5 Best Stocks To Buy Now According To Billionaire Cliff Asness

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1. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 131

AQR Capital Management’s Stake: $1.55 billion

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is a prominent tech giant and one of Cliff Asness’ top stock picks. Based in Cupertino, California, the company is renowned for its flagship iPhone, iPad, and Mac products. AQR Capital Management held 8.07 million shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) at the end of December 2023, valued at $1.55 billion, representing 2.92% of the fund’s portfolio.

According to Dan Ives of Wedbush, there’s a belief that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) could reach a $4 trillion market cap in 2024. The analyst is optimistic about Apple’s future, anticipating the company to enhance its artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities by introducing an AI app store next year, along with an expected boost in its services revenue.

As of the end of December 2023, Insider Monkey’s data showed that 131 out of the 933 hedge funds surveyed had bought and held shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). Berkshire Hathaway, led by Warren Buffett, remained the largest shareholder of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the fourth quarter.

Bireme Capital stated the following regarding Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:

“We also shorted Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in Q3. At our average price of around $190 per share, Apple traded at 30x peak earnings and a $2.8 trillion market cap. While Apple is indeed a magnificent company, this valuation is simply too rich for a business with a substantial cyclical component. The company is projected to grow revenue at a mere 4% rate between 2022 and 2026. We think the total return on Apple stock will be lower than the market, and especially our long positions, over the next few years.”

See also 10 Best Long-Term Tech Stocks To Buy and 12 Best Tech Stocks To Buy According to Billionaire Ken Griffin.

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