On December 22, Scott Wren, chief global equity strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, joined CNBC’s ‘Squawk on the Street’ to express optimism regarding accelerating earnings alongside moderating inflation. He identified a 2.8% CPI target for the next year and noted that if this projection is incorrect, inflation is likely to drift even lower over the coming years. He characterized the combination of modest growth and moderating inflation as a favorable setup for risk assets in the new year.
Wren explained that his firm has used both broad risk additions and internal sector rotations. While they took advantage of a market pullback in early April, they have more recently focused on shifting away from heavy concentrations in technology. Wren also indicated a continued preference for US markets over international ones. Although he views emerging markets as a potentially cheaper way to play technology and AI, he remains neutral on developed international and emerging markets for the time being. He stated that if he had his ‘druthers,’ he would stick with large-cap and mid-cap stocks over other options. Wren clarified that while the firm maintains exposure to international markets and is looking for potential entry points to increase that exposure, he does not believe the current moment is the right time to move away from the US large-cap bias.
That being said, we’re here with a list of the 10 hottest large-cap stocks of 2025.
Our Methodology
We sifted through the Finviz stock screener to compile a list of large-cap stocks that were trading between $10 billion and $200 billion, and had high year-to-date performances (at least 200%). We then selected 10 stocks that were the most popular among elite hedge funds and that analysts were bullish on. The stocks are ranked in ascending order of their year-to-date performance. We have also added the hedge fund sentiment for each stock, as of Q3 2025, which was sourced from Insider Monkey’s database.
Note: All data was sourced on December 29.
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 427.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 264 percentage points (see more details here).
10 Hottest Large-Cap Stocks of 2025
10. Robinhood Markets Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD)
Market Capitalization as of December 29: $105.52 billion
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 77
Year-to-Date Performance as of December 29: 215.83%
Robinhood Markets Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD) is one of the hottest large-cap stocks of 2025. On December 29, Needham lowered the firm’s price target on Robinhood to $135 from $145 with a Buy rating on the shares. This sentiment was posted as the firm reduced its projections and price targets for the cryptocurrency sector, anticipating a prolonged slump in trading volume over the next few quarters. Needham noted that even if prices have bottomed out, retail participation is unlikely to recover until market momentum significantly improves.
However, earlier on December 22, Morgan Stanley raised the firm’s price target on Robinhood to $147 from $146 and kept an Equal Weight rating on the shares. According to the firm, strong transaction levels across exchanges and brokerages during Q4 suggest a slight upside to current forecasts. Consequently, the analyst is increasing Q4 EPS estimates by an average of 5%, which brings the firm’s projections in line with the broader market consensus.
Additionally, Barclays analyst Benjamin Budish also increased the price target for Robinhood Markets Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD) to $171, up from $168, on December 12, while maintaining an Overweight rating. This adjustment followed a broader 2026 strategic review of the financial services sector. Budish expects a favorable environment in the coming year for wealth brokers and alternative asset managers, but he remains cautious regarding exchanges and traditional asset managers, citing a more unpredictable outlook for those sub-sectors.
Robinhood Markets Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD) operates a financial services platform in the US. Its platform allows users to invest in stocks, ETFs, American depository receipts, options, gold, and cryptocurrencies.
9. Guardant Health Inc. (NASDAQ:GH)
Market Capitalization as of December 29: $13.18 billion
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 50
Year-to-Date Performance as of December 29: 233.29%
Guardant Health Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) is one of the hottest large-cap stocks of 2025. On December 22, Canaccord raised the firm’s price target on Guardant Health to $125 from $100 with a Buy rating on the shares. The firm expects the life science sector to maintain its current upward trend well into 2026. Guardant Health remains Canaccord’s top recommendation, as the firm believes that the stock offers the best balance of limited downside and strong growth potential compared to its peers.
Mizuho also raised the firm’s price target on Guardant Health Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) on December 17 to $120 from $100 and maintained an Outperform rating on the shares. As part of its 2026 outlook, the firm updated its price targets within the medical devices and diagnostics sector. While valuations have returned to near two-year highs following Q3 2025 earnings, the firm suggests that there is room for further multiple expansion. This growth is contingent on healthcare emerging as the preferred defensive play while market capital continues to rotate through volatile AI and cryptocurrency mega-trades.
On December 15, Bank of America also raised the firm’s price target on Guardant Health to $120 from $100 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. This decision was made as BofA is revising its price targets across the Life Sciences and Diagnostic Tools sector as part of a 2026 outlook. The firm anticipates that current industry headwinds will subside, leading to a normalized market environment by 2026. The firm believes that the primary catalyst for growth will be a resurgence in Biopharma spending, prompting BofA to prioritize companies with significant exposure to R&D.
