In this article, we discuss 5 best stocks to invest in right now. If you want to see some more stocks in this list, click 15 Best Stocks To Invest In Right Now.
5. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 153
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), the American technology giant, reported on September 12 that its $5.4 billion acquisition of the cybersecurity firm Mandiant is officially concluded. The Mandiant acquisition will enable Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) to offer cyber safety to its clients at every stage of the security lifecycle.
On August 3, Tigress Financial analyst Ivan Feinseth raised the price target on Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) to $186 from $183 and assigned a Strong Buy rating to the shares, citing his view that the Q2 results highlight the resiliency of its core business in Cloud and Search. The investments in AI attest to the strength of the business and the long-term growth potential.
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is one of the best stocks to invest in right now. It is a favorite stock of elite hedge funds. Our Q2 2022 database found Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in 153 hedge fund portfolios, with combined stakes exceeding $22 billion. Chris Hohn’s TCI Fund Management is a prominent position holder in the company, with roughly 2.5 million shares worth $5.4 billion.
Here is what Baron Durable Advantage Fund has to say about Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in its Q2 2022 investor letter:
“Alphabet Inc. is the parent company of Google, the world’s largest search and online advertising company. Shares of Alphabet declined 21.6% in the quarter due to concerns about slower global growth impacting the company’s core advertising business. We retain conviction in Alphabet’s merits as it continues to benefit from growth in mobile and online video advertising, which accrues to its core assets of search, YouTube, and the Google ad network. We are further encouraged by Alphabet’s investments in Cloud, AI, and Autonomous Driving (through its Waymo subsidiary).”
4. Visa Inc. (NYSE:V)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 166
Visa Inc. (NYSE:V), the American payments technology firm, is one of the best stocks to invest in right now according to hedge funds. At the end of August, Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) announced that its U.S. payments volume in August climbed 11% on a year-over-year basis, even after the company exited its operations in Russia in March 2022. Credit payments volume lifted 17% and debit volume rose 7% YoY, both up one point from July.
Daiwa analyst Kazuya Nishimura on August 16 downgraded Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) to Neutral from Outperform with a price target of $225, down from $230. The company continues to offer an optimistic growth case given a rebound in cross-border travel, but the analyst sees lower scope for earnings to exceed market expectations. However, he continues to highly rate Visa Inc. (NYSE:V)’s medium to long-term growth prospects.
Among the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, 166 funds were bullish on Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) at the end of the second quarter of 2022, up from 159 funds in the last quarter. Terry Smith’s Fundsmith LLP is a prominent stakeholder of the company, with 5.6 million shares worth $1.10 billion.
Here is what Baron Fintech Fund has to say about Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) in its Q2 2022 investor letter:
“The Fund’s holdings in the Payments and Information Services themes also contributed to relative performance. Within Payments, lower exposure to this lagging theme and outperformance of Visa, Inc. (NYSE:V). These global payment networks are viewed as safe havens during market downturns but are also benefiting from resilient payment volumes and a sharp rebound in international travel.”
3. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 184
Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) stock is cheap at 13x the 2023 EPS target, with several catalysts that will result in EPS growth and elevate the valuation multiple. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) remains one of the best stocks to invest in right now according to hedge funds. According to the second quarter database of Insider Monkey, 184 hedge funds held stakes worth $18 billion in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META), compared to 200 funds the prior quarter worth $30 billion.
Among the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Boykin Curry’s Eagle Capital Management is a notable stakeholder of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META), with 7.3 million shares worth $1.18 billion.
Here is what Saga Partners has to say about Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in its Q2 2022 investor letter:
“Meta (formerly known as Facebook, when I discuss the social media apps specifically, I’ll still refer to Facebook). The Portfolio first bought Meta in Q4’18. It was a controversial investment then and has continued to be to this day. The core mission of the company has been to make the world more open and connected. To do that, it needs to connect everyone in the world, which it largely has done with its nearly 3 billion monthly active users across its family of apps (Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp). That type of scale is hard to grasp and is getting pretty close to essentially every smartphone user outside of China and Russia.
