In this article, we discuss the 20 best stocks to buy right now according to financial media. If you want to skip our detailed analysis of these stocks, go directly to 5 Best Stocks to Buy Right Now According to Financial Media.
The United States economy has been hit hard by inflation concerns in the past two years, forcing the central bank to raise interest rates in a bid to curb surging prices. Over the last few months, however, inflation numbers have started stagnating. Latest data indicates that even though inflation was clocked at 3.2% in February, up slightly from 3.1% at the end of January, the annual rate of inflation actually slipped from 3.9% at the end of January to 3.8% at the end of last month. The central bank aims to bring this number down to around 2% and pave the way to a loosening of monetary policy.
Coupled with the resilience in the labor market, financial experts predict that positive growth numbers from the end of 2023 extend the runway for the central bank to act to bring down rates. Torsten Slok, the chief economist at private equity firm Apollo Global, recently told Financial Times that if the financial conditions continued to ease like they had done over the past few months, growth will likely remain strong, He also forecast that such conditions would allow the Federal Reserve to delay rate cuts. Ellen Zentner, the chief US economist at investment advisory Morgan Stanley, echoed these comments, noting that strong growth would extend the runway the Fed has to act over rate cuts.
Despite uncertainty regarding financial policy, investors at the stock market have been bullish on the health of the US economy. Benchmark indexes like the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ Composite have rocketed since the start of the new year. The former is up nearly 9% year-to-date and the latter has grown by more than 10%. Key stocks like Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) are also surging, the first two registering returns of 10.3% and 92% since the turn of the year.
A prominent theme for growth this year is artificial intelligence. Jensen Huang, the CEO of chip maker NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), recently highlighted the steps that the firm was taking to emerge as a leader in this space. During the fourth quarter earnings call, Huang called the present AI boom an inflection point that had triggered a sense of urgency at the enterprise level to develop strategies in the AI world. He cautioned, however, that the AI supercomputer infrastructure and model algorithms remain an insurmountable obstacle for most.
“I want to share with you the next level of our business model to help put AI within reach of every enterprise customer. We are partnering with major service — cloud service providers to offer NVIDIA AI cloud services, offered directly by NVIDIA and through our network of go-to-market partners, and hosted within the world’s largest clouds. NVIDIA AI as a service offers enterprises easy access to the world’s most advanced AI platform, while remaining close to the storage, networking, security and cloud services offered by the world’s most advanced clouds. Customers can engage NVIDIA AI cloud services at the AI supercomputer, acceleration library software, or pretrained AI model layers. NVIDIA DGX is an AI supercomputer, and the blueprint of AI factories being built around the world. AI supercomputers are hard and time-consuming to build. Today, we are announcing the NVIDIA DGX Cloud, the fastest and easiest way to have your own DGX AI supercomputer, just open your browser. NVIDIA DGX Cloud is already available through Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and Microsoft Azure, Google GCP, and others on the way.”
Our Methodology
To select stocks for this list, we scoured the top stock picks as recommended by prominent financial websites like The Motley Fool, Forbes, Kiplinger, Investopedia, Morningstar, Zacks, Market Watch, and Business Insider. The top twenty consensus picks were then selected. The analyst ratings of each stock are also discussed to provide readers with some context for their investment choices. The hedge fund sentiment around each stock was calculated using the data of around 900 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey in the fourth quarter of 2023. Hedge funds’ top 10 consensus stock picks outperformed the S&P 500 Index by more than 140 percentage points over the last 10 years (see the details here). That’s why we pay very close attention to this often-ignored indicator.
A financial analyst looking at a monitor displaying the stocks of the public company.
Best Stocks to Buy Right Now According to Financial Media
20. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 81
Number of Times Stock Appeared in Top Picks of Financial Media: 1
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) researches and develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field. On January 24, investment advisory Guggenheim maintained a Neutral rating on Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) stock and lowered the price target to $167 from $169.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, Texas-based firm Fisher Asset Management is a leading shareholder in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) with 6.3 million shares worth more than $995 million.
Just like Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is one of the best stocks to buy right now according to financial media.
19. Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 71
Number of Times Stock Appeared in Top Picks of Financial Media: 1
Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) engages in integrated energy and chemical operations worldwide. On February 5, investment advisory RBC Capital maintained an Outperform rating on Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) stock and raised the price target to $190 from $185.
At the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, 71 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $21.6 billion in Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX), compared to 72 in the preceding quarter worth $21.4 billion.
