In this article, we discuss the 5 best crypto stocks to buy now. If you want to read our detailed analysis of these stocks, go directly to the 11 Best Crypto Stocks To Buy Now.
5. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 65
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) is a semiconductor firm. The products marketed by it are used to power machines that mine cryptocurrencies. Wedbush analyst Matt Bryson has an Outperform rating on Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) stock with a price target of $165. In an investor note, the analyst highlighted that Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) would gain market share in the intermediate term provided it executed growth plans over the next few years.
Major hedge funds recognize Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) as a top chipmaker. Chicago-based investment firm Citadel Investment Group is a leading shareholder in Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) with 12 million shares worth more than $1.3 billion.
In its Q4 2020 investor letter, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“We also exited our positions in Advanced Micro Devices. Our investment campaign in Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) began in the second half of 2018, and we have seen a new management team reinvigorate the company’s product portfolio of microprocessors for PCs and servers, graphics processors, and video game consoles. These new, higher-margin products have helped the company partially close its margin gap with peers and capture share from market leader Intel. While we believe there is meaningful runway for further share gains and margin expansion, AMD has appreciated far beyond our mid-cap market cap mandate, and we exited our position.”
4. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 83
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is another chip stock that is very important for the crypto industry. In the past year, due to a shortage of chips amid increased demand, Bitcoin miners have turned to NVIDIA products, held in high regard by the gaming industry, to power their machines. The results have been more than satisfactory and the use of NVIDIA chips in mining is becoming more common. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) has even introduced a dedicated GPU product aimed at professional miners.
Bank of America analyst Vivek Arya has a Buy rating on NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) stock with a price target of $375. The analyst has identified NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) as a “Top Compute Pick” for 2022.
In its Q1 2021 investor letter, Vulcan Value Partners, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“NVIDIA Corp. is the dominant supplier of Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) worldwide. NVIDIA’s GPUs are at the intersection of a number of important computing trends including the movement to the Cloud, artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, edge computing, gaming, and more. We previously owned NVIDIA and sold it in the third quarter of 2020 as the price to value gap closed and our margin of safety was reduced. As with all our MVP companies, we continued to follow NVIDIA closely. Since that time, NVIDIA reported excellent results and its value has compounded rapidly. The technology selloff at the beginning of the year negatively affected the stock price while our estimate of NVIDIA’s value per share increased. This happy combination of events created a margin of safety and an opportunity to once again add NVIDIA to the portfolio.”
3. Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 98
98 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey were long Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) at the end of the third quarter of 2021 with stakes worth $8.8 billion. The overwhelming confidence that the hedge fund industry displays in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) speaks volumes about the reliability of the company. Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) is a payments technology firm with hundreds of millions invested in crypto assets.
Susquehanna analyst James Friedman has a Positive rating on Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) stock with a price target of $275. Mizuho and Jefferies are also bullish on the stock for 2022 despite market fears around inflation and their effect on growth stocks.
In its Q1 2021 investor letter, RiverPark Funds, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“We established a position in leading Financial Technology provider Square during the quarter. Through one integrated system, SQ is a hybrid of two businesses: its Seller Business (charging small and medium-sized businesses about 3% for transaction payment processing, plus other services such as instant funds access, and software for everything from customer engagement to payroll), and its Cash App (originally for person-to-person cash transfers and now a growing digital financial services provider for consumers).
The combined business has grown gross profit at a 37% CAGR over the past five years to $2.7 billion (due to pass through costs, gross profit is more reflective of top-line growth) and we believe that the company has an enormous long-term runway, as it has less than a 2% share of a more than $160 billion market. It is our view that the company’s Cash App (which has grown
from nothing in 2015 to $1.2 billion gross profit last year) has a particularly large opportunity with its powerful ecosystem of digital financial services including digital wallets, direct deposits, stock trading, bitcoin trading, and business and tax services, which are all relatively new. The vast majority of Cash App’s more than 36 million users are younger and, importantly, are willing to replace their bank and other financial services accounts with the app.
We estimate that the company can grow its gross profit more than 30% and EBITDA more than 50% annually for the foreseeable future, and while most of the company’s current profit is from its Seller Business, we believe most of Square’s future value will be from its Cash App business.”
2. PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 123
PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL), one of the biggest cross-border payment firms in the world, increased crypto exposure significantly last year. The company allowed the trade of crypto on its platform through a special cryptocurrency service and also made several investments in crypto-focused startups. Evercore ISI has named PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) stock among the top picks in the payments sector for 2022.
At the end of the third quarter of 2021, 123 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $12.8 billion in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL), compared to 143 in the preceding quarter worth $16.4 billion.
In its Q4 2020 investor letter, Polen Capital Management, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“For the full year 2020, one of the top performers was PayPal, which we purchased in 2019, the company continues to take market share in digital payments and has seen an acceleration in user adoption and engagement, especially within their “silver tech” or older user demographic. We expect many more years of ongoing double-digit growth from their various business segments and new initiatives.”
1. Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 146
Mizuho analyst Dan Dolev has a Buy rating on Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) stock with a price target of $400. The analyst believes that Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) will perform better than peers in the payments sector in 2022 because of “more agility in terms of trends like crypto” and “out-of-the-box thinking” that was driving margin upsides. Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) already allows users to use digital coins Mastercard products.
Hedge funds are bullish on Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) for 2022. Virginia-based investment firm Akre Capital Management is a leading shareholder in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) with 5.8 million shares worth more than $2 billion.
In its Q4 2020 investor letter, Bretton Fund, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“While consumers resumed much of their spending by summer, what and how they used their Visas and Mastercards changed. For obvious reasons, people shifted to contactless payments—one of the Covid-era changes we think is permanent—and replaced travel purchases with online shopping and food delivery. Consumers spent more on their debit cards and less on their credit cards; Visa and Mastercard make more per transaction on the latter. They also make more on cross-border transactions that come mostly from international travel, which ground to a halt early in the pandemic. Visa’s and Mastercard’s earnings per share fell by 7% and 16%, respectively, compared to their usual mid-teens growth. We’re not too worried, and we think they’ll catch up nicely in the post-vaccine world. Visa’s stock returned 17.1% and Mastercard’s 20.2%.”
You can also take a peek at 10 Best Healthcare Dividend Stocks to Buy Now and 10 Dividend Stocks with Over 20 Years of Dividend Increases.