From an investing perspective, there are questions surrounding Apple’s iOS App Tracking Transparency (ATT) changes that limit sharing user data across apps, investments in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) i.e. the metaverse, and competitive threats surrounding the rise of TikTok. It seems like only yesterday (or last year) that one of the major risks of Facebook was that the company was too powerful, had too much influence on public opinion, and faced antitrust and regulatory concerns…” (Click here to see the full text)
2. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 252
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) announced on September 9 that it is acquiring the Belgium-based firm, Cloostermans, to advance its robotics operations. Cloostermans designs and manufactures mechatronics solutions. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) has been using Cloostermans’ tech since 2019 to move and stack heavy palettes and pack products for customer orders.
On September 12, DA Davidson analyst Tom Forte reaffirmed a Buy rating and a $151 price target on Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) after the firm disclosed the purchase of Cloostermans. With this acquisition, as well as the iRobot buyout announced last month, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is making a “concerted effort” into the robotics and automation market, the analyst told investors in a research note.
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is one of the best stocks to invest in right now. The Q2 2022 database of Insider Monkey suggests that 252 hedge funds were bullish on Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), compared to 271 funds in the last quarter. Jaime Sterne’s Skye Global Management is one of the leading stakeholders of the company, with 15.4 million shares worth $1.6 billion.
Here is what Baron Funds specifically said about Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) in its Q2 2022 investor letter:
“Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is the world’s largest retailer and cloud services provider. Shares of Amazon declined 35% in the quarter due to weaker-than-expected profits resulting from an overcapacity of resources coming out of COVID. We expect Amazon to grow into its retail capacity in the quarters to come, which would enable it to improve profitability accordingly. Amazon remains one of our largest holdings due to its durable competitive advantages with a leading position in multiple trillion-dollar markets with a long runway for growth.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, domestic e-commerce was only 14.3% of retail as of the first quarter of 2022. Internationally, the opportunity is even earlier as Amazon has still less than 2% market share of international retail spending. Its advertising share is roughly 3% and growing, underpinned by its structural closed loop, which enables accurate targeting and measurement.
Lastly, Amazon Web Services or AWS, remains the leading cloud provider, while cloud computing still represents only 9.5% out of the $4.3 trillion of global IT spending according to Gartner. Areas such as logistics and health care present additional optionality.”
1. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 258
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) announced on September 13 that it is collaborating with Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) for a multi-year project to combine Microsoft’s computational services, cloud, and artificial intelligence with the latter’s drug discovery, development, and data science expertise. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is one of the best stocks to invest in right now according to hedge funds. Insider Monkey’s database found Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in 258 hedge fund portfolios at the end of Q2 2022, compared to 259 funds in the prior quarter.
On August 11, Guggenheim analyst John DiFucci initiated coverage of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) with a Neutral rating and a $292 price target. While he believes Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) can elevate revenue and free cash flow, supported by upside in Azure and Office Commercial 365, he sees continued declines in Windows that he believes are still “not fully reflected in consensus estimates”.
Among the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management is the leading position holder in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), with 28.7 million shares worth about $7.4 billion.
Here is what Baron Durable Advantage Fund has to say about Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in its Q2 2022 investor letter:
“Shares of Microsoft Corporation, a leading global provider of software solutions, declined 16.6% in the quarter along with the broader software group as well as due to growing concerns of a potential macro-driven slowdown. This is despite the company posting strong quarterly financial results and successfully absorbing headwinds from the war in Ukraine. The company had 21% revenue growth, 23% operating income growth, and 35% growth in Microsoft Cloud (all year-over-year in constant currency), which now represents 47% of total revenues.
As discussed above, we continue to believe Microsoft remains a durable and growing business as companies across all industries look to digitally transform, taking advantage of the continuously expanding solution set Microsoft has to offer.”
You can also take a look at 12 Best AI Stocks To Buy and 10 Best Media Stocks To Buy.
