In this article, we will look at 5 best tech stocks to buy for the long term. If you want to read about the value of the global technology market and some key trends that are driving the growth of the tech industry, you can go to 10 Best Tech Stocks to Buy For The Long Term.
5. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 134
This January, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) released its earnings report for the fiscal first quarter of 2022 in which it outperformed the market. The company reported earnings per share of $2.10, beating estimates by $0.21. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) generated quarterly revenues that amounted to $123.95 billion, up 11.22% year over year, outperforming market consensus by $5.41 billion. As of April 5, 2022, the stock has gained 38.71% over the past twelve months and the company boasts a market capitalization of $2.86 trillion.
On February 15, 2022, Tigress Financial analyst Ivan Feinseth raised his price target on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to $210 from $198 and reiterated a Strong Buy rating on the shares, in light of the company’s strong first-quarter results for 2022. The analyst sees an upside for the stock backed by strong global demands for its existing products, the nearing of the release of new generation products, and accelerated revenue from services.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is a top stock pick among elite hedge funds. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, Insider Monkey found 134 hedge funds holding long positions in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), having combined stakes of $186 billion. This is compared to 120 hedge funds in the preceding quarter, having stakes of $146 billion. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway owns the most shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) as of April 5, 2022. The fund’s stakes in the company amounted to a whopping $157.52 billion, which represents 47.59% of Berkshire Hathaway’s Q4 2021 investment portfolio.
ClearBridge Investments mentioned Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in its fourth-quarter 2021 investor letter. Here’s what the firm had to say:
“Despite these mixed emerging growth results, the ClearBridge Global Growth Strategy outperformed the benchmark due to resilience among our secular and structural growth holdings. The bulk of these contributions came from U.S. mega-cap growth stocks Apple and Microsoft which continued to uniquely act both offensively and defensively as they have through most of the pandemic.”
4. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 209
On March 8, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) announced that it will be acquiring Mandiant Inc. (NASDAQ:MNDT), a renowned cybersecurity firm, for $23.00 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $5.4 billion. After being acquired, Mandiant Inc. (NASDAQ:MNDT) is to join Google Cloud.
Piper Sandler analyst Thomas Champion shared his views on the deal and what it could mean for Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL). The analyst highlighted that the acquisition is of a strategic benefit to Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL), noting that it would complement Google Cloud Platform’s current security offerings, which include BeyondCorp Enterprise and VirusTotal. The analyst reiterated a price target of $3,475 along with an Overweight rating on Alphabet inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) shares.
According to Insider Monkey’s database of 924 elite hedge funds, 209 held stakes in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by the end of the fourth quarter of 2021. The total value of these stakes was $32.34 billion, up from $28.55 billion in the preceding quarter with 195 positions. The hedge fund sentiment for Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is positive, and the stock is popular among value investors.
Vulcan Value Partners, an investment management firm, published its fourth-quarter 2021 investor letter in which it mentioned Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL). Here’s what the firm had to say:
“In contrast, we made a different kind of mistake about a decade ago. Google, now Alphabet, performed very well for us while we owned it. The company kept outperforming our assumptions and we kept lowering them to be conservative. “Trees do not grow to the sky.” The stock kept going up and our value grew but did not keep pace with the stock. It hit our estimate of fair value and we sold it with a nice gain, patting ourselves on the back. We kept following the company and what they actually did over the next several years was roughly double the assumptions we used to value it. Therefore, our value was too conservative, and we sold it too cheaply, missing many years of compounding. Fortunately, we experienced some volatility several years ago that allowed us to purchase Alphabet (Google) again with a margin of safety.”
3. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 224
Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB), the leading top-tier company that is set out to revolutionize the way we interact with the web today, is among the top three tech stocks to buy for the long term. The latest trend in the technology sector is the Web3.0 and the metaverse, and Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) is one of the most dedicated companies in the space. Among the company’s already offered metaverse products we have Horizon Workrooms, Horizon Worlds, and the Oculus Quest 2 which is one of the most advanced VR headsets for immersive virtual experiences. This March, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) is working on support for NFTs on Instagram.
Legendary value investors and expert analysts alike see upside potential for Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) in the near as well as the long term. On March 10, Deutsche Bank analyst Benjamin Black initiated coverage of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) with a Buy rating and a $265 price target. By the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) was a part of 224 hedge fund portfolios. The total stakes of these funds amounted to $31.84 billion.