Guardant Health Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) is a precision oncology company that provides blood and tissue tests and data sets in the US and internationally.
8. Oklo Inc. (NYSE:OKLO)
Market Capitalization as of December 29: $11.65 billion
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 38
Year-to-Date Performance as of December 29: 250.31%
Oklo Inc. (NYSE:OKLO) is one of the hottest large-cap stocks of 2025. On December 8, Seaport Research analyst Jeff Campbell upgraded Oklo to Buy from Neutral with a $150 price target. This sentiment follows the company’s Q3 2025 earnings call, which the firm noted offered extensive detail on the multivariate progress of its business strategy. The new valuation is grounded in a 2032 EBITDA projection of $1.59 billion.
Previously, on December 5, Needham initiated coverage of Oklo Inc. (NYSE:OKLO) with a Buy rating and $135 price target. Needham cited the company’s advantaged regulatory standing and broad fuel strategy as key differentiators. With an industry-leading pipeline and over $1.2 billion in liquidity, the company is well-equipped to execute on multiple projects at once. A critical factor in this bullish outlook is the DOE authorization, which Needham believes greatly reduces the execution risks for its initial reactors.
Additionally, UBS analyst Jon Windham raised the firm’s price target on Oklo to $95 from $65 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares on December 2. Positioned for a massive build-out of nuclear infrastructure, Oklo’s primary focus is its INL pilot project, targeting a July 2026 start-up. The firm noted that if Oklo Inc. (NYSE:OKLO) successfully commercializes its SMR technology early, it stands to gain a substantial first-mover advantage and rapidly expand its market presence.
Oklo Inc. (NYSE:OKLO) develops advanced fission power plants to provide clean, reliable, and affordable energy at scale to customers in the US. It also commercializes nuclear fuel recycling technology that converts nuclear waste into usable fuel for its reactors.
7. AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU)
Market Capitalization as of December 29: $42.68 billion
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 26
Year-to-Date Performance as of December 29: 267.53%
AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) is one of the hottest large-cap stocks of 2025. On December 15, Roth Capital raised the firm’s price target on AngloGold Ashanti to $92 from $84 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. Analysts at Roth MKM are boosting their price targets for gold and silver to keep pace with the rapidly evolving market. The firm now projects that gold will reach $4,125 and silver $56.25 by 2026, which is a massive jump from their previous estimates.
On December 10, Citi also raised the firm’s price target on AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) to $105 from $90 and maintained a Buy rating on the shares.
In Q3 2025, AngloGold Ashanti reported a 141% year-on-year surge in free cash flow, which reached $920 million for the quarter, nearly matching the total free cash flow generated during the entire 2024. Total revenue recorded in the quarter was $2.37 billion, while EPS stood at $1.32. Operational performance saw a 17% increase in gold production, totaling 768,000 ounces for the quarter compared to 657,000 ounces in Q3 2024.
This growth was largely driven by the successful integration of the Sukari mine in Egypt and a 30% production increase at Obuasi in Ghana. Additionally, Kibali saw a 21% rise in output, while Geita and Cuiabá both posted 6% increases. These gains helped offset lower production in Australia and temporary stoppages at the Siguiri plant.
AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) operates as a gold mining company in Africa, Australia, and the Americas. It primarily explores for gold, as well as by-products, including silver and sulphuric acid.
6. Bloom Energy Corporation (NYSE:BE)
Market Capitalization as of December 29: $20.74 billion
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 64
Year-to-Date Performance as of December 29: 294.46%
Bloom Energy Corporation (NYSE:BE) is one of the hottest large-cap stocks of 2025. On December 29, Clear Street raised the firm’s price target on Bloom Energy to $58 from $50 with a Hold rating on the shares. This sentiment was posted as the firm raised its 2026 revenue projections by 2% and its 2027 estimates by 9%, reaching $3.33 billion. These adjustments stem from expectations that Bloom Energy will expand its internal production capacity for data center products. Despite appreciating Bloom’s dominant market share and the reliability of its onsite power generation for manufacturing and data centers, the firm has kept a Hold rating due to current valuation levels.
Furthermore, on December 3, Daiwa initiated coverage of Bloom Energy Corporation (NYSE:BE) with a Hold rating and $98 price target.
