5 Best Stocks to Buy Before Recession Begins

3. Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 64

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST), the American operator of membership warehouses, is one of the best defensive plays to navigate the market before the next recession starts. On August 31, Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) announced comparable sales growth of 10.1% in August and net sales of $17.55 billion, up 11.4% year-over-year.

On September 12, Deutsche Bank analyst Krisztina Katai raised the price target on Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) to $581 from $579 and kept a Buy rating on the shares.

According to Insider Monkey’s data, Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) was part of 64 hedge fund portfolios at the end of the second quarter of 2022, compared to 61 funds in the earlier quarter. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management held the largest stake in the company, comprising 4.3 million shares valued at more than $2 billion. 

In its Q2 2022 investor letter, ClearBridge Investments, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:

“Portfolio gains were led by a diverse group of contributors. Also in consumer discretionary, Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST), which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores, continues to impress as it takes to share and becomes more relevant for the consumer even as the world opens up.”