As of April 5, 2022, Fisher Asset Management is the top shareholder in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB). The fund’s stakes were valued at $3.22 billion, up 27% from its previous stakes of $2.56 billion in Q3 2021. The investment covers 1.8% of Fisher Asset Management’s Q4 2021 investment portfolio.
Davis Funds mentioned Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) in its fourth-quarter 2021 investor letter. Here is what the firm had to say:
“Within the traditional growth category, growing euphoria has led to bubble prices for many companies, most especially those with new and unproven business models such as those discussed above. In contrast, our research focuses on a select handful of proven growth stalwarts whose shares still trade at reasonable valuations. For example, because of concerns about future litigation and regulation, several dominant internet businesses, including Meta (formerly Facebook), trade at steep discounts to many unproven and unprofitable growth darlings that, in our view, trade at euphoric prices. While we expect a continued barrage of negative headlines around the company, as well as increased regulation in the years ahead, we do not expect a significant decline in its long-term profitability.”
2. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 262
This January, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) released its earnings report for the fiscal second quarter of 2022. The company reported earnings per share of $2.48, beating estimates by $0.16. The company’s quarterly revenues amounted to roughly $51.73 billion, up 20.09% year over year from $43.08 billion, outperforming market consensus by $938.45 million.
On January 26, 2022, Morgan Stanley analyst Keith Weiss raised his price target on Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) to $372 from $364 and reiterated an Overweight rating on the shares, in light of the company’s strong earnings report for the quarter. As of April 5, 2022, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has gained 25.43% over the past twelve months and boasts a market capitalization of $2.33 trillion.
Investors are bullish on Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and have long positions in the company. By the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, 262 hedge funds held stakes in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) which were worth more than $75.66 billion. This is compared to 250 positions in the prior quarter with stakes worth $65.87 billion. The hedge fund sentiment for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is positive.
Fisher Asset Management was the dominating shareholder in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) at the close of Q4 2021. According to our data, as of April 5, 2022, the fund’s stakes in the company are valued at $9.02 billion which represents 5.05% of Fisher Asset Management’s Q4 2021 investment portfolio.
Here is what ClearBridge Investments had to say about Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in its fourth-quarter 2021 investor letter:
“Despite these mixed emerging growth results, the ClearBridge Global Growth Strategy outperformed the benchmark due to resilience among our secular and structural growth holdings. The bulk of these contributions came from U.S. mega-cap growth stocks Apple and Microsoft which continued to uniquely act both offensively and defensively as they have through most of the pandemic.”
1. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 279
As of April 5, 2022, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) has gained 0.59% over the past six months, and 1.78% over the past twelve months. This March, Deutsche Bank analyst Lee Horowitz initiated coverage of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) with a Buy rating and a $4,100 price target.
This April, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) said that it has secured 83 launches over a five-year period for Project Kuiper by announcing strategic collaborations with Arianespace, Blue Origin, and United Launch Alliance (ULA). Project Kuiper is the company’s satellite-based internet service which aims to increase global broadband access using a constellation of satellites in low Earth orbits. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) aims to deploy over 3,000 satellites as part of the project.
The hedge fund sentiment around Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is positive. By the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, 279 hedge funds held long positions in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) worth $49.16 billion. This is compared to 242 positions in the preceding quarter with stakes worth $42.55 billion. As of April 5, 2022, Fisher Asset Management is the most prominent shareholder in the company. The fund upped its previous Q3 2021 stakes of $6.34 billion by 13%, bringing its Q4 2021 stakes in the company to $7.22 billion. The investment covers 4.04% of Fisher Asset Management’s investment portfolio.
Davis Funds, an investment management firm, published its fourth-quarter 2021 investor letter in which it mentioned Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN). Here’s what the firm had to say:
“Within the traditional growth category, growing euphoria has led to bubble prices for many companies, most especially those with new and unproven business models such as those discussed above. In contrast, our research focuses on a select handful of proven growth stalwarts whose shares still trade at reasonable valuations. For example, because of concerns about future litigation and regulation, several dominant internet businesses, including Amazon, trade at steep discounts to many unproven and unprofitable growth darlings that, in our view, trade at euphoric prices. While we expect a continued barrage of negative headlines around the company, as well as increased regulation in the years ahead, we do not expect a significant decline in its long-term profitability.”
You can also take a look at 15 Best Technology Stocks To Buy Now and Top 10 Undervalued Tech Stocks.