In Q3 2025, Bloom Energy reported revenue of $519 million, which was a 57.1% increase over the same period in 2024. The company also posted a positive non-GAAP EPS of $0.15, successfully reversing a $0.01 loss from the previous year.
The company’s AI-first strategy was cemented by a $5 billion partnership with Brookfield Asset Management. This collaboration establishes Bloom Energy as the preferred on-site power provider for Brookfield’s global AI infrastructure portfolio. Under the deal, Brookfield will use its balance sheet to finance Bloom-sourced AI opportunities, with the first European project expected to be announced by the end of 2025.
To keep pace with the once-in-a-generation demand from data centers and the AI sector, Bloom Energy is aggressively scaling its manufacturing. The company is on track to double its production capacity to 2 GW by December 2026.
Bloom Energy Corporation (NYSE:BE) designs, manufactures, sells, and installs solid-oxide fuel cell systems for on-site power generation in the US and internationally.
5. Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)
Market Capitalization as of December 29: $61.47 billion
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 84
Year-to-Date Performance as of December 29: 298.70%
Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) is one of the hottest large-cap stocks of 2025. On December 16, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst CJ Muse raised the firm’s price target on Western Digital to $250 from $200, while keeping an Overweight rating on the shares. The semiconductor sector is set to remain a market leader after a stellar 2025, given that the AI era is just beginning. While the firm acknowledged some mixed economic signals, Cantor Fitzgerald advised investors to maintain a long position on the SOX index to capture the upcoming wave of AI infrastructure investment.
Earlier on December 5, China Renaissance initiated coverage of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) with a Buy rating and $193 price target.
Furthermore, on December 2, Citi analyst Asiya Merchant also raised the firm’s price target on Western Digital to $200 from $180 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. The firm raised its target based on a robust memory market characterized by a favorable supply-demand balance, constrained production levels, and consistent pricing strength. Demand visibility has now been extended through 2027, a shift that Citi attributes to the rapid growth of unstructured data created by AI.
Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) is making rapid technological strides to meet the massive storage needs of AI data lakes. The company delivered 204 exabytes of storage in FQ1 2026, which was up 23% year-over-year, and pulled forward its roadmap for Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording/HAMR. Qualification for HAMR-based drives is now expected to begin with a hyperscale customer in the first half of calendar year 2026, expanding to three customers by year-end.
Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) develops, manufactures, and sells data storage devices and solutions based on hard disk drive/HDD tech in the US, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
4. Iren Limited (NASDAQ:IREN)
Market Capitalization as of December 29: $12.98 billion
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 52
Year-to-Date Performance as of December 29: 304.17%
Iren Limited (NASDAQ:IREN) is one of the hottest large-cap stocks of 2025. On December 18, Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of Iren with a Neutral rating and $39 price target. The firm sees Iren as a primary beneficiary of the AI infrastructure boom, forecasting a 7x revenue increase by 2028. While the company’s massive deal to provide GPU capacity to Microsoft provides a clear near-term catalyst, Goldman Sachs warned that the stock is already trading at a premium. The firm remains on the sidelines due to a full valuation.
The centerpiece of Iren’s growth strategy is a landmark $9.7 billion AI cloud contract with Microsoft. Under the five-year agreement, Iren will provide Microsoft with access to 200MW of critical IT load powered by NVIDIA’s latest GB300 GPUs. This single contract is expected to contribute $1.94 billion in annual recurring revenue at an estimated 85% project EBITDA margin. To support this, Iren is accelerating construction of its Horizon 1–4 liquid-cooled data centers at the Childress, Texas site, which are engineered to Tier 3 standards and capable of supporting extreme rack densities of 130kW to 200kW.
In FQ1 2026, Iren reported revenue of $240.3 million, which was a massive 355% year-over-year increase compared to the $52.8 million reported in FQ1 2025. This momentum translated into a record net income of $384.6 million, largely supported by unrealized gains on financial instruments.
Iren Limited (NASDAQ:IREN) operates in the vertically integrated data center business in Australia and Canada. The company owns and operates computing hardware, as well as electrical infrastructure and data centers.
3. Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LITE)
Market Capitalization as of December 29: $26.65 billion
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 69
Year-to-Date Performance as of December 29: 346.61%
Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LITE) is one of the hottest large-cap stocks of 2025. On December 17, Morgan Stanley raised the firm’s price target on Lumentum to $304 from $190 with an Equal Weight rating on the shares. After broadening from chips to infrastructure (especially optical) in 2025, the AI investment trend is expected to remain strong through mid-2026. Despite this momentum, a year-ahead note cautions that full-year success will require a more disciplined approach to stock picking, as current valuations have become stretched across the sector.
A day before this rating, Bank of America raised the firm’s price target on Lumentum to $375 from $210 with a Neutral rating on the shares. The firm substantially increased its price targets for Lumentum due to an exceptional surge in demand for optical components and transceivers. This adjustment reflects a market environment where orders for these technologies continue to outpace available supply.
Earlier on December 5, as well, JPMorgan analyst Samik Chatterjee also raised the firm’s price target on Lumentum to $350 from $235, while keeping an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm increased its financial projections for optical networking companies, pointing to scale-across and multi-rail opportunities as primary growth drivers. This positive outlook is fueled by a larger TAM for scale-across technologies and a new wave of telecom innovation designed to support multi-rail infrastructure in metro and long-haul networks.
JPMorgan believes that these factors will sustain the current high growth rates over a more extended period than previously expected. Consequently, the firm has applied a higher earnings multiple to these stocks to reflect their improved long-term valuation potential.
Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LITE) manufactures and sells optical and photonic products in the Americas, the Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. It operates through two segments: Cloud & Networking and Industrial Tech.
2. EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS)
Market Capitalization as of December 29: $30.85 billion
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 79
Year-to-Date Performance as of December 29: 367.86%
EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) is one of the hottest large-cap stocks of 2025. On December 22, Citi analyst Michael Rollins raised the firm’s price target on EchoStar to $111 from $87 and maintained a Neutral rating on the shares. With SpaceX’s valuation reportedly hitting $800 billion in a private share sale, EchoStar sits in a strong position. The firm noted that this $800 billion figure is twice what EchoStar originally expected its incoming SpaceX equity to be worth when it agreed to sell its spectrum assets.
On December 19, Deutsche Bank raised the firm’s price target on EchoStar to $131 from $97 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. The firm highlighted several clear catalysts: a primary driver is the prospective sale of EchoStar’s AWS-3 paired spectrum, with the firm maintaining that Verizon and T-Mobile remain interested buyers for these licenses.
Additionally, Morgan Stanley also upgraded EchoStar Overweight from Equal Weight on December 10, with a price target of $110, up from $82. The firm noted that EchoStar is uniquely positioned to benefit from heightened market competition as a strategic seller of spectrum. According to a research note, the stock upgrade is driven by EchoStar’s significant opportunity to unlock shareholder value through the tax-efficient divestiture of its spectrum assets.
EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS), together with its subsidiaries, provides networking technologies and services in the US and internationally.
1. ABIVAX Société Anonyme (NASDAQ:ABVX)
Market Capitalization as of December 29: $10.99 billion
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 56
Year-to-Date Performance as of December 29: 1826.02%
ABIVAX Société Anonyme (NASDAQ:ABVX) is one of the hottest large-cap stocks of 2025. On December 16, Piper Sandler raised the firm’s price target on Abivax to $142 from $112, while maintaining an Overweight rating on the shares.
On the same day, Citizens raised the firm’s price target on ABIVAX Société Anonyme (NASDAQ:ABVX) to $131 from $114, while keeping an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm highlighted that Abivax’s Q3 2025 results and operational milestones, specifically noting that the Phase 3 ulcerative colitis data released in August, reinforce the drug’s potential to redefine standard clinical care.
A day before, on December 15, Abivax reported cash and cash equivalents of €589.7 million, a substantial increase from the €144.2 million held at the end of 2024. This liquidity surge was primarily driven by a massive public offering completed on July 28, which generated ~$700.3 million (€597.2 million) in net proceeds. Consequently, Abivax has extended its projected cash runway into the fourth quarter of 2027.
The company’s net loss for the first nine months of 2025 widened to €254.1 million, compared to €136.9 million during the same period in 2024. This was largely due to an increase in R&D expenses, which rose by €25.4 million to reach €133.4 million. These costs were driven by the progression of the ABTECT Phase 3 trials for obefazimod in ulcerative colitis and Phase 2b trials for Crohn’s disease. Additionally, the company saw a spike in personnel-related expenses, specifically a €14.8 million increase in employer contributions, triggered by a significant rise in the company’s share price during Q3 2025.
ABIVAX Société Anonyme (NASDAQ:ABVX) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company that develops therapeutics that harness the body’s natural regulatory mechanisms to stabilize the immune response in patients with chronic inflammatory diseases.
While we acknowledge the potential of ABVX to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than ABVX and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
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