10 Tech Stocks to Buy Now According to Barry Dargan’s Intermede Investment Partners

Published May 10, 2022 at 10:05 am EDT Updated August 19, 2026 at 7:51 am EDT

In this article, we discuss 10 tech stocks to buy now according to Barry Dargan’s Intermede Investment Partners.

Hedge fund manager Barry Dargan is the chief executive officer and portfolio manager of the London-based investment management firm, Intermede Investment Partners. After earning his bachelor’s degree from the University of London and his FCA from ICAEW, Barry Dargan commenced his career at James Capel in 1988 and then moved on to work for S.G. Warburg & Co Ltd. He left the investment bank to serve MFS Investment Management as its managing director and portfolio manager. Later, he joined Artisan Partners as a partner, managing director, and portfolio manager. Barry Dargan founded Intermede Investment Partners in 2013. He has over 35 years of experience as an investing professional and 20 years as a worldwide equities portfolio manager.

Intermede Investment Partners specializes in global stocks and is a fundamental, bottom-up boutique fund management firm. The hedge fund strives to outperform global stock markets by investing in well-managed firms with strong market positions in appealing areas. Intermede Investment Partners is particularly interested in enterprises that have established a long-term competitive advantage. According to the fourth quarter 13F filings, Intermede Investment Partners manages more than $4.86 billion in its investment portfolio. The hedge fund’s portfolio is diversified over 6 core sectors, the largest of which is information technology.

Some of the top tech stocks present in the investment portfolio of Intermede Investment Partners at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021 include Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM), among others discussed below.

In Barry Dargan’s portfolio, a notable tech company is Alphabet Inc.. On May 5, Alphabet Inc. announced that it had bought Raxium, a California-based MicroLED technology business that will help Google with future augmented and mixed reality headsets.

10 Tech Stocks to Buy Now According to Barry Dargan's Intermede Investment Partners

Photo by Adam Nowakowski on Unsplash

Barry Dargan is bullish on Apple Inc., according to his hedge fund’s disclosed holdings data at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021. The fund increased its stake in Apple Inc. by 4% in the fourth quarter, ending the period with 1.29 million shares of the company. Apple issued a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share on April 28, up 4.5% from the previous payout of $0.22.

Another tech stock worth investing in according to Barry Dargan’s Intermede Investment Partners is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited. On April 14, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited published earnings for the first quarter of 2022, announcing an EPS of $1.40, beating estimates by $0.09. The $17.57 billion revenue was up 36% year-over-year, exceeding estimates by $1.31 billion.

Our Methodology

We used Barry Dargan’s Intermede Investment Partners’ 13F portfolio for the fourth quarter of 2021 for this analysis, selecting the fund’s top 10 tech stocks. Insider Monkey’s database of over 900 elite hedge funds was utilised to determine the popularity of each company among smart investors.

Tech Stocks to Buy Now According to Barry Dargan’s Intermede Investment Partners

10. ANSYS, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANSS)

Intermede Investment Partners’ Stake Value: $122,510,000

Intermede Investment Partners’ 13F Portfolio: 2.52%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 44

ANSYS, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANSS) is a company that creates and sells engineering simulation software and services. It operates in four geographical regions – the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. Among the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Ako Capital is a leading shareholder of ANSYS, Inc., with 505,822 shares worth more than $160.67 million. Overall, 44 hedge funds had stakes in ANSYS, Inc., valued at $1.62 billion as of the fourth quarter end of 2021.

On May 6, RBC Capital analyst Matthew Hedberg maintained a Sector Perform rating on ANSYS, Inc. and decreased his price objective to $315 from $350 due to multiple peer reductions.

Motor Design, a UK-based producer of electric motor design software, was purchased by ANSYS, Inc. on May 4. According to the fourth quarter 13F Filings, Intermede Investment Partners held 305,420 shares of ANSYS, Inc., worth $122.51 million and representing 2.52% of the fund’s investment portfolio.

Just like Alphabet Inc., Apple Inc., and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited, ANSYS, Inc. is one of the tech stocks to buy now according to Barry Dargan’s Intermede Investment Partners.

