In this article, we will take a look at the 5 most promising long-term stocks according to analysts. To see more such companies, go directly to 15 Most Promising Long-Term Stocks According to Analysts.
5. Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 139
One-Year Average Price Estimate: $424.94
Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) ranks 5th in our list of the most promising long-term stocks according to analysts.
In February, Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) declared a quarterly dividend of $0.57 per share, the same as in the previous quarter. Forward dividend yield at the time came in at 0.61%. The dividend is payable on May 9 to shareholders of record as of April 7.
Baron FinTech Fund made the following comment about Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in its Q4 2022 investor letter:
“Shares of global payment network Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) increased after reporting strong quarterly results, with 15% revenue growth and 13% EPS growth despite significant headwinds from currency movements and the suspension of operations in Russia. Payment volume grew 21% in local currency (excluding Russia) as consumer spending remained resilient and the international travel recovery continued as border restrictions were lifted. We continue to own the stock due to Mastercard’s long runway for growth and significant competitive advantages.”
4. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 152
One-Year Average Price Estimate: $123.80
Despite the short-term headwinds Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is facing amid the launch of ChatGPT and the perceived threats to Google’s dominance in search and advertising, several analyst are bullish on GOOG for the long term. BofA and Barclays recently said in their reports that Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is highly advanced in the AI race and ChatGPT won’t significantly damage the company’s search and ads business.
As of the end of the fourth quarter of 2022, 152 hedge funds out of the 943 funds tracked by Insider Monkey had stakes in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG).
Weitz Partners III Opportunity Fund made the following comment about Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in its Q4 2022 investor letter:
“Unfortunately, the performance story of the year is told by the Fund’s detractors. Now, weakening ad spending across all channels has added insult to injury, and concerns have spread to the other dominant digital ad player, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) — parent of Google and YouTube.
Meta, Alphabet, Amazon and CarMax were all top detractors for the quarter and calendar year periods (FIS and Liberty Broadband, respectively, complete the quarterly and calendar-year detractor lists.) To varying degrees, each is managing through cyclical challenges during a period of substantial investor pessimism. Drawdowns of this magnitude are painful, and it may be prudent for management to moderate the pace of some investments, but we remain encouraged by their long-term focus. In the short run, cutting spending indiscriminately to “defend earnings” may lessen the pain of a drawdown, but it seldom grows a company’s business value — the ultimate prize.”
3. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 194
One-Year Average Price Estimate: $209.06
Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is one of the most promising long-term stocks according to hedge funds and analysts. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is trading at around $180 as of March 14, while its one-year average price estimate is $209.06.
Recently, a spokesperson from Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) told Reuters the company was exploring plans to launch a standalone platform for real-time text updates. Analysts believe such an app would be to counter Twitter Inc. (NYSE:TWTR).
At the end of the fourth quarter of last year, 194 hedge funds reported having stakes in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META). The total worth of these stakes was about $16 billion. The biggest stakeholder of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) was Boykin Curry’s Eagle Capital Management which owns a $1.1 billion stake in the company.
2. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 240
One-Year Average Price Estimate: $133.64
Ranking 2nd in our list of the most promising long-term stocks to buy now is Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN). Analysts believe Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) has solid growth prospects on the back of Amazon’s Cloud and ecommerce growth initiatives, in addition to several other business areas.
Goldman Sachs recently said that the concerns regarding AWS slowdown are overblown. Goldman Sachs’ analysts believe Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)’s e-commerce margins can show improvement in 2023. Goldman Sachs said that Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is “now solidly our top pick for the remainder of 2023 from current trading levels.”
At the end of the last quarter of 2022, 240 hedge funds had stakes in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN). This makes Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) the second most popular stock among elite hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey.
Artisan Global Opportunities Fund made the following comment about Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) in its Q4 2022 investor letter:
“Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is the world’s largest retailer. The company has gone through a period of massive investment as it doubled its fulfillment network and hired over 800,000 people to meet growing demand over the past few years. Capital expenditure (capex) in the 2017 to 2019 period was $10 billion – $17 billion per year before ramping up to $40 billion in 2020, $61 billion in 2021 and is expected to end 2022 at another $61 billion. We believe the company is in the later innings of this capex cycle and will be transitioning toward a period of harvesting those investments through higher margins and free cash flow generation. At a valuation that appears to be discounting a deteriorating environment for consumer spending, we decided to start a GardenSM position.”
1. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 259
One-Year Average Price Estimate: $285.89
It seems Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is just getting started in the AI game and in the next few years the company could be the trademark name in the AI industry. Recently, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) revealed that it has crossed 100 million Daily Active Users of Bing. This comes after Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) launched AI assistant features for its Bing search engine.
Artisan Global Opportunities Fund made the following comment about Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in its Q4 2022 investor letter:
“We ended our investment campaigns in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Koninklijke DSM and Generac during Q4. We have witnessed a buildup of different headwinds for Microsoft throughout the year, most notably a slowdown in its cloud computing business, Azure. With an outlook of further slowdowns in key business segments, we believe our original thesis has run its course and decided to upgrade the capital to higher conviction holdings within software.”
You can also take a peek at 12 Small Cap Stocks with Insider Buying and 12 Best EV Stocks To Buy For 2023.