In its Q4 2023 investor letter, Diamond Hill, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“Other bottom contributors included Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX), Carrier Global and Becton, Dickinson. Shares of integrated oil and gas company Chevron were pressured as global oil production is growing — particularly in the US, which has now surpassed its past production levels — in turn pressuring oil prices and company profit margins.”
18. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 103
Number of Times Stock Appeared in Top Picks of Financial Media: 1
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) operates as a financial services company worldwide. On January 30, investment advisory Morgan Stanley maintained an Overweight rating on JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) stock and raised the price target to $221 from $191.
At the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, 103 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $9 billion in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), compared to 109 in the preceding quarter worth $6.6 billion.
17. Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 141
Number of Times Stock Appeared in Top Picks of Financial Media: 2
Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is a technology company that provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. On February 20, investment advisory Morgan Stanley maintained an Overweight rating on Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) stock with a price target of $536.
At the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, 141 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $16.8 billion in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA), compared to 140 in the preceding quarter worth $15.2 billion.
16. Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 87
Number of Times Stock Appeared in Top Picks of Financial Media: 2
Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) is a financial services holding company that provides various financial products and services to consumers, corporations, governments, and institutions. On February 14, investment advisory Piper Sandler upgraded Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) stock to Overweight from Neutral and raised the price target to $63 from $56.
At the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, 87 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $10.2 billion in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C), compared to 79 in the previous quarter worth $6.9 billion.
In its Q3 2023 investor letter, Silver Beech Capital, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“Citigroup (“Citi”) is a large-capitalization global diversified financial services holding company that primarily serves multinational institutional and high net worth consumer clients. Citi is one of three large American banks to be designated in “bucket 3 or 4” of the “global systemically important bank” (“G-SIB”) framework by The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. The other banks in this group are J.P. Morgan and Bank of America.
As a G-SIB, Citi is subjected to increased regulatory supervision by global bank regulators and central banks. Enhanced regulatory supervision was an important post-crisis reform to strengthen the global financial system by increasing bank capital ratios, transparency, and decreasing risk-taking. These reforms resulted in the largest G-SIBs moving away from risk-oriented banking activities such as advisory, high-yield lending, and trading, towards lower-risk activities. Indeed, Citi’s most valuable, high-growth segment, Treasury and Trade Solutions, is in lower-risk and entrenched activities such as liquidity and cash management, payments, trade solutions, and automated receivables processing. In our view, somewhat unintuitively, Citi’s increased regulatory supervision contributes to the company’s less risky banking business model, and thus its attractiveness as a downside-oriented investment opportunity.
Citi’s market perception suffers from the bank’s negative historical reputation. In 2008 during the Great Financial Crisis, Citi received the most TARP funding (the largest “bailout”) of the U.S. banks. TARP funding was provided by the U.S. government to forestall a liquidity problem that threatened to become a solvency problem. More recently, Citi mistakenly used its own capital to pay lenders when acting as Revlon’s loan agent, resulting in a $400M fine by the Federal Reserve and orders to resolve internal controls (which Citi fulfilled). Citi’s large global consumer bank was assembled by prior management in the early 2000s to attract and service high-end global consumers. Unfortunately, this pivot was costly and ill-timed in the context of increasingly complex multi-jurisdictional regulation to prevent money laundering and tax evasion. The global consumer bank has been a drag on Citi’s overall performance…” (Click here to see the full text)
15. Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 60
Number of Times Stock Appeared in Top Picks of Financial Media: 2
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) makes and sells networking and other products. On February 15, investment advisory Barclays maintained an Equal Weight rating on Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) stock and raised the price target to $48 from $46.
At the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, 60 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $2.7 billion in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO), compared to 64 in the previous quarter worth $1.6 billion.
Here is what Oakmark Funds has to say about Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) in its Q3 2023 investor letter:
“Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) is the leading networking solutions company. Networking equipment becomes more important as businesses modernize their IT infrastructure, and Cisco is well positioned to capture this demand given its broad portfolio and highly effective go-to-market strategy. Cisco is transitioning away from selling mainly transactional hardware and toward selling more software and subscriptions. This shift is expected to accelerate revenue growth, improve operating margins and build recurring revenue. Despite these notable business improvements, Cisco still trades near a trough valuation relative to the S&P 500 Index. More recently, Cisco announced its intention to acquire Splunk, a leader in security and observability, adding to its already strong position in the increasingly important security market. At a low-teens multiple of our estimate of normalized earnings, Cisco is trading comfortably below our estimate of intrinsic value.”
14. Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 105
Number of Times Stock Appeared in Top Picks of Financial Media: 2
Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) operates as a diversified software company worldwide. On January 2, investment advisory Piper Sandler maintained an Overweight rating on Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) stock and raised the price target to $705 from $650.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, Texas-based investment firm Fisher Asset Management is a leading shareholder in Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) with 4.5 million shares worth more than $2.7 billion.