In its fourth quarter 2021 investor letter, Baron Funds mentioned ANSYS, Inc.. Here is what the fund said:

“ANSYS, Inc., a leading provider of physics-based simulation software, contributed to performance after its earnings results exceeded Street estimates. ANSYS continued to grow its sales within its largest customers. In addition, the company continued to expand its product offerings and distribution network through innovation, acquisitions, and partnerships, allowing it to address faster-growing segments of its market. We believe ANSYS remains positioned to benefit from the ongoing growth in demand for simulation across both its core and emerging technology markets.”

9. Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Intermede Investment Partners’ Stake Value: $133,035,000

Intermede Investment Partners’ 13F Portfolio: 2.73%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 96

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA), based in Hangzhou, China, is an internet retailer. Alibaba.com, Tmall.com, and the Taobao marketplace all provide wholesale and retail services to millions of merchants, and the corporation also owns a cloud computing software platform. Fisher Asset Management is the leading shareholder of Alibaba Group Holding Limited as of Q1 2022, with 14.45 million shares worth over $1.57 billion.

Alibaba Group Holding Limited has attracted investments from 96 hedge funds, valued at $6.94 billion, as tracked by Insider Monkey at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021. In the fourth quarter, Intermede Investment Partners increased its stake in Alibaba Group Holding Limited by 53%, and its position in the company is now worth about $133.04 million.

On May 2, Mizuho analyst James Lee decreased his price objective on Alibaba Group Holding Limited from $180 to $160, but maintained a Buy rating on the stock. The expert anticipated that the first half of 2022 will be challenging for China’s internet due to the constant disruptions in consumer spending and business activity induced by COVID limits.

Here is what Baron Funds has to say about Alibaba Group Holding Limited in its first quarter 2022 investor letter:

“We have eliminated 6 holdings during the first quarter (including) Alibaba. We have sold our Alibaba Group Holding Limited position as the company continues to face competitive challenges and regulatory pressures remain, making it difficult (if not impossible) to appropriately assess the range of outcomes and associated probabilities for the future profitability of the business.”

8. Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Intermede Investment Partners’ Stake Value: $142,021,000

Intermede Investment Partners’ 13F Portfolio: 2.92%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 78

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) supplies production equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and other related sectors. Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display & Adjacent Markets are Applied Materials, Inc.’s three segments.

On April 25, Barclays analyst Blayne Curtis maintained an Equal Weight rating on Applied Materials, Inc. and trimmed his price target to $150 from $165. He lowered his price expectations across the sector to reflect the stock market’s decline.

According to Insider Monkey’s database, Applied Materials, Inc. was in the portfolio of 78 hedge funds at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, up from 68 funds in the quarter earlier.

Applied Materials, Inc. is a new arrival in Intermede Investment Partners’ Q4 portfolio, as the hedge fund bought about 902,526 shares of the company, worth $142.02 million. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management is Applied Materials, Inc.’s most significant stakeholder, with 3.78 million shares worth $498.62 million as of Q1 2022.

Davis Funds, an investment management firm, in its fourth-quarter 2021 investor letter, mentioned Applied Materials, Inc.. Here is what the fund said:

“Within technology and communication services, we own a number of online businesses and semiconductor related companies, including Alphabet, Amazon, Intel, Applied Materials and Texas Instruments. Within the realm of high technology, we believe that leadership positions reflect enduring and widening competitive advantages over smaller competitors, with few exceptions. This is because online businesses, as well as semiconductor companies, benefit from economies of scale. An online search and advertising engine will, in general, be more profitable per unit of cost as it grows larger in terms of users and advertising dollars. It is a hub-and-spoke model, in other words, where it is generally not necessary to grow expenses at the same rate that revenues grow beyond a certain threshold. Therefore, returns on capital tend to be higher, the larger and more dominant the online search company is.”

7. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB)

Intermede Investment Partners’ Stake Value: $157,785,000

Intermede Investment Partners’ 13F Portfolio: 3.24%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 224

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) is a social media corporation. Virtual reality is Meta Platforms, Inc.’s vision for the future. Intermede Investment Partners trimmed its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 4% during the fourth quarter of 2021. The fund owns 469,111 shares of Meta Platforms, Inc., worth over $157.79 million, representing 3.24% of the portfolio. Meta Platforms, Inc. has featured on the portfolio of Intermede Investment Partners since the fourth quarter of 2016. According to Insider Monkey’s database tracking 924 hedge funds in the fourth quarter of 2021, 224 hedge funds held stakes in Meta Platforms, Inc., valued at $31.85 billion.

On April 28, MKM Partners analyst Rohit Kulkarni trimmed his price target on Meta Platforms, Inc. to $295 from $315 but maintained a Buy rating on the shares. The company’s Q1 results were mixed, and its Q2 guidance was soft. Still, the post-earnings rally reflected a “collective sigh of relief” that Meta has successfully navigated the “series of headwinds,” according to the analyst.

ClearBridge Investments mentioned Meta Platforms, Inc. in its first quarter 2022 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:

“Facebook shares derated following fourth-quarter earnings results and first-quarter revenue guidance that was weaker than expected. We knew going into Facebook’s latest reporting period that Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS14 privacy changes (measurement, loss of signal) would have a near-term impact on earnings, but competition in the social media space (primarily from TikTok) further catalyzed multiple compression in the stock. While TikTok is a competitive threat and Apple’s privacy changes have impacted the industry, we believe these risks are manageable and Facebook retains a number of advantages around user scale, advertiser scale, new product development and sophistication of its digital advertising technology that are not being valued at current levels.”

6. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)

Intermede Investment Partners’ Stake Value: $171,465,000

Intermede Investment Partners’ 13F Portfolio: 3.52%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 279

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is a web retailer and cloud computing infrastructure provider. Fluence Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FLNC) signed a cloud computing agreement with Amazon.com, Inc. Web Services on May 5 to support Fluence’s hardware and software platforms. Due to its investment pricing restraint, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter removed Amazon.com, Inc. from its Best Ideas List on May 2. He assigned an Outperform rating to the stock and a price target of $3,500.

Amazon.com, Inc. remains the top 2021 stock holding among hedge fund managers. As of the end of the fourth quarter, 279 hedge funds in Insider Monkey’s database held stakes in Amazon.com, Inc., an increase compared to 242 funds in the preceding quarter.

According to the 13F filings for the fourth quarter of 2021, Intermede Investment Partners held 51,424 shares of Amazon.com, Inc., amounting to more than $171.47 million and representing 3.52% of the fund’s portfolio.

In addition to Alphabet Inc., Apple Inc., and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited, Amazon.com, Inc. is one of the tech stocks on the radar of Barry Dargan’s Intermede Investment Partners.

In its Q1 2022 investor letter, Farrer Wealth Advisors mentioned Amazon.com, Inc.. Here is what the fund said:

“Amazon: We had a medium-sized position in Amazon which we exited after the company released its earnings. We thought earnings on aggregate were just fine and were especially impressed to see AWS (Amazon Web Services) start to reaccelerate its growth, up nearly 40% yoy. However, looking beneath the hood a little bit, we noticed a significant slowdown in the 1P and 3P ecommerce businesses that enjoyed a nice covid-bump in previous quarters. The international business also saw negative yoy growth as the covid bump deflated and competition heat up in markets such as Southeast Asia, Latin America, and India. None of these issues individually were a huge cause for concern, but they did force us to lower our internal projections. Given this, we felt the internal rate of return (“IRR”) baked into the price post-earnings was not particularly attractive given other opportunities available, and so, we exited the position. None of this is to say that Amazon is in any trouble, and we believe current investors will do just fine over time. We remain big fans of the companies and think Prime and AWS may be some of the best businesses ever created, so we reserve the right to buy back the position at cheaper valuations (or at a higher potential IRR).”

5. Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE)

Intermede Investment Partners’ Stake Value: $176,253,000
Intermede Investment Partners’ 13F Portfolio: 3.62%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 262

Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) is a Delaware-based software firm based in the United States. On April 29, Exane BNP Paribas analyst Stefan Slowinski assigned an Outperform rating to Adobe Inc. and a $570 price target.

