Facebook Inc (FB), Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) & More: Top Five Tech Stocks Hedge Funds Like

Let’s start with Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), which is the fifth favorite tech stock among the investors in our database. There are 127 investors long Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s class A stock as of the end of September, down by one over the quarter. Heading into the fourth quarter of 2016, there were 137 investors long Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and it was the fourth-favorite stock. Over the past 12 months, Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s stock gained 33%. Among the major developments in company’s life over the past year were the launch of Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL phones and new home speakers, which reassured investors and customers about the company’s plans to increase its market share in the hardware space and compete closer with Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN).

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is tight close in front of Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) as 133 funds from our database reported holding shares of the eCommerce giant as of the end of September, compared to 132 funds a quarter earlier. However, a year earlier, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) was the most popular stock among the investors we track, with 150 funds holding shares at the end of September 2016. This number slid quite dramatically to 123 funds at the end of 2016. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)’s most important milestone in 2017 was the acquisition of supermarket chain Whole Foods, which allowed the tech giant to expand in the food distribution and brick-and-mortar businesses. The move put additional pressure of traditional supermarket chains like Kroger Co (NYSE:KR), which are also facing competition from European discounters Aldi and Lidl, both of which are establishing themselves on American soil. Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT), which is among the few retailers capable on taking on Amazon, has also been investing in its grocery business and ramping up drive-in grocery delivery of online orders.

Then there is Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA), which saw the largest increase in popularity among hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey. Following the hype surrounding its IPO in September 2014, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) got a lot of attention from hedge funds and was one of the 10 most popular stocks at the end of that quarter, with 109 funds having reported a long position, which was a good result given that the company went public with just a few days until the end of the quarter. However, following a weak performance, the stock lost some popularity among smart money investors with just 69 funds holding a long position at the end of June 2016. However, a quarter later this number surged to 104 and at the end of September 2017 there were 133 investors in our database bullish on Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA). In the meantime, the stock is up by 82% since going public and the company has made a number of big investments in other companies and has been consistently registering a significant growth in quarterly sales.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) registered the largest quarterly increase in popularity among the stocks covered in this article. During the third quarter, the number of funds long the stock went up by 13 to 134, which propelled it to the second most popular stock overall from the sixth spot it held at the end of June. At the end of September 2016, there were 126 investors in our database long Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s stock has gained over 33% year-to-date as Office 365 and Azure cloud platform continue to be the main growth factors for the company. Evercore ISI analysts consider that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) can reach a $1.0 trillion valuation due to strong growth from Microsoft 365 and Azure products.

Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) remained the favorite stock among the hedge funds we track, with 156 funds holding shares as of the end of September, unchanged over the quarter. Moreover, a year earlier, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) ranked as the second most popular stock with 149 funds reporting long positions. Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)’s stock has gained over 49% in the last 12 months and the company continues to dominate the social media space. At the end of the third quarter, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) reported 1.37 billion daily active users,up from 1.18 billion a year earlier, while monthly active users also increased by 16% on the year to 2.07 billion. Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) also beat revenue and profit estimates every quarter since September 2016 and every quarter it posted revenue growth between 44.7% and 55.8%.

Instead of the conclusion, it’s worth pointing out that one stock that was among the top five hedge funds’ favorite tech stocks at the end of September 2016 didn’t appear in this year’s top-five ranking. This stock is Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), in which 109 funds held shares at the end of September 2017, down from 145 funds a year earlier. In 2015, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) was a hedge fund darling, ranking among the top five favorite stocks, but since the beginning of the 2016 its popularity has been deteriorating, while Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), on the contrary, was capturing more ground. Nevertheless, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) remains a favorite stock of billionaire Warren Buffett‘s Berkshire Hathaway, which has been increasing its exposure to the iPhone maker since adding the company to its equity portfolio in the first quarter of 2016. At the end of September, Berkshire held 134.09 million shares of Apple worth $20.67 billion, which makes it the third most valuable position.

Disclosure: none