We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Stocks to Buy According to Navellier & Associates. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) stands against the other stocks approved by Navellier & Associates.
Founded in 1987 by growth analyst Louis Navellier, Navellier & Associates is an independent firm based in Reno, Nevada. Navellier & Associates specializes in identifying market inefficiencies to find top-growth stocks through a disciplined quantitative and fundamental analysis system. With over 30 years of experience, they offer customized portfolio strategies for individual investors to maximize returns while managing risk. Unlike competitors who mimic indexes, Navellier aims to outperform them, resulting in low correlation with benchmarks and increased diversification.
Louis Navellier is the Founder, Chairman of the Board, Chief Investment Officer, and Chief Compliance Officer of Navellier & Associates, Inc. With decades of experience applying academic techniques to real market scenarios, he advocates for disciplined quantitative analysis to identify stocks that can outperform the market. His approach involves a rigorous three-step process: quantitative analysis, fundamental analysis, and optimization of selected securities for portfolio inclusion. This approach has been used by the firm where they employ a highly disciplined, bottom-up stock-selection process for most portfolios. First, they screen market and stock statistics to measure reward (alpha) and risk (standard deviation), selecting stocks in the top percentiles. Next, they further screen the top-ranked stocks for high-profit margins, strong earnings growth, and reasonable price/earnings ratios based on future earnings. Finally, a proprietary optimization model maximizes portfolio alpha while minimizing standard deviation, creating well-diversified portfolios across various sectors and industries.
Since 1980, he has shared his insights through the MPT Review, a stock advisory newsletter. Since 1987, he has actively managed individual portfolios, mutual funds, and institutional portfolios. Known for his charismatic leadership, Louis Navellier has been featured extensively in international media, including CNBC, Bloomberg, The Nightly Business Report, and Wall Street Week. His insights have also been highlighted in Barron’s, Forbes, Fortune, Investor’s Business Daily, Money, Smart Money, and The Wall Street Journal. He has been profiled in books such as Kenneth A. Stern’s “Secrets of the Investment All-Stars” and Alan R. Ackerman’s “Investing Under Fire.” Mr. Navellier earned his B.S. in business administration in 1978 and his M.B.A. in finance in 1979 from California State University – Hayward.
Navellier & Associates is a well-known advisory firm with 1,314 clients and manages assets worth $743,578,818, as reported in their Form ADV from March 2024. Their Q1 2024 filing shows they handle $811,568,534 in securities, with the top 10 holdings making up 29.01% of the total.
Our Methodology
This article covers Navellier & Associates’ top 10 stock picks for the first quarter of 2024. We’ve included analyst ratings and key details about these companies, along with the number of hedge funds investing in each. Why focus on hedge fund investments? Our research indicates that copying the top picks of leading hedge funds can result in better-than-market returns. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy, which chooses 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks each quarter, has achieved a 275% return since May 2014, outperforming the benchmark by 150 percentage points. (see more details here).
A development team working together to create the next version of Windows.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Navellier & Associates’ Stake Value: $14,393,224
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 293
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) ranks 9th in Navellier & Associates’ top 10 stock picks. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) develops and supports software, services, devices, and solutions. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is mainly driven by its advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud services, which are expected to increase its revenue and strengthen its market position greatly. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s AI capabilities, particularly through Azure and its integration with OpenAI technologies, are set to drive major revenue growth. Analysts predict Azure’s yearly revenue could reach $76 billion, powered by increasing AI workloads and strong partnerships with OpenAI and GitHub.
Additionally, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s Copilot, which embeds AI into its software, is expected to be a key growth factor. Analysts anticipate over 50% of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s users will adopt Copilot for business within three years, potentially adding $20 billion to revenue by FY25. Due to these factors, analysts like JP Morgan have raised their price targets, with JP Morgan setting theirs at $455, reflecting strong confidence in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s future performance.
ClearBridge Sustainability Leaders Strategy stated the following regarding Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:
“The Strategy trailed the Russell 3000 Index benchmark largely due to our diversified positioning, although we maintain a considerable portfolio allocation to large cap AI-related companies. These positions were indeed among our top contributors in the quarter, such as Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). The company is finding more ways to deploy AI for sustainability objectives such as its ability to better measure, predict and optimize complex systems, which can help its partner communities reduce wildfire risk.”
Overall MSFT ranks 9th on our list of the best stocks to buy according to Navellier & Associates. You can visit 10 Best Stocks to Buy According to Navellier & Associates to see the other Navellier & Associates-approved stocks that are on hedge funds’ radar. While we acknowledge the potential of MSFT as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than MSFT but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