Intermede Investment Partners also strengthened its position in Adobe Inc. by buying 114,586 additional shares in Q4 2021. This makes their stake in Adobe Inc. total 310,819 shares worth $176.25 million.

Adobe Inc. was found in the public stock portfolios of 94 hedge funds at the end of December 2021, compared to 95 funds the previous quarter, according to the database of Insider Monkey. Fisher Asset Management is the biggest stakeholder of Adobe Inc. as of the first quarter of 2022, reducing its stake in the company by 3%, holding 6.54 million shares worth almost $2.98 billion.

Here is what Richie Capital Group has to say about Adobe Inc. in its Q2 2021 investor letter:

“Adobe Inc. (up 24.8%) – In the last 15 years, Adobe Inc. has transformed itself into a software behemoth, more than tripling its revenue since 2010. The company is famous for its namesake PDF-reader and photo-editing software Photoshop. However, Adobe Inc. sells a full suite of software products through a recurring subscription model. Adobe Inc. transitioned from selling boxed software to recurring subscriptions in 2013 and revenues have grown consistently since. Adobe Inc. achieved $13B in revenue in 2020 with 88% Gross Margins.”

4. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM)

Intermede Investment Partners’ Stake Value: $219,797,000
Intermede Investment Partners’ 13F Portfolio: 4.52%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 72

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited manufactures and sells integrated circuits and semiconductor wafer devices. As of Q4 2021, Intermede Investment Partners boosted its stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited by 6%, holding 1.83 million shares worth approximately $219.80 million.

Hans Engel of Erste Group lowered Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited from Buy to Hold on April 14. While Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited benefited from its strong market position, Engel warned investors that sales and profit forecasts for 2022 declined due to a global economic slowdown.

In Q4 2021, fund managers added to their Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited holdings. There were 72 hedge funds in our database that held stakes in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to 67 funds in the third quarter.

Wedgewood Partners, an investment management firm, in its first-quarter 2022 investor letter, mentioned Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited. Here is what the fund said:

“Taiwan Semiconductor pulled back on geopolitical concerns and periodic market fears about the end of the “cycle” in semiconductors. First, we think the Company might be one of the most – if not the most – important Companies in the world. Taiwan Semiconductor has a near-monopoly on semiconductor processing at advanced nodes, which makes it irreplaceable to customers such as Apple, AMD, NVIDIA, Mediatek, Amazon, and even Intel. Second, much less important manufacturers have more direct geopolitical risk than Taiwan Semiconductor, yet they trade at substantial premiums – both multiple and market cap. For example, Tesla is a heavy manufacturer of only about 1 million automobiles with significant production capacity located in the heart of China, yet it trades at double the market cap of Taiwan Semiconductor. Third, while it is hard to know when the current semiconductor “cycle” will slow or end, we see very few signs of it, as Taiwan Semiconductor continues to generate bookings well in excess of its current capacity – unlike any previous cycle. Taiwan Semiconductor traded to levels that are much too pessimistic given its competitive positioning and opportunity for growth driven by a more robust semiconductor cycle, driven by high-performance computing. As such, we added to our position during the quarter.”

3. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Intermede Investment Partners’ Stake Value: $228,217,000
Intermede Investment Partners’ 13F Portfolio: 4.69%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 134

Apple Inc. develops, manufactures, and sells smartphones, laptops, tablets, wearables, and accessories. Insider Monkey’s database showed that 134 hedge funds had stakes in Apple Inc. at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, up from 120 funds the previous quarter.

Rosenblatt analyst Barton Crockett decreased his price target on Apple Inc. to $168 from $184 on May 2 and maintained a Neutral rating on the stock. Crockett, who was unsure when China would no longer be a Covid risk for Apple Inc., said its March quarter report was encouraging, but it was plagued by fears of more supply disruptions in the June quarter.

In the fourth quarter of 2021, Barry Dargan’s Intermede Investment Partners owned 1.29 million Apple Inc. shares, worth over $228.22 million, representing 4.69% of the total 13F securities. Fisher Asset Management is Apple Inc.’s largest shareholder, with shares worth $11.17 billion as of Q1 2022.

