In this article, we discuss the 5 best growth stocks to buy today according to billionaire Ken Fisher. If you want to read our detailed analysis of these stocks, go directly to the 10 Best Growth Stocks to Buy Today According to Billionaire Ken Fisher.
5. Salesforce.com, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 108
Salesforce.com, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) markets enterprise cloud computing solutions. Regulatory filings show that Fisher Asset Management owned 13.9 million shares in the company at the end of the third quarter of 2021 worth over $3.7 billion, representing 2.34% of the portfolio.
Credit Suisse analyst Phil Winslow recently initiated coverage of Salesforce.com, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) stock with an Outperform rating and a price target of $375, highlighting the “increasingly robust vertical technology stack” of the firm in a bullish investor note.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, Boston-based investment firm Arrowstreet Capital is a leading shareholder in Salesforce.com, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) with 3.7 million shares worth more than $1 billion.
In its Q1 2021 investor letter, ClearBridge Investments, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Salesforce.com, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“We added to our software-as-a-service (SaaS) exposure with the initiation of SaaS leader salesforce.com, which develops software for customer relationship management (we added Workday, which enterprise resource planning applications, last quarter). Saleforce.com is well-positioned in the most attractive end markets in software and will benefit from secular drivers such as remote work and the digital transformation. Salesforce.com is a sustainability leader as well, with a commitment to carbon-neutral cloud, toward which it has set a goal of 100% renewable energy for global operations by fiscal year 2022. The company has a strong focus on equality, in terms of equal rights, pay, education and opportunity. As a data company it has been leading on workforce disclosures and seeks to have 50% of its U.S. workforce made up of underrepresented groups by 2024.”
4. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 155
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) provides online advertising services and owns the internet search engine Google. In early November, the company crossed $2 trillion in market capitalization for the first time, becoming the third company across the world to do so after tech giants Microsoft and Apple.
According to the latest data, Fisher Asset Management owned 1.8 million shares in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) at the end of September 2021 worth $4.9 billion, representing less than 3.05% of the portfolio of the fund.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, London-based investment firm TCI Fund Management is a leading shareholder in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) with 2.9 million shares worth more than $7.3 billion.
In its Q1 2021 investor letter, Artisan Partners, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“Large-cap tech companies have been resilient through the pandemic—Alphabet among them. A top contributor, Alphabet’s Play Store and Google Cloud are in demand as businesses accelerate online activity which, along with strong YouTube user growth, is helping stabilize temporarily weaker search ad revenue trends. Through the lens of our disciplined bottom-up research process, we view Alphabet as one of the best businesses in the world, capable of expanding revenues at a rapid rate for years to come, with a bullet proof balance sheet and an average asking price. It’s a name we’ve owned since 2012 and for which we continue to have high hopes regarding future prospects.”
3. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 271
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is a diversified technology company with core interests in the ecommerce business. Securities filings show that Fisher Asset Management owned 1.9 million shares in the company at the end of the third quarter of 2021 worth $6.3 billion, representing 3.94% of the portfolio.
On November 11, investment advisory Tigress Financial maintained a Buy rating on Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) stock and raised the price target to $4,460 from $4,370, backing the firm to overcome near-term supply chain headwinds in time for the holiday season.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, Chicago-based investment firm Citadel Investment Group is a leading shareholder in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) with 3.8 million shares worth more than $13 billion.
In its Q1 2021 investor letter, Hayden Capital, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“Amazon (AMZN):We sold our last remaining stake in Amazon this quarter. Amazon was our longest-running investment holding, after having originally purchasing it at the inception of Hayden in 2014, at a price of ~$317.
I gave some details of how Amazon has progressed over these past 6.5 years in last year’s Q2 2020 letter, which partners can find here (LINK). The company has executed amazingly well over this tenure, with revenues up ~3.3x and since our initial purchase, and reported operating income up ~30x over that period.
Generally, I believe there are three reasons to sell an investment:1) we recognize our initial thesis is wrong (sell out as quick as possible), 2) we have a significantly higher returning opportunity to redeploy the capital into (sell-down to fund the new investment), or 3) the company is maturing and hitting the top part of it’s S-curve / business lifecycle, so the business has fewer places to reinvest its capital internally. As such, the future returns will likely be lower than the past. This investment thus becomes a “source of capital” in the future, as we fund earlier-stage investment opportunities.
In the case of Amazon, we decided to sell due to the third scenario. I’m sure Amazon will continue to generate value for shareholders and continue to keep pace with the broader technology sector. However, I’m just not confident it’s as attractive an investment as when we first invested.
With ~51% of US households having an Amazon Prime account (and with very low churn), each of these households continuing to increase their annual spend with Amazon, and few / no real competitors in sight, Amazon is a dominant force that will only continue to accrue value as consumers continue to move from offline to online purchases for their everyday needs. Likewise, the “cash-flow machine” of Amazon Web Services is in a similar position of strength, with AWS now having ~32% market share and continuing to grow at +30% y/y. Because of this, I think Amazon is probably one of the safest investments in the technology sector today.
So why did we decide to sell the investment then? Simply put, Amazon is …”read the entire letter here]
2. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 238
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) markets tech-related software, services, devices, and solutions. It recently became the most valuable firm in the world with a market cap of over $2.5 trillion after rival Apple failed to excite the market with its quarterly earnings report.
Fisher Asset Management owned 25.5 million shares in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) at the end of September 2021 worth $7.1 billion, representing 4.46% of the portfolio.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, Washington-based investment firm Fisher Asset Management is a leading shareholder in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) with 24.8 million shares worth more than $6.7 billion.
In its Q1 2021 investor letter, Polen Capital, an investment management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“We have written extensively about Microsoft in recent commentaries. It was our leading contributor last year and one of our largest weightings within the Portfolio. It continues to experience business momentum through several dominant, essential, and competitively advantaged businesses, like Office 365 and Azure. The markets it competes for are enormous, which gives the company the ability to compound at scale. In the past quarter alone, the company generated over $40 billion in revenue, representing a 17% growth rate. The inherent operating leverage in Microsoft’s business model continues and led to 34% earnings growth this past quarter. Despite the broad rotation we saw in the first quarter and Microsoft’s robust performance in 2020, we think its business fundamentals continue to exhibit strength, and the stock continues to reflect the fundamentals.”
1. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 138
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) makes and sells smartphones, personal computers, tablets, and other tech items globally. At the end of the third quarter of 2021, Fisher Asset Management owned 60 million shares in the company worth $8.6 billion, representing 5.35% of the portfolio.
Arete analyst Richard Kramer recently raised the price target on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock to $180 from $168 and kept a Buy rating on the shares, noting the firm was poised to benefit from a broad refresh of its product portfolio.
At the end of the second quarter of 2021, 138 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $145 billion in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), up from 127 in the preceding quarter worth $131 billion.
In its Q1 2021 investor letter, Distillate Capital, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“Apple is an even more notable situation and one that highlights our free cash valuation methodology and bears further discussion given its Q3 ‘20 sale from our strategy. For an extended period, Apple was extraordinarily inexpensive on a free cash flow basis and was the largest position in our strategy, exceeding 5% of the portfolio.”
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.
