5 Best Growth Stocks to Buy and Hold in 2023 According to Billionaire Rajiv Jain

In this article, we discuss 5 best growth stocks to buy and hold in 2023 according to billionaire Rajiv Jain. If you want to see more stocks in this selection, check out 12 Best Growth Stocks to Buy and Hold in 2023 According to Billionaire Rajiv Jain. 

5. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

GQG Partners’ Stake Value: $1,327,775,955

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 131

Rajiv Jain recently added Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to his portfolio, purchasing the stock for the first time in the third quarter of 2022. In the first quarter of 2023, he significantly increased his investment in Apple, raising his stake by an impressive 32,822%. He now holds a position in Apple worth $1.32 billion.

On May 5, Canaccord analyst T. Michael Walkley raised the firm’s price target on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to $185 from $180 and assigned a Buy rating to the shares. As per the analyst, Apple’s strong performance indicates its success in capturing market share in the higher-end segment and its ability to maintain a resilient consumer base even in challenging economic conditions.

According to Insider Monkey’s first quarter database, 131 hedge funds were bullish on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), compared to 135 funds in the earlier quarter. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is the largest stakeholder of the company, with 915.5 million shares worth approximately $151 billion. 

Alger Spectra Fund made the following comment about Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in its Q1 2023 investor letter:

“Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is a leading technology provider in telecommunications, computing, and services. Apple’s iOS operating system is the company’s unique intellectual property and competitive strength. This software drives particularly tight engagement with consumers and enterprises, which is fostering the growing purchase of high margin services like music, apps, and Apple Pay. While iPhone sales were down year-over-year (YoY). services revenues grew 7% YoY which was slightly above analyst estimates. Company earnings were also better-than-anticipated due to lower input costs, such as memory chips and cost control initiatives. Aside from production disruptions, negative sentiment had also weighed on shares as investors questioned how an economic slowdown would affect consumer demand for Apple products in 2023. However, management projected an acceleration in earnings for the fiscal first quarter, where they noted that iPhone and services growth should remain strong, along with encouraging impacts around product mix, lower input costs, and continued cost controls.”

4. AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

GQG Partners’ Stake Value: $1,495,465,291

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 39

AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) is a biopharmaceutical company that concentrates on the exploration, advancement, production, and distribution of prescription medications. Securities filings for the first quarter of 2023 reveal that Rajiv Jain owns 21.5 million shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) worth $1.5 billion, representing 3.91% of the total portfolio. The billionaire raised his stake in the company by 26% in Q1. 

On May 9, Berenberg raised the firm’s price target on AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) to 135 GBp from 124 GBp and maintained a Buy rating on the shares.

According to Insider Monkey’s first quarter database, 39 hedge funds were bullish on AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN), compared to 42 funds in the prior quarter. Thomas Steyer’s Farallon Capital is a prominent stakeholder of the company. 

Baron Health Care Fund made the following comment about AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) in its Q1 2023 investor letter:

“We reduced our position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) ahead of a clinical data read-out of a competitor drug that would compete with one of the company’s important drugs.”

3. Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB)

GQG Partners’ Stake Value: $2,059,757,161

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 25

Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB) is an energy infrastructure company that operates through five segments – Liquids Pipelines, Gas Transmission and Midstream, Gas Distribution and Storage, Renewable Power Generation, and Energy Services. In Q1 2023, Rajiv Jain’s GQG Partners owned 54 million shares of Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB) worth $2.05 billion, representing 5.39% of the total holdings. 

On May 3, Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB) declared a C$0.8875 per share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. The dividend is payable on June 1, to shareholders of record on May 15. 

Credit Suisse on May 15 raised the firm’s price target on Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB) to C$58 from C$53 and reiterated a Neutral rating on the shares.

According to Insider Monkey’s first quarter database, 25 hedge funds were bullish on Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB), compared to 21 funds in the earlier quarter. Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group is a prominent position holder in the company. 

