We recently published a list of 10 Best Major Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stands against other best major stocks to buy according to hedge funds.
After a notable growth of 25% for the broader market in 2024, the S&P 500 index gained a little under 4% in the first month of 2025. The stock market had a mixed start to 2025 after the U.S. tech companies took a massive hit from the launch of Deepseek’s R1 AI model. Despite a major blow, the tech-heavy NASDAQ 100 index has gained over 4.50% year-to-date.
READ ALSO: 10 Large-Cap Stocks Insiders Are Selling Recently
Inflation and Tariff Concerns
U.S. stocks fell on February 12 following the release of January inflation data. The consumer-price index (CPI) soared 3% in January from a year ago, exceeding economists’ estimates. The data has somewhat stoked investors’ concerns about price pressures and the worry that interest rates might not come down as expected.
January CPI usually indicates big price adjustments made by businesses at the start of the year. Moreover, the beginning of a new administration has an impact on businesses. According to Goldman Sachs Research’s chief US equity strategist David Kostin, every five-percentage-point increase in the US tariff rate is estimated to reduce S&P 500 EPS by roughly 1-2%.
Therefore, if the U.S. administration sustains the proposed tariff rates, a 25% tariff on imported goods from Mexico and Canada and an additional 10% tariff on imports from China would reduce S&P 500 EPS forecasts by nearly 2-3%, as per Goldman’s Research.
However, the tariff policy doesn’t slow down the AI investment by the U.S. tech giants as they continue to expand their AI-related services and products. Four out of the Big Five companies are projected to invest over $300 billion in 2025 building data centers to fuel the AI boom.
Our Methodology
We have listed the top 10 best major stocks based on hedge fund sentiment, according to Insider Monkey’s database. The best major stocks are ranked in ascending order of the number of hedge fund holders, as of Q3 2024.
Why do we care about what hedge funds do? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
A wide view of an Apple store, showing the range of products the company offers.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 158
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is a technology company that designs, manufactures, and sells smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories and sells a variety of related services. The iPhone maker has recently launched its intelligence system, Apple Intelligence.
On February 11, Morgan Stanley analyst Erik Woodring reiterated a Buy rating on AAPL shares and set a price target of $275. Wooding’s buy rating on AAPL shares is mainly motivated by the company’s performance and future potential of its iPhone lineup. Apple Intelligence is reportedly getting attention among iPhone users in the U.S. as the demand surges. In addition to that, the company’s strong positioning in non-China emerging markets and the company’s growing presence in China will further reinforce iPhone demand projections.
“As a result, we’d conclude that while yes, Apple Intelligence did appear to provide a small tailwind to eligible iPhones in markets where available (the U.S.) during the holiday quarter, it was almost entirely due to U.S. consumers accelerating purchases of the discounted 1 year old iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max.”
-Morgan Stanley
In addition to the company’s iPhone demand, Apple is also expanding its cloud business and planning to launch Apple TV+ on Android, expanding its streaming reach.
Overall, AAPL ranks 7th on our list of best major stocks to buy according to hedge funds. While we acknowledge the potential of AAPL to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than AAPL but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and Complete List of 59 AI Companies Under $2 Billion in Market Cap
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