Here is what Berkshire Hathaway has to say about Apple Inc. in its Q4 2021 investor letter:

“Apple Inc. – our runner-up Giant as measured by its year end market value – is a different sort of holding. Here, our ownership is a mere 5.55%, up from 5.39% a year earlier. That increase sounds like small potatoes. But consider that each 0.1% of Apple’s 2021 earnings amounted to $100 million. We spent no Berkshire funds to gain our accretion. Apple’s repurchases did the job. It’s important to understand that only dividends from Apple are counted in the GAAP earnings Berkshire reports – and last year, Apple paid us $785 million of those. Yet our “share” of Apple’s earnings amounted to a staggering $5.6 billion. Much of what the company retained was used to repurchase Apple shares, an act we applaud. Tim Cook, Apple’s brilliant CEO, quite properly regards users of Apple products as his first love, but all of his other constituencies benefit from Tim’s managerial touch as well.”

2. Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN)

Intermede Investment Partners’ Stake Value: $230,291,000
Intermede Investment Partners’ 13F Portfolio: 4.74%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 50

Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) is a global professional services firm established in Ireland, specializing in information technology consulting and services. It has operations in 55 countries and serves clients in over 120 countries. The Fortune Global 100 and more than 75% of the Fortune Global 500 companies are among Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN)’s clientele.

Intermede Investment Partners has held a stake in Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) since Q4 2015, and as of the fourth quarter of 2021, the hedge fund owned 555,520 shares of the company, worth $230.29 million. Intermede Investment Partners strengthened its position in Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) by 6% in Q4 2021, and the stock represented 4.74% of the total portfolio.

In the fourth quarter of 2021, 50 hedge funds monitored by Insider Monkey were bullish on Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN), compared to 56 funds the previous quarter. In Q4, the total stakes held were $5.12 billion.

Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) bought akzente, a well-known sustainability consultant based in Munich, Germany, on May 2 for an undisclosed sum. Baird analyst David Koning boosted his price objective on Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) from $360 to $378 on April 8 and maintained a Neutral rating on the stock.

ClearBridge Investments, in its Q4 2021 investor letter, mentioned Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN). Here is what the fund has to say:

“We were quite active during the quarter, leveraging volatility to add 10 new names to the portfolio while exiting seven others. Among our new purchases was Accenture. Ireland-based Accenture is the leading IT professional services company that offers the full life cycle of IT services including consulting, implementation and outsourcing. It is a key partner of organizations going through digital transformation and cloud adoption and we view the company as an agnostic way to gain exposure to the compressed digital transformation cycle that is occurring across all industries post COVID-19.”

1. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Intermede Investment Partners’ Stake Value: $294,845,000
Intermede Investment Partners’ 13F Portfolio: 6.06%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 158

Alphabet Inc. is the parent company of Google, the world’s most popular search engine. Barry Dargan held 101,896 shares of Alphabet Inc. in Q4 2021, worth about $294.85 million, representing 6.06% of the total 13F securities. The hedge fund slashed its stake in the firm by 4% in the fourth quarter of 2021.

On April 27, Guggenheim analyst Michael Morris reduced his price target on Alphabet Inc. to $3,000 from $3,350 and maintained a Buy rating on the shares. He reduced his expectations for 2022 to account for new hurdles, such as stronger comparisons, the influence of Russia, and unfavorable foreign exchange consequences. According to Insider Monkey’s Q4 data, 158 hedge funds were bullish on Alphabet Inc., amounting to $36.63 billion, up from 156 funds in the earlier quarter, worth $34.96 billion.

Baron Funds, an asset management firm, mentioned Alphabet Inc. in its first quarter 2022 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:

“We have modestly reduced the size of our position in Alphabet Inc. (from 6.5% at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021 to 5.3% as of the end of the first quarter of 2022), after the stock rallied 64% in 2021 and continued outperforming during the first quarter, declining just 3%.”

You can also take a peek at 10 Stocks to Buy According to Joshua Pearl’s Hickory Lane Capital Management and 10 Stocks to Buy Now According to James Katz’s Humankind Investments.

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