In this article, we discuss the 5 best stocks to buy now according to billionaire Ken Fisher. If you want to read our detailed analysis of Fisher’s history, investment philosophy, and hedge fund performance, go directly to 10 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaire Ken Fisher.
5. Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)
Fisher Asset Management’s Stake Value: $3,234,635,000
Percentage of Fisher Asset Management’s 13F Portfolio: 1.9%
Number of Hedge Funds as of December 31: 110
Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) is a San Francisco, California-based provider of cloud-based customer relationship management tools focused on application development, analytics, customer service, marketing automation, and sales. During the first quarter of 2022, Ken Fisher increased his stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 5%. The current holding of Fisher Asset Management in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) is the highest in terms of the number of shares.
In a note issued to investors on May 18, Richard Baldry at Roth Capital upgraded Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) stock from a Neutral to a Buy rating and increased the target price from $200 to $242. The revised target price provides a potential upside of over 47.80% from the last closing price.
Investment management firm Oakmark Funds shared its insights on Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in its Q1 2022 investor letter:
“Over the past 20 years, Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) has become a dominant global player in sales, customer service, commerce and marketing software. CRM earns 80% gross margins, grows 20% organically and virtually all of its revenue is recurring. It’s a great business that we’ve admired from afar for a long time. More recently, the organization has made some changes at the top that prompted us to take a closer look at the stock. New CEO Bret Taylor and CFO Amy Weaver are bringing a culture of financial discipline. We believe this renewed focus on profitability, combined with Salesforce’s strong underlying business characteristics, will yield strong results. The current valuation of 5x next year’s revenues represents a significant discount compared to publicly traded comparables and private market values in the software space. We view this discount as an opportunity to invest in a great business at a good value.
4. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)
Fisher Asset Management’s Stake Value: $5,634,988,000
Percentage of Fisher Asset Management’s 13F Portfolio: 3.32%
Number of Hedge Funds as of December 31: 158
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is another prominent tech stock in the top 10 holdings of Fisher Asset Management. The Mountain View, California-based diversified tech conglomerate firm, is the parent of Google and is involved in various industries ranging from artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, cloud computing, and its core business of performance advertising. Fisher Asset Management is long over 2 million shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), with a stake worth over $5.6 billion as of Q1 2021.
During the I/O event on May 11, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) introduced Google Pixel Watch. This is the first watch brought forward by the tech giant to the market following the acquisition of Fitbit in January 2021.
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) was mentioned in the Q1 2022 investor letter of Farrer Wealth Advisors. Here’s what the firm had to say about the company:
“Alphabet: We won’t waste much time trying to explain to our clients why Alphabet is such a phenomenal business, we believe that is quite self-evident. The better explanation is why we never bought Alphabet before. The reason was a personal bias we held based on three beliefs (which we now believe to be incorrect)
Growth in YouTube would stall as the increased ad-load would turn-off viewers (the double ad-load at the beginning of videos for example). Consumers will focus on discovery rather than search to purchase new items. For example – using Instagram/TikTok to decide what new clothes to buy instead of ‘googling’ for clothes. Other Bets: In general, we felt that capital spent on “Other Bets” has been a bit wasteful with the segment earning just around $3.1bn in revenue versus nearly $21bn in operating losses over the last five years…” (Click here to see the full text)
Out of the 924 funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, 158 funds held a stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) at the end of Q4 2021.
3. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Fisher Asset Management’s Stake Value: $7,703,509,000
Percentage of Fisher Asset Management’s 13F Portfolio: 4.54%
Number of Hedge Funds as of December 31: 279
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is a Seattle, Washington-based e-commerce company that has branched out into artificial intelligence, cloud computing, digital streaming, and electric vehicles. During Q1 2022, Fisher Asset Management increased its stake in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) by 10%, which is the biggest increase in holdings among the top 10 holdings.
Miller Value Partners discussed its stance on Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) in its Q1 2022 investor letter. Here’s what is said:
“For frame of reference, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) bottomed at the same valuation in the financial crisis (side note: Amazon bottomed at 4x EV/GP after the tech bubble burst)! So there’s historical precedent for the lows being in. We will see whether that holds true this time. Regardless, we think there’s significant upside over a 5-year time horizon. The one other topic I want to briefly address is our volatility. We hope to write something about the topic in more depth in the future, but we want our clients and prospective investors to understand our views on it. We think that volatility is significantly misunderstood. We believe it creates opportunities from which we can profit.”
As of Q4 2021, 279 hedge funds held a stake in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN).
2. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Fisher Asset Management’s Stake Value: $8,593,198,000
Percentage of Fisher Asset Management’s 13F Portfolio: 5.06%
Number of Hedge Funds as of December 31: 262
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a Redmond, Washington-based tech company that is involved in software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services. The company was founded in Albuquerque, New Mexico, by Bill Gates and Paul Allen back in 1975.
During Q1 2022, Fisher Asset Management raised its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4%. This is the ninth consecutive quarter that the hedge fund has increased its total number of shares in the company, and its weightage on the overall portfolio is also at its highest level.
The shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) are experiencing a pullback due to the weakness in the overall market. In a note issued to investors on May 13, Ivan Feinseth at Tigress Financial reiterated a Buy rating on the stock with a price target of $411.
Here’s what Motiwala Capital said about Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in its Q4 2021 investor letter:
“Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) re-enters our portfolio after a long gap. MSFT sells enterprise and consumer software products as well as hardware products such as the Xbox video game console and Surface laptops. All business segments experienced double-digit revenue growth and earnings per share have compounded in the mid-double digits over the last 5 years. We believe MSFT continues this momentum in the years ahead.”
1. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Fisher Asset Management’s Stake Value: $11,166,276,000
Percentage of Fisher Asset Management’s 13F Portfolio: 6.58%
Number of Hedge Funds as of December 31: 134
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is the biggest holding in Ken Fisher’s portfolio. Fisher Asset Management has a stake worth over $11 billion in the company as of Q1 2022. The hedge fund initiated a position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in Q4 2010.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is in the news these days for replacing its conventional lightning charging port with the more prevalent USB-C connector. This could help Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in overcoming expected regulations in the EU. The iPhone 15 is expected to be the first phone with a USB-C connector.
Berkshire Hathaway discussed its stance on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in its Q4 2021 investor letter. Here’s what it said:
“Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) – our runner-up Giant as measured by its yearend market value – is a different sort of holding. Here, our ownership is a mere 5.55%, up from 5.39% a year earlier. That increase sounds like small potatoes. But consider that each 0.1% of Apple’s 2021 earnings amounted to $100 million. We spent no Berkshire funds to gain our accretion. Apple’s repurchases did the job. It’s important to understand that only dividends from Apple are counted in the GAAP earnings Berkshire reports – and last year, Apple paid us $785 million of those. Yet our “share” of Apple’s earnings amounted to a staggering $5.6 billion. Much of what the company retained was used to repurchase Apple shares, an act we applaud. Tim Cook, Apple’s brilliant CEO, quite properly regards users of Apple products as his first love, but all of his other constituencies benefit from Tim’s managerial touch as well.”
At the end of Q4 2021, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was held by 134 hedge funds.
You can also take a peek at the 12 Best American Stocks To Buy in 2022 and 15 Most Valuable E-Commerce Companies.