Here is what ClearBridge Investments Dividend Strategy has to say about Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB) in its Q3 2021 investor letter:

“We are meaningfully overweight energy, particularly within North American energy infrastructure. Enbridge and Williams, our two infrastructure holdings, possess crown jewel infrastructure assets. They each deliver meaningful proportions of the overall energy produced and consumed in North America. Their revenues are backed by long-term contracts with high-quality counterparties and have little direct commodity price exposure. Their growth has been driven by the increasing production of North American energy. The advent of unconventional oil and gas production (oil sand and shale) has made North America a low-cost competitor on a global basis. We expect strong North American production to be an enduring feature of global energy supply for decades to come.”

2. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

GQG Partners’ Stake Value: $2,170,023,752

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 155

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is one of the best growth stocks to invest in according to billionaire Rajiv Jain. In the first quarter of 2023, Jain added Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) to his GQG Portfolio, purchasing 20.86 million shares valued at $2.17 billion. The stock accounts for 5.67% of his overall holdings.

Jefferies analyst Brent Thill described Google I/O developer conference as highly significant and marked a redemption for the company following a disappointing event in Paris earlier this year. Thill highlighted that Google showcased updates in various areas, including consumer and business applications, as well as advancements in core areas like Search, Workspace, Google Cloud, and Android. The analyst believes that Google effectively communicated its generative AI strategy and launched a comprehensive AI initiative at I/O. Thill expects the momentum to accelerate and foresees monetization before the end of the year. Jefferies maintained a Buy rating on shares of Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), with a price target of $130 on May 11.

According to Insider Monkey’s first quarter database, 155 hedge funds were bullish on Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), compared to 152 funds in the prior quarter. Harris Associates held the largest position in the company, worth $3.8 billion. 

Diamond Hill Large Cap Strategy made the following comment about Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in its Q1 2023 investor letter:

“We did have several strong performing stocks this quarter. Our top contributors to return included NVR, Amazon, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), Microsoft and Booking Holdings, all of which posted double-digit gains. Shares of media and technology giant Alphabet outperformed as the company announced expense discipline while continuing to invest in its core products of Google Search, YouTube and Google Cloud.”

1. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)

GQG Partners’ Stake Value: $2,290,855,576

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 132

NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is the largest holding of Rajiv Jain’s hedge fund. The billionaire added this growth stock to his portfolio by purchasing 8.2 million shares of the company worth $2.29 billion. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) was a new addition to the hedge fund in Q1 2023. 

On May 18, Oppenheimer analyst Rick Schafer increased the price target for NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), raising it from $300 to $350, while maintaining an Outperform rating on the shares in anticipation of the Q1 results. The firm is optimistic about both the current financial report and future prospects. 

According to Insider Monkey’s first quarter database, 132 hedge funds were bullish on NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), compared to 106 funds in the prior quarter. Matrix Capital Management is a prominent stakeholder of the company, with a position worth $1.50 billion. 

Alger Spectra Fund made the following comment about NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) in its Q1 2023 investor letter:

“NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is a leading supplier of graphics processing units (GPUs) for a variety of end markets, such as gaming, PCs, data centers, virtual reality and high-performance computing. The company is leading in most secular growth categories in computing, and especially artificial intelligence and super-computing parallel processing techniques for solving complex computational problems. Simply put. Nvidia’s computational power is a critical enabler of Al and therefore critical to Al adoption, in our view. As such, we believe Nvidia is a long-term high unit volume growth opportunity. During the period, NVIDIA reported fiscal fourth-quarter results that met expectations, as the company navigated. through an inventory correction associated with the broad macroeconomic slowdown. Moreover, management gave fiscal year earnings guidance that was better than analyst estimates. noting strong year-over-year growth in gaming and data centers. Management’s constructive assessment of 2023 prospects. coupled with the rapid rollout and adoption of generative Al offerings, led to positive share price performance.”

Insider Monkey focuses on uncovering the best investment ideas of hedge funds and insiders. Please subscribe to our free daily enewsletter to get the latest investment ideas from hedge funds’ investor letters by entering your email address below. You can also check out Billionaire David Tepper’s 2023 Portfolio: Top 15 Stock Picks and 10 Stocks to Sell in 2023 According to Billionaire Steve Cohen.