In this article, we discuss the 10 technology stocks to buy now according to Stanley Druckenmiller.
Technology stocks have taken a beating in the past few months on the back of rising inflation and a hawkish Federal Reserve that has pledged significant rate increases in 2022 to keep soaring prices in check. Growth investors, like Stanley Druckenmiller of Duquesne Capital, have been forced to reposition their portfolios as a result. For example, Druckenmiller has completely exited his stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB), the tech giant that has pivoted to the metaverse from social media management.
Initially in 2021, Duquesne Capital added to a previously handsome stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB). However, it started dumping the stock during the second quarter, reducing the position by 61% between March and June 2021, and then slashing it further in the third quarter. By the fourth quarter, it had sold it off completely. Druckenmiller, who has warned of a “massive bubble” at the market that has seeped into all assets, has recently lauded the decision of the Fed to stop buying Treasury bonds, terming it a healthy signal for the market.
Some of the top stocks in the portfolio of Duquesne Capital at the end of December 2021 included Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN).
Our Methodology
The stocks were picked from the fourth quarter regulatory filings of Duquesne Capital. Companies that operate in the technology sector were preferred for the list. A database of around 900 elite hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey was used to help quantify the popularity of each stock among hedge funds.
Stan Druckenmiller
Technology Stocks to Buy Now According to Stanley Druckenmiller
10. Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE:PLTR)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 33
Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE:PLTR) is a software firm that caters to the intelligence industry. The company recently announced that it had signed a partnership with IT solutions provider Carahsoft Technology to broaden its reach in the US market. Under the agreement, the latter would act as the federal distributor of the former. Government departments will now be able to acquire the software offered by Palantir through reseller partners of Carahsoft. In the fourth quarter of 2021, Palantir had posted a 26% year-on-increase in government revenue.
According to the latest filings, Duquesne Capital owned over 1.6 million shares of Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE:PLTR) at the end of December 2021 worth $29.7 million, representing 1.07% of the portfolio.
At the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, 33 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $1.2 billion in Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR), compared to 35 in the preceding quarter worth $1.6 billion.
Just like Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE:PLTR) is one of the tech stocks that investors can pickup at bargain prices as inflation batters the growth industry.
In its Q4 2021 investor letter, Tao Value, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE:PLTR) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“We have no new position this quarter and have made below changes to our portfolio. We also sold Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE:PLTR) as I identified it subject to high retail bubble risk (using above method) and are not part of our core “Mindful Compounder” holdings.”
9. Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 55
Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) is a camera company headquartered in California. Latest data shows that the hedge fund led by Druckenmiller owned more than 1.4 million shares in the company at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021 worth close to $68 million, representing 2.46% of the portfolio. The company is a new addition to the portfolio. Previously, Druckenmiller held stakes in the firm in late 2018 through 2019. This holding, comprising around 5 million shares at one point, was sold off completely by early 2020.
On March 25, Loop Capital analyst Alan Gould maintained a Buy rating on Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) stock with a price target of $65, noting that the firm was one of the “quickest growing” internet firms in the world but monetizing at a lower rate than peers.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, Connecticut-based investment firm Lone Pine Capital is a leading shareholder in Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) with 33 million shares worth more than $1.5 billion.
In its Q4 2021 investor letter, Baron Funds, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) is the leading social network among teens and young adults in North America and a growing number of overseas markets, including Western Europe and India. Shares fell this quarter on a greater-than anticipated impact from Apple’s new privacy changes for iOS mobile devices. These changes made it more difficult for Snapchat to measure the effectiveness of ads shown on its platform. We believe this is a near-term, industry-wide issue for which Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) is already developing a solution. Longer term, we continue to view Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) favorably as the company sustains its rapid pace of product innovation and expands its premium partnerships with advertisers.”
8. Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 63
Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB) operates an online travel platform. The stock has gained in the past few days on the back of hopes of a boom in travel during the summer vacations and better-than-expected earnings for travel stocks as reports arrive for the first quarter in a few weeks. One indicator of the recovery is that home sharing spending has been soaring. According to M Science, home share spending was up over 67% compared to 2019 levels in the first week of March.
Securities filings show that Duquesne Capital owned 496,861 shares of Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB) at the end of December 2021 worth $82.7 million, representing close to 3% of the portfolio. The fund decreased its stake in the firm by 1% in the fourth quarter compared to third quarter filings.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, Chicago-based investment firm Citadel Investment Group is a leading shareholder in Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB) with 2.5 million shares worth more than $421 million.
In its Q3 2021 investor letter, Tollymore Investment Partners, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“Today disruptors are not typically seeking to replace incumbents entirely. Rather, they break the links in the customer journey, in doing so better aligning monetisation with value creation and minimising externalities. For example, Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB) broke the link between staying in residential property and owning it. Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB) is a specific example of a business model innovation which separated asset use from ownership. This is hardly a novel idea; it’s called renting. Rental models lend themselves to assets which are expensive and durable, and where usage is infrequent.”
7. Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 92
Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) provides online reservation services. Regulatory filings show that the investment firm of Druckenmiller owned 42,917 shares of the company at the end of December 2021 close to $103 million, representing 3.73% of the portfolio. The fund slashed its stake in the firm by 3% between October and December compared to third quarter data. The firm has featured in the Druckenmiller portfolio, with a minor exception in late 2020, since the second quarter of 2020.
On March 24, Ascendiant analyst Edward Woo maintained a Buy rating on Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) stock and raised the price target to $2,850 from $2,800, noting that the outlook for the firm was positive as travel demand remained strong.
At the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, 92 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $7.7 billion in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG), compared to 96 in the previous quarter worth $8.4 billion.
In its Q4 2021 investor letter, ClearBridge Investments, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“The pandemic created opportunities for us to be more aggressive in a variety of areas of the market. We were opportunistic throughout the year, for example, in positioning the portfolio to benefit from a flush consumer eager to return to spending and traveling. New positions included Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG), an online travel agency