In its Q3 2023 investor letter, Polen Capital, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“Both Alphabet and Adobe’s businesses continue to perform well. With respect to Adobe, the most recent quarter delivered more of the same with constant currency revenue growing 13%, margin expansion, and over 2% of shares outstanding repurchased for non-GAAP earnings growth of over 20%. We believe its approach to GenAI through Firefly, which guarantees safe content because it trains on Adobe Stock, will continue to be attractive to enterprises. The counter to GenAI, and something we are keeping an eye on with Alphabet and Adobe, is that it requires heavy investment. While both businesses can leverage their scale and manage costs in other areas, we expect the investment in future growth through GenAI will weigh on company-wide margins over the near term.”
13. Visa Inc. (NYSE:V)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 162
Number of Times Stock Appeared in Top Picks of Financial Media: 2
Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) is a California-based payments technology firm. On January 27, investment advisory Barclays maintained an Overweight rating on Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) stock and raised the price target to $319 from $304.
At the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, 162 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $26.5 billion in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V), compared to 167 in the preceding quarter worth $24.4 billion.
In its Q3 2023 investor letter, Ensemble Capital Management, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“Mastercard is a company that pretty much everyone has heard of. In fact, when we meet with Ensemble’s clients, we occasionally tell them that we’re nearly certain that they are carrying a Mastercard in their wallet or purse as we speak, and if not, they are carrying a Visa Inc. (NYSE:V). Most people carry both.
People carry Mastercard and Visa because they are accepted nearly everywhere in developed markets. And they are accepted in most emerging economies, at least at locations where higher income people spend money. As a shopper you can show up at a bodega in Peru, a high end hotel in Tokyo, a truck stop in Alabama, or an ice cream cart in Milan, show them a piece of plastic and they’ll let you walk away with goods and services without any worry that they aren’t going to get paid…” (Click here to read the full text)
12. Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 83
Number of Times Stock Appeared in Top Picks of Financial Media: 2
Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) provides travel and restaurant online reservation and related services worldwide. On February 26, investment advisory Argus maintained a Buy rating on Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) stock and raised the price target to $4,100 from $3,677.
At the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, 83 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $10.2 billion in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG), compared to 81 in the preceding quarter worth $8 billion.
In its Q4 2023 investor letter, Ensemble Capital Management, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) (7.60% weight in the Fund): Earlier this year, Booking Holdings rolled out an AI trip planner. Traditionally Booking helps users find the right hotel by offering a search engine to define which city you want to stay in and apply various filters to narrow down the hotel options. With Booking’s AI Trip Planner, a user can use natural language such as “plan a road trip on Route 66, starting in Chicago and ending to Los Angeles.” The Trip Planner then engages with the user like a travel agent, suggesting which cities to stay in each night and various sights to see along the way. Once the trip is planned out, the user can use natural language to generate hotel options, such as by writing “My budget is $200 to $300 a night. It will be my husband and I traveling together.”
Booking’s experiments in AI demonstrate the value of proprietary data sets. While general AI systems such as ChatGPT are designed to answer questions about anything, focused AI systems that leverage a company’s unique data can be far more powerful when applied to specific use cases. With Booking’s AI Trip Planner, the system is unable to answer questions unrelated to making travel reservations. But on the other hand, it is far more likely to understand what the user wants since it already knows that the entire conversation will be about travel. Importantly, Booking’s AI Trip planner has access to the company’s enormous dataset that includes hotel ratings, popular hotels, and all sorts of detailed information about each hotel.”
11. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 120
Number of Times Stock Appeared in Top Picks of Financial Media: 2
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) is a semiconductor firm. On March 7, investment advisory Mizuho maintained a Buy rating on Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) and raised the price target to $235 from $200.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, Texas-based investment firm Fisher Asset Management is a leading shareholder in Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) with 28 million shares worth more than $4.1 billion.
In its Q4 2023 investor letter, Jackson Peak Capital, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“On the long side of the portfolio, a core theme we remain invested behind is the data center infrastructure buildout and AI chips arms race that we’ve discussed since our first letter in Q2. Some skepticism has crept into the market, and it’s understandable given the huge ramp in 2023. However, our research continues to suggest 2023 was the start of a multi-year platform shift. Value will accrue to varying segments of the AI value chain at different parts of the cycle. We continue to see value in the “boots on the ground” winners in the data center buildout (Vertiv, Modine Manufacturing, Celestica). Our positioning in AI semiconductor companies (NVDA and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD)) has ebbed and flowed given we are cognizant (perhaps too much so) that these names are crowded positions across investor style types. We’ve done well in these chip stocks since inception and NVDA is currently a long, and we’re trying to “let winners run” while using sizing to risk manage these names due to the market-wide positioning bias in semiconductors.”
10. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 111
Number of Times Stock Appeared in Top Picks of Financial Media: 3
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) markets analytical instruments, specialty diagnostics, and laboratory products. On February 1, investment advisory RBC Capital maintained an Outperform rating on Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) stock and raised the price target to $642 from $592.
At the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, 111 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $10.3 billion in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO), up from 109 in the preceding quarter worth $8.9 billion.
9. Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 79
Number of Times Stock Appeared in Top Picks of Financial Media: 3
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) discovers, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products worldwide. On March 4, investment advisory Cantor Fitzgerald maintained an Overweight rating on Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) stock with a price target of $45.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, Florida-based investment firm Citadel Investment Group is a leading shareholder in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) with 11.6 million shares worth more than $334 million.
In its Q4 2023 investor letter, Diamond Hill Capital, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“Among our bottom contributors in Q4 were BorgWarner and Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE). Biopharmaceutical company Pfizer was pressured as COVID sales were slower than expected in Q4. However, outside COVID-related sales, the base business is performing as expected, and the company is starting a cost-cutting program that should restore margins to pre-pandemic levels. We continue to like Pfizer for its diversified business, strong cash flow generation capabilities and balance sheet, and solid leadership under a quality CEO.”
8. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 242
Number of Times Stock Appeared in Top Picks of Financial Media: 3
Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is a tech firm that owns and runs social media platforms. On February 9, investment advisory Tigress Financial maintained a Strong Buy rating on Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) stock and raised the price target to $575 from $435.
At the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, 242 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $44 billion in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META), compared to 234 in the preceding quarter worth $35 billion.
In its Q4 2023 investor letter, SaltLight Capital, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“Meta Platforms, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:META) primary mission is all about capitalising on user engagement and maintaining its network effects. AI is augmenting their objectives in two ways: 1) Improving engagement time per daily active user (AI Job One) 2) Matching ad buyers (advertisers) with ad consumers (AI Job Two)
Improving Engagement Time per Daily Active User Meta is in the business of making sure that when you’re scrolling through your feed or watching videos, you’re glued to the screen as long as possible. Why? Because the longer you watch, the more ads they can slip into your viewing experience (think of digital billboards). But these ‘digital billboards’ are a finite resource – only more engagement time creates them.
And here’s where the magic of ‘AI job one’ comes in – finding that perfect video that keeps you hooked – thereby increasing the time you spend on the platform. It’s a cycle that feeds itself: more engagement means more opportunities to serve ads, which in turn means more revenue…” (Click here to read the full text)
7. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 166
Number of Times Stock Appeared in Top Picks of Financial Media: 3
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is a California-based technology firm. On January 24, investment advisory Raymond James maintained an Outperform rating on Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) stock and raised the price target to $160 from $150.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, Texas-based investment firm Fisher Asset Management is a leading shareholder in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) with 45 million shares worth more than $6.3 billion.
In its Q3 2023 investor letter, Weitz Investment Management, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“As for other quarterly contributors, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Meta Platforms, Inc., (META) added to their exceptional year-to-date returns. Meta Platforms and Alphabet were the true year-to-date standouts. After steep declines in 2022, both stocks rebounded sharply due to a combination of solid fundamentals, disciplined operational execution, and improved sentiment. Despite outsized gains and attention, we think both Alphabet and Meta remain undervalued.”
6. Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 82
Number of Times Stock Appeared in Top Picks of Financial Media: 3
Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) develops, manufactures, and markets products that enable physicians and healthcare providers to enhance the quality of and access to minimally invasive care. On January 25, investment advisory Barclays maintained an Overweight rating on Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) stock and raised the price target to $430 from $385.
At the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, 82 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $6 billion in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG), compared to 78 in the preceding quarter worth $5 billion.
Along with Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) is one of the best stocks to buy right now according to financial media.
In its Q3 2023 investor letter, ClariVest Asset Management, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) provides robotic-assisted surgical solutions and invasive care through a comprehensive ecosystem of products and services. Management expects the backlog of deferred surgical procedures to take several quarters to recover, with bariatric surgery growth potentially slowing down with the increasing use of weight loss drugs.”
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Disclosure. None. 20 Best Stocks to Buy Right Now According to Financial Media is originally published on Insider Monkey.
