In this article, we will look at the 10 Best Stocks to Buy Now for Long Term Growth.
On May 29, Andrew Slimmon, Senior Portfolio Manager at Morgan Stanley, appeared on CNBC’s ‘Closing Bell’ to talk about equity markets, whether investors should keep riding the tech winning streak, and more.
Talking about Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq setting intraday record highs, he was of the view that on the surface, earnings justify it, as the earnings revisions have been “unbelievably strong”. If you draw a line at the end of the year, that validates a market that is higher.
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However, he also believes that it is not just the AI beneficiaries that scare him, but also the unprofitable, very speculative tech stocks, as they are the ones that did the best in May and quarter-to-date. That, according to him, is a sign of a very “bubbly” market. Slimmon believes that we are due for a cooling off, or it is going to be 2021. He further posed the question of whether valuations justify many of the chip stocks, his answer to which is yes. The earnings estimates for many of these companies are up just as much as the stocks are, and so he believes it is easier to get involved in those stocks.
With these broader market trends in view, let’s look at the best stocks to buy for long term growth.
Our Methodology
We sifted through financial media reports and ETFs tracking blue-chip and high-quality stocks to find the best long-term stocks with stable fundamentals. We then selected the top 10 stocks most popular among hedge funds as of Q1 2026, using the hedge fund sentiment data from Insider Monkey’s database. The stocks are arranged in ascending order of hedge fund sentiment.
Note: All data was recorded on May 30.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? 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 498.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 303 percentage points (see more details here).
10 Best Stocks to Buy Now for Long Term Growth
10. Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 32
Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) is one of the best stocks to buy now for long term growth. Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) received a rating update from CIBC on May 29, with the firm lifting the price target on the stock to C$279 from C$258 while reaffirming a Neutral rating on the shares. The company also received a rating update from Barclays the same day. The firm lifted the price target on Royal Bank of Canada to C$260 from C$245 and maintained an Overweight rating on the shares. The rating updates came after the bank reported financial results for fiscal Q1 2026 on May 28.
In its financial results for the quarter ended April 30, 2026, the company reported net income of $5.5 billion, up $1,119 million or 25% from the previous year. Diluted EPS rose 27% over the same period to $3.85, highlighting growth across each of Royal Bank of Canada’s business segments. Adjusted net income and adjusted diluted EPS for the quarter were $5.6 billion and $3.90, up 23% and 25%, respectively, from the prior year.
Royal Bank of Canada provides banking and financial services. The company’s operations are divided into the following segments: Personal and Commercial Banking, Wealth Management, Insurance, Capital Markets, and Corporate Support.
9. The Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE:TD)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 33
The Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE:TD) is one of the best stocks to buy now for long term growth. On May 28, Jefferies lifted the price target on The Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE:TD) to C$151 from C$142, maintaining a Hold rating on the shares and stating that fiscal Q2 exhibited the company’s breadth, with solid contributions across the board. The firm also stated that further better-than-forecast capital markets results highlight that The Toronto-Dominion Bank has enhanced that platform, noting that credit performance in the U.S. was compelling and management is confident that lending in the region should begin to pick up.
For reference, in its financial results for the quarter ended April 30, 2026, The Toronto-Dominion Bank announced that reported diluted earnings per share were $2.43, compared with $6.27 in the prior year period, while adjusted diluted earnings per share were $2.38, compared to $1.97 in fiscal Q2 2025.
The Toronto-Dominion Bank provides financial products and services. Its operations are divided into the following segments: Canadian Personal and Commercial Banking, U.S. Retail, Wealth Management and Insurance, Wholesale Banking, and Corporate segment.
8. Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ:ARM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 46
Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ:ARM) is one of the best stocks to buy now for long term growth. On May 28, Mizuho lifted the price target on Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ:ARM) to $360 from $290 while maintaining an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm stated that it increased targets in the semiconductor space after analyzing the memory market and the impact of agentic AI. It further told investors in a research note that it believes DRAM demand will be strong into 2027, as NAND demand is not slowing down, and high bandwidth memory’s total addressable market is growing.
Arm Holdings plc’s (NASDAQ:ARM) fiscal Q4 2026 quarterly earnings marked the company’s highest quarterly revenue ever, with the third straight year of 20%+ revenue growth. Its revenue for the quarter reached $1.49 billion, while full-year revenue was $4.92 billion. The company also delivered record full-year royalty revenue of $2.61 billion alongside Q4 revenue at $671 million, driven by growth across Edge AI, smartphones, Physical AI, and Cloud AI, where data center royalties more than doubled year-over-year.
Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ:ARM) is involved in the licensing, research, marketing, and development of systems IP, microprocessors, graphics processing units, physical IP and associated systems IP, software, and tools. Its operations are divided into the following geographical segments: the United Kingdom, the United States, and Other Countries.
7. AstraZeneca PLC (NYSE:AZN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 56
AstraZeneca PLC (NYSE:AZN) is one of the best stocks to buy now for long term growth. AstraZeneca PLC (NYSE:AZN) reported on May 29 that the global CARES Phase III clinical programme showed that treatment with anselamimab led to “nominally statistically significant and highly clinically meaningful benefit in adults with advanced kappa light chain (AL) amyloidosis as first-line therapy added to standard of care plasma cell dyscrasia (PCD) treatments, compared to placebo”. Anselamimab is a potential first-in-class anti-fibril therapy. The company added that in the overall population of patients with AL amyloidosis, treatment with anselamimab did not meet the primary endpoint, defined as “a hierarchical combination of time to all-cause mortality (ACM) and frequency of cardiovascular hospitalisations (CVH), as previously disclosed”.
In a separate development, AstraZeneca PLC reported on May 28 that its Imfinzi (durvalumab), in combination with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) induction and maintenance therapy, received approval by the FDA in the U.S. to treat adult patients with BCG-naïve, high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). Management stated that the FDA’s approval is based on positive results from the POTOMAC Phase III trial.
AstraZeneca PLC is a biopharmaceutical company that explores, develops, manufactures, and commercializes prescription medicines. It supplies its products and services to specialty and primary care physicians, and is involved in exploring novel immuno-oncology treatment approaches. AstraZeneca PLC distributes its products and services through local representative offices and distributors.
6. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 87
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) is one of the best stocks to buy now for long term growth. Jefferies lifted the price target on Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) to $300 from $265 on May 29, maintaining a Buy rating on the shares and telling investors in a research note that it expects the company to report a good fiscal Q3 report. The firm stated that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. can hit sales estimates in fiscal Q3, but added that the shares have rallied 66% since April 10, which raises expectations. However, Jefferies still sees positive AI-driven catalysts in fiscal 2027 for the company.
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. also received a rating update from Benchmark on May 27. The firm lifted the price target on the stock to $270 from $200 and reiterated a Buy rating on the shares. The rating came ahead of the company’s fiscal Q3 earnings report due after the market closes on Tuesday, June 2, with the firm telling investors in a preview that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. is “highly likely to modestly top” fiscal Q3 consensus expectations on next generation security annual recurring revenue, total revenue, operating income, margin, and free cash flow margin.
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. provides network security solutions to service providers, enterprises, and government entities. Its operations are divided into the following geographical segments: the United States, Israel, and Other Countries.
5. Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 123
Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) is one of the best stocks to buy now for long term growth. On May 29, Reuters reported the announcement by Estonia’s transport authority delivered on Friday that it had cleared Tesla, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) FSD driver-assistance system for use on its roads. The clearance came after recognising a type approval first granted in the Netherlands. Tesla FSD is a level 2 driver assistance system, which translates to the driver remaining fully responsible for safe driving at times. The authority said that the driver should be ready to take over immediately, adding that the system had been tested on roads in Europe for a year and a half, after which it attained approval in the Netherlands, which has now been accepted by Estonia. Reuters further reported that Tesla, Inc. wrote on X: “FSD Supervised now approved in Estonia. Rollout will begin soon”.
The transport authority also stated that the operation of self-driving and remotely operated vehicles in Estonia has been taking place since 2017, which makes allowing Tesla, Inc.’s FSD onto its roads a logical next step. Reuters added that in addition to the Netherlands, Tesla, Inc.’s driver assistance system has also been approved by Lithuania.
Tesla, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells high-performance electric vehicles and energy generation and storage systems. It operates through two segments: energy generation and storage, and automotive. However, the company isn’t merely an automotive manufacturer; investors regard it as a technology company due to its other projects, most of which feature AI.
4. Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 132
Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) is one of the best stocks to buy now for long term growth. Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) announced on May 28 that its full obesity medicine portfolio would now be covered by all three of the largest pharmacy benefit managers in the nation. This considerably expands the number of Americans who can use their existing insurance to access FDA-approved options.
Management reported that coverage from CVS Caremark Commercial Template would begin from June 1 for Foundayo, and coverage would continue uninterrupted for current Zepbound patients, with access broadening across template plans by October 1. In addition, eligible patients with commercial coverage can access both medicines for as little as $25 a month. Eli Lilly and Company also stated that Medicare Part D beneficiaries may also be eligible to pay $50 per month for their obesity medicines beginning July 1 through the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge program.
For reference, Reuters reported on April 24 that according to analysts citing IQVIA data, Eli Lilly and Company’s Foundayo was prescribed 3,707 times in the United States in the second week following its launch earlier in the month. The pill had 1,390 prescriptions in its first week of launch.
Eli Lilly and Company develops, manufactures, discovers, and sells pharmaceutical products. These products span oncology, diabetes, immunology, neuroscience, and other therapies.
3. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 262
Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is one of the best stocks to buy now for long term growth. Reuters reported on May 29 that according to its internal documentation, Meta Platforms, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:META) plans to collect detailed records of computer usage by U.S. employees to train its AI models are more extensive than described initially, and are set to capture non-U.S. data in the process. It further reported that rights groups told Reuters that the documents introduce “fresh complications” for the project, and that may bring Meta Platforms, Inc. into a new European privacy fight.
In a separate development, Reuters reported on May 12 that Meta Platforms, Inc. lost its fight against an Italian regulatory order that called for it to compensate publishers for the use of their news article snippets, with Europe’s top court deciding in favor of the Italian telecoms watchdog. Reuters further stated that the case highlights the “ongoing copyright battle” between creators and publishers and tech companies regarding the use of their work or newspaper articles for the purpose of AI training. This has resulted in litigation against companies for infringement, including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta.
Meta Platforms, Inc. builds technological products that allow people to share, connect, grow businesses, and find communities. These products help people connect through personal computers, mobile devices, virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR) headsets, and wearables.
2. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 265
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is one of the best stocks to buy now for long term growth. Truist lifted the price target on Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) to $430 from $415 on May 29, maintaining a Buy rating on the shares and telling investors that by looking at recent deals and the backlog, consensus revenue estimates for Google Cloud are “below what they should be”. The firm stated that it believes revenue growth should accelerate throughout 2026 from 63% in fiscal Q1 to the mid-80% area by year-end. However, it also noted that consensus is projecting a deceleration to a percentage in the 50s.
In a separate development, Alphabet Inc. announced on May 20 a partnership between Google Cloud and Thales, a global leader in high technologies, aimed at establishing a new sovereign cloud solution in Germany. Management stated that the agreement marks a notable step in meeting the German market’s demand for sovereign solutions that protect sensitive data from extraterritorial laws. It further reported that the solution will “live on dedicated infrastructure”, which will be operated and managed by a new German entity fully owned and controlled by Thales.
Alphabet Inc. is a holding company with segments including Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets. The Google Services segment operates various services and products, including Android, Google Maps, Google Play, Chrome, Search, and YouTube.
1. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 275
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is one of the best stocks to buy now for long term growth. Reuters reported on May 26 that, according to a report by Bloomberg News citing people familiar with the matter, Taiwan prosecutors suspect that three individuals managed to smuggle at least one shipment of NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) chips to China before first exporting them to Japan. However, the report could not be immediately verified by Reuters.
For reference, NVIDIA Corporation released financial results for fiscal Q1 2027 on May 20, reporting record revenue of $81.6 billion for the quarter, up 20% from the previous quarter and up 85% from a year ago. GAAP and non-GAAP gross margins were 74.9% and 75.0% for the quarter, respectively, while GAAP and non-GAAP earnings per diluted share were $2.39 and $1.87, respectively.
The company’s Board of Directors also approved an additional $80.0 billion to its share repurchase authorization on May 18, 2026, without expiration. NVIDIA Corporation is also increasing its quarterly cash dividend from $0.01 per share to $0.25 per share of common stock, payable on June 26, 2026, to all shareholders of record on June 4, 2026.
NVIDIA Corporation designs and manufactures computer graphics processors, chipsets, and other multimedia software. It operates in the Compute & Networking and Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) segments.
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