In this article, we discuss the 10 most popular stocks to buy right now. If you want to skip our detailed analysis of these stocks, go directly to the 5 Popular Stocks to Buy Right Now.
Investors are gaining confidence to exit the bear market as the economy reopens due to rising vaccination rates, a low unemployment rate, and increased consumer confidence. According to the Commerce Department, the US GDP increased by 6.5% in the second quarter of 2021, exceeding its pre-pandemic level. Likewise, the major indexes have rebounded impressively from recent setbacks, with the S&P 500, NASDAQ Composite Indexes, and Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 18%, 16%, and 15%, respectively, year to date.
The spread of the Delta variant has resurfaced, causing public concern, but it has helped the healthcare and utility sectors outperform in the last month. Shares of healthcare stocks like Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX), and Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) have soared as well. With the current pharma market boom, Healthcare Royalty, Inc. (NASDAQ: HCRX), a company that obtains royalties in the biopharmaceutical industry, has begun the roadshow for its initial public offering, as announced at the end of July 2021, with 46.9 million shares priced at $15 to $17 each, valuing the company at $3.4 billion.
The Big Tech FAANGs climbed more than 0.6% each as the Nasdaq topped the other two major indices in the last five days. In the third quarter, Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) revenue totaled $81.4 billion, up 36% year over year and beating analysts’ consensus of $73.14 billion. JPMorgan analyst Samik Chatterjee is bullish on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), emphasizing stellar Mac sales and strong iPhone 13 demand for the remainder of the year. JPMorgan maintained an Overweight rating on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and increased the firm’s price target to $175 per share from the previous $170. The stock has gained 6.1% in the past month.
Investors are also watching cloud platform providers Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL), which gained 5.15% and 81%, respectively. Despite its depressing Q2 results, Stifel analyst Scott Devitt remained bullish on Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN). According to the analyst, the biggest shortcoming was centered on the weakened online retail division. According to Gartner, in 2020, Amazon Web Services’ cloud computing platform accounted for 41% of the market. Stifel maintained a buy rating on Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) with a price target of $4,400 per share.
Meanwhile, analysts see the recent pullbacks in banking stocks as an opportunity amid rising consumer spending aided by sufficient liquidity and low-interest rates. Shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS) have received positive ratings from notable analysts recently.
However, you should not always buy the “popular” stocks without due diligence. The entire hedge fund industry is feeling the reverberations of the changing financial landscape. Its reputation has been tarnished in the last decade, during which its hedged returns couldn’t keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. On the other hand, Insider Monkey’s research was able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the S&P 500 ETFs by more than 124 percentage points since March 2017. Between March 2017 and May 29, 2021, our monthly newsletter’s stock picks returned 206.8%, vs. 91.0% for the SPY. Our stock picks outperformed the market by more than 115 percentage points (see the details here). That’s why we believe hedge fund sentiment is an extremely useful indicator that investors should pay attention to. You can subscribe to our free newsletter on our homepage to receive our stories in your inbox.
Our Methodology
The stocks on our list were picked based on their fundamentals and prospects for growth based on key business characteristics. We chose stocks that are popular among investors and hedge funds in general and have long-term growth prospects and high analyst ratings. We ranked these stocks based on the number of hedge funds having stakes in them, based on our data of over 866 hedge funds.. Let’s look at the 10 popular stocks to buy now.
Despite huge returns of these stocks over the last few months, analysts believe that they still have a lot of upside because of their robust fundamentals and long-term growth potential.
Popular Stocks to Buy Right Now
10. Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 49
We start our list of the 10 popular stocks to buy right now with Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F). The Michigan-based company markets various vehicles such as trucks, utility vehicles, and luxury vehicles. Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) was founded in 1903. In 2020, the company sold over 4.2 million vehicles worldwide.
Earlier this year, Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) partnered with autonomous driving technology company Argo AI. The partnership allowed Ford’s Fusion Hybrid sedans and Escape Hybrid SUVs to utilize Argo’s long-range lidar sensor, which can see up to 400 meters. Shares of Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) increased 20% in the last three months.
In June, JPMorgan analyst Ryan Brinkman raised Ford Motor Company’s (NYSE: F) price target to $18 from $16 per share and kept his Overweight rating on the company, highlighting the not as bad as feared headwinds in the semiconductor supply chain.
The company has a market cap of $54.70 billion. In the first quarter of 2021, Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) reported a $0.89 EPS beating consensus estimates of $0.21 EPS. In the first quarter, the company’s revenue came in at $36.2 billion, beating consensus estimates of $32.23 billion. Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) shares rose 111% in the past year.
By the end of the first quarter of 2021, 49 hedge funds out of the 866 tracked by Insider Monkey held stakes in Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F), worth roughly $2.19 billion.
9. eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 51
eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) ranks 9th on the list of the 10 popular stocks to buy right now. The California-based multinational e-commerce company has over 185 million active buyers. The company operates as an online shopping site for auctions and producer consumers sales.
Earlier this year, the company launched the Price Guide and Collection, allowing its users to buy and sell trading cards. Shares of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) rose 22% in the past three months.
Piper Sandler analyst Thomas Champion increased eBay Inc.’s (NASDAQ: EBAY) price target to $81 from $71 and reiterated his Overweight rating on the stock on July 1, stating that given the non-core divestiture process appears to be complete, the business should be considerably easier to run.
The company has a market cap of $46.47 billion and offers a dividend yield of 1.06%. In the first quarter of 2021, eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) reported an EPS of $1,09, beating consensus estimates of $1.07. In the first quarter of 2021, the company’s revenue came in at $3.02 billion, increasing from $2.97 billion in the same period of 2020. eBay Inc.(NASDAQ: EBAY) shares rose 23% in the past year.
By the end of the first quarter of 2021, 51 hedge funds out of the 866 tracked by Insider Monkey held stakes in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY), worth roughly $3.76 billion.
Just like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX), Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS), eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) is one of the popular stocks to buy right now according to market analysts.
8. Airbnb Inc. (NYSE: ABNB)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 52
Airbnb Inc. (NYSE: ABNB) ranks 8th on the list of 10 popular stocks to buy right now. The California-based online lodging marketplace has over 150 million active users. The company is also known as Air Mattress Bed and Breakfast and has over 6 million active listings.
In July, BTIG analyst Jake Fuller upgraded Airbnb Inc. (NYSE: ABNB) to a buy rating from a Neutral rating with a price target of $170 per share. According to the analyst, Airbnb (NYSE: ABNB) is more competent than its competitors if restrictions arise from the Delta Variant.
The company has a market cap of $88.93 billion. In the first quarter of 2021, Airbnb Inc. (NYSE: ABNB) had an EPS of $1.95, beating estimates by $1.19. The company’s first-quarter revenue came in at $886.94 million, beating consensus estimates of $714.14 million. Shares of Airbnb (NYSE: ABNB) rose 3% in the last five days.
By the end of the first quarter of 2021, 52 hedge funds out of the 866 tracked by Insider Monkey held stakes in Airbnb Inc. (NYSE: ABNB), worth roughly $2.41 billion.
Just like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX), Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS), Airbnb Inc. (NYSE: ABNB) is a good stock to buy right now according to market analysts.
Blue Hawk Investment Group mentioned Airbnb (NYSE: ABNB) in its Q4 2020 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:
“We typically avoid new issues, with ABNB being a rare exception. ABNB fits right into our wheelhouse as a leader in a promising industry, with a disruptive business model, unique company culture, massive addressable market, and a name synonymous with a category (“got an Airbnb for the weekend”). Towards the end of the year, the narrative of the hot IPO/SPAC environment we found to be fitting, with exception. We believe grouping ABNB into this category is a mistake. The IPO was botched, but the mistake was the initial offering price being far too low in this case. We believe the reason for this initial mispricing was the proximity of the IPO to the vaccine effectiveness data release. The data turned out to be much better than anticipated, a blue-sky result, causing a drastic change in the outlook for travel and lodging, the industry in which ABNB operates. Bayes Theorem in action, people, typically have a bias when incorporating new information. They do not adjust their view as quickly as they should, and the vaccine data release required an almost complete reversal of views.
Back to the company, we started buying on day one and continued to build a position into the $120s and $130s. A founder-led firm, we believe the company has an excellent management team, a very attractive growth profile with many levers at their disposal, and embedded optionality due to their attractive position in the travel ecosystem (and minimal reliance on Google). The most underappreciated aspect of the story is the attractiveness of the financial model. Not many IPOs come along that get us excited, but we believe the future is bright for this young company. We will reveal more details about our thesis in future letters.”
7. Costco Wholesale Company (NASDAQ: COST)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 56
Costco Wholesale Company (NASDAQ: COST) ranks 7th on the list of 10 popular stocks to buy right now. The Washington-based retail warehouse has over 795 locations worldwide. The company was founded in 1976 and also operates through its e-commerce which generated most of its sales during the height of the pandemic.
Last year, Costco Wholesale Company (NASDAQ: COST) acquired logistics firm Innovel Solutions. The purchase will allow the company to support its online sales of large items.
Costco Wholesale Company’s (NASDAQ: COST) price target was raised to $440 from $420 per share by analysts in Stifel on July 23. Analyst Mark Astrachan sees a potential increase in the company’s membership before announcements of a membership fee increase.
The company has a market cap of $189.97 billion and offers a dividend yield of 0.74%. In the third quarter of 2021, Costco Wholesale Company (NASDAQ: COST) reported an EPS of $2.75, beating estimates by $2.34. In the same quarter, the revenue of Costco Wholesale Company (NASDAQ: COST) came in at $44.38 billion, beating consensus estimates of $43.64 billion.
At the end of Q1 2021, 56 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey have Costco Wholesale Company (NASDAQ: COST), worth $4.01 billion.
Just like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX), Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS), Costco Wholesale Company (NASDAQ: COST) is a good stock to buy right now according to market analysts.
ClearBridge Investments mentioned Costco Wholesale Company (NASDAQ: COST) in its Q1 2021 investor letter:
“To take a more discretionary stance in retailing and make room for our additional purchases where we see better opportunities, we closed our position in Costco Wholesale. Costco was a big winner during the most restrictive periods of the COVID-19 lockdowns with its focus on staples, larger basket size, necessities and bulk items, and it remains an exceptional retailer in its category, with a sticky subscription base and non-U.S. growth ahead. However, the company is facing very tough comparisons as well as margin pressure in its core business and we believe its valuation has become stretched.”
6. Nike, Inc. (NYSE: NKE)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 78
Nike, Inc. (NYSE: NKE) ranks 6th on the list of 10 popular stocks to buy right now. The athletic apparel and accessories company headquartered in Oregon operates over 1,096 retail stores worldwide.
On February 8, Nike, Inc. (NYSE: NKE) acquired data integration platform startup Datalogue. The acquisition expanded the company’s ability to transform raw data into real-time data and add to NKE’s digital drive.
Oppenheimer analyst Brian Nagel raised Nike, Inc.’s (NYSE: NKE) price target to $195 from $150 in July and kept his Outperform rating, stating that recent company investments are only now beginning to gain.
The company has a market cap of $264.97 billion and offers a dividend yield of 0.66%. In the fiscal 2021 fourth quarter, the company’s EPS came in at $0.93, meeting consensus estimates by $0.42. Nike, Inc.’s (NYSE: NKE) revenue in the fiscal fourth quarter of 2021 came at $12.3 billion, beating consensus estimates of $11.01 billion and fiscal Q4 2019 revenue by 21%.
At the end of Q1 2021, 78 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey have Nike, Inc. (NYSE: NKE) worth $5.17 billion.
Just like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX), Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS), Nike, Inc. (NYSE: NKE) is a good stock to buy right now according to market analysts.
Dynamo Cougar mentioned Nike, Inc. (NYSE: NKE) in its Q4 2020 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:
“Nike used to have a very traditional IT infrastructure, which was the starting point for their transformation. In 2013, the company had most of its IT in one data center and two distinct IT and software development teams. The infrastructure was organized in a way that all IT solutions, such as Nike.com and Nike apps, were running on the same servers and databases. The result was that any change had to be approved and then deployed with the next release. It was a very manual process, depended on a number of different vendors, and had to be approved by a waterfall process involving both the software and the IT teams. As of 2018, the company has four AWS regions, 150 software engineers, three development locations, and multiple data center locations. In the process, the company decided that they would not just lift and shift their existing applications from their own servers to the public cloud, but instead decided to rethink every single component of their IT organization. The results show that this transformation worked. The organization went from one software deployment every two months to 2.6 deployments per day. Nike went from 90% manual software testing to 100% automated testing, which freed up a lot of developer time. They managed to reduce the time to make small changes on the website and apps from 3 hours to 5 seconds, which means they could react to sports and similar live events. In the past, it took more than six months to add a new experience to their digital services, and today it takes one day. In the past, they would have a 3-month lead time for new hardware, and today they can scale and deploy without any lead time.5 The IT infrastructure now supports 50+ commerce countries versus 6 in 2012, supports 25 languages versus 7 and enables the e-commerce site to access the inventory of 500+ retail stores.
The early move to the cloud and the willingness to adapt to the new environment also allowed Nike to benefit from some significant learnings. For instance, the company first used the Cassandra database when they moved to the cloud. However, due to many technical limitations, it would not allow them to scale for peak demand. Peak demand was becoming a big problem because the Nike SNKRS App would launch products with very limited availability, which meant that millions of people would access the app at the same time. Nike then decided to move to the AWS DynamoDB database (a platform offering), which allowed them to scale up prior to these launches, and thereby spend 98% less than with Cassandra, while offering the same service. In addition, they managed to monitor the launches in real-time, which allowed them to react to problems and error messages within seconds. The vast amount of data that is generated within this very short period is now analyzed with machine learning techniques to improve the stability, reliability, and optimization of future launches. The company is working on a number of other efforts that benefit from the cloud environment, such as the implementation of RFID whose data output is managed through the AWS IoT offering…” (Click here to see the full text)
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Disclose. None. 10 Popular Stocks to Buy Right Now is originally published on Insider Monkey.
