63. The company reported global streaming paid memberships at 213.56 million, versus the estimates of 209.1 million. Recently, Cowen lifted its price target on Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) to $750, with an Outperform rating on the shares.
Ensemble Capital mentioned Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) in its recently published Q3 2021 investor letter. Here is what the firm has to say:
“Netflix stock had a disappointing first half of 2021 performance, treading water while the S&P 500 rallied, after a very strong 67% return in 2020. It benefited from the global pandemic in 2020, signing on 36.6 million new subscribers vs the typical 25 million or so it typically does. Total subscribers exceeded 200 million, up 22% over the previous year. However, in the first half of 2021, new subscriber additions slowed substantially, totaling only 5.5 million due to slower new content additions impacted by production delays, a resumption of outdoor activity as people everywhere adjusted to living with COVID, and the impact of a “pull-forward effect” on subscriber growth in last year’s very strong results. The third quarter saw new content velocity start to pick up, which is usually what drives new subscribers to the service, with expectations of an even stronger content slate going into the final quarter of the year, causing the stock to increase 15% in the quarter.”
1. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 271
American technology and e-commerce giant Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) gained the hedge fund industry’s attention in Q2, as the number of hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey owning stakes in the company reached 271, up from 243 in the previous quarter. The total value of these stakes is over $60.4 billion. The digital sales at Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) are expected to grow in the post-pandemic era as the consumers’ shift towards online shopping has been witnessed.
The company reported an 862% year-over-year growth in cough and cold medicine sales between February and March 2020. This October, Baird lifted its price target on Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) to $4,000, while keeping an Outperform rating on the shares.
Madison Funds mentioned Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) in its Q3 2021 investor letter. Here is what the firm has to say:
“We did add a modest new position weight to the portfolio in the quarter in Amazon.com, Inc. stock (AMZN). We acknowledge that many aspects of Amazon’s merit as an investment are well appreciated. However, our work leads us to conclude that shares are attractive. Leadership positions in both e-commerce and cloud computing provide the company with significant durable competitive advantages in industries that we think can produce above average growth over the next decade. Over the past year, AMZN shares have trailed the market as investors debate near-term growth prospects following the pandemic-induced e-commerce demand. Additionally, margins have been depressed due to Amazon’s unprecedented increases in spending to build out fulfillment and in-house logistics capabilities – Amazon will build out more square footage this year and last than it did cumulatively over the previous 10 years, more than doubling its in-house delivery capacity. We like the investments Amazon is making and believe they will further advantage the company relative to other retailers, making it nearly impossible for competitors to match the same level of delivery speed and convenience. With its large and frequently engaged customer base, Amazon has multiple mechanisms to make money, including selling advertising and enhanced subscription services. Within the cloud business, we forecast Amazon Web Services (AWS) leveraging its strengths in Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) to move into higher value segments of cloud computing (such as platform-as-a-service: PaaS), allowing the company to continue outgrowing the overall IT sector with strong profitability. While Amazon shares have performed extremely well over the long-term, we think near-term concerns about whether Amazon will earn a return on its accelerated investments provide an opportunity now for investors willing to look through the investment period. Our view is that the investments likely earn strong returns and extend Amazon’s competitive advantages and aboveaverage growth.”
You can also take a look at 10 Best-Performing Countries for COVID-19 Vaccinations and 15 Companies That Benefitted The Most From The Pandemic
