5 Best FAANG Stocks To Buy Now

In this article, we will take a look at the 5 best FAANG stocks to buy now. If you want to explore similar stocks, you can go to 10 Best FAANG Stocks To Buy Now.

5. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 135

At the end of Q4 2022, 135 hedge funds were long Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and disclosed collective positions of $136 billion in the company. Of those, Berkshire Hathaway was the top investor in the company and held a position worth $116 billion.

On April 13, Canaccord raised his price target on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to $180 from $170 and reiterated a Buy rating on the shares.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has returned 31.38% to investors on a year-to-date basis, as of April 13. The company has a trailing twelve-month FCF of $97 billion. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is placed fifth among the best FAANG stocks to buy now.

4. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 152

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is one of the best FAANG stocks to buy now, according to hedge funds. As of April 13, the stock has gained 21.11% year to date.

This April, UBS analyst Lloyd Walmsley raised his price target on Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) to $123 from $120 and reiterated a Buy rating on the shares.

152 hedge funds disclosed having stakes in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) at the end of Q4 2022. The total value of these stakes amounted to $17.6 billion. As of December 31, TCI Fund Management is the largest shareholder in the company and has a stake worth $4.8 billion.

Oakmark Funds made the following comment about Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in its Q1 2023 investor letter:

“Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), a global communication services provider based in the U.S., was a top contributor to the Fund’s performance for the quarter. Fourth-quarter earnings for Alphabet came in around consensus expectations in most of its key business areas, and much of management’s discussion on the earnings call revolved around the recent AI developments and costs. CEO Sundar Pichai said Alphabet is an “AI-first company” that is “extremely well-positioned as AI reaches an inflection point.” He expressed excitement about the AI-driven developments the company plans to unveil in search and other areas. Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler suggested that, just as mobile computing helped drive higher revenue and profits in search, AI should also have a positive impact on financial performance. Notably, CFO Ruth Porat pushed back on the idea that higher computing costs related to AI-driven services would incrementally pressure profitability. Pichai also said the company is “on an important journey to re-engineer our cost structure in a durable way.” Porat did not provide detail in terms of quantifying COMMENTARY Oakmark Global Select Fund: First Calendar Quarter 2023 March 31, 2023 Share: Á à savings. However, she noted that the company is slowing the pace of operating expenditures growth, including a meaningful slowing in the pace of hiring in 2023, with most of the impact expected to become more visible in the financials in 2024. She implied that margins are expected to go up over the next couple of years, mentioning that “revenues will grow faster than expenses.” Total capital expenditures in 2023 are expected to be in line with the 2022 level. In aggregate, management expressed confidence in the business prospects across search, YouTube, cloud and various other key businesses, but Porat observed that “the challenging macroeconomic climate is ongoing.” Overall, we believe the company is positioned well to reap the benefits of the scale of its search business and years of investment into AI capabilities. We also appreciate that the company is transforming its views on cost discipline and efficiency. Our research indicates that Alphabet is trading around its lowest relative price[1]to-earnings ratio on forward consensus earnings since its initial public offering 20 years ago. When we adjust our valuation for losses in its “Other Bets” segment and include an asset value for its cloud segment, we believe the stock trades at an even lower multiple. To us, this is too cheap of a valuation for a company with businesses, like search, YouTube and Android, which have durable competitive advantages and attractive secular growth outlooks.”

3. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 194

Wall Street analysts see material upside to Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META). This April, Piper Sandler analyst Thomas Champion raised his price target on Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) to $250 from $215 and reiterated an Overweight rating on the shares.

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) have gone up by 75.92% year to date, as of April 13. The stock is placed high on our list of the best FAANG stocks to buy now.

At the end of Q4 2022, 194 hedge funds were long Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) and disclosed stakes worth $15.5 billion in the company. Of those, Eagle Capital Management was the leading investor in the company and disclosed a position worth $1 billion.

Renaissance Investment Management made the following comment about Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in its Q4 2022 investor letter:

“Lastly, Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) declined for the quarter after reporting disappointing earnings and guidance. The company’s plan to accelerate operating expenses and capital investments despite a slowdown in the digital advertising market was not well received by investors. However, the stock pared losses in the second half of the quarter after management reversed course and announced a reduction in operating expenses for 2023 along with substantial headcount reductions.”

2. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 240

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) was spotted on 240 investors’ portfolios at the close of Q4 2022. These funds disclosed collective stakes worth $27.5 billion in the company. As of December 31, Harris Associates is the most prominent shareholder in the company and has a position worth $1.6 billion.

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is on the rise. As of April 13, the stock has returned 18.69% to investors on a year-to-date basis.

This April, Truist raised its price target on Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) to $144 from $142 and maintained a Buy rating on the shares.

Renaissance Investment Management made the following comment about Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) in its Q4 2022 investor letter:

“On the negative side, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) was our worst performing stock in the quarter. The company is finally seeing the consumer and enterprise weakness that other companies encountered earlier in the year. In addition, AWS growth decelerated in the third quarter, with management citing new pricing pressures as competitors look to gain market share. We found Amazon’s comments on cost controls and employee layoffs concerning, given the company’s historical propensity to invest in all macroeconomic environments. Management’s comments that the macro-economic slowdown was more sudden than expected is also concerning, especially since they do not expect an improvement in consumer trends anytime soon.”

1. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 259

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is the best FAANG stock to buy now according to hedge funds. The stock has gained 24.61% over the past 6 months, as of April 13.

On April 12, Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives raised his price target on Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) to $315 from $290 and reiterated an Outperform rating on the shares.

259 hedge funds disclosed having stakes in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) at the end of Q4 2022. The total value of these stakes amounted to $58.6 billion. As of December 31, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust is the largest shareholder in the company and has a stake worth $9.4 billion.

Diamond Hill Capital made the following comment about Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in its Q4 2022 investor letter:

“Other bottom contributors to return included railroad operator Union Pacific, software and IT services provider Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), and banking and financial services company Truist Financial. Union Pacific and Microsoft, though among our bottom contributors, still contributed positively to performance in Q4 as their share prices rose 7% and 3%, respectively. Truist’s stock ended flat in Q4.”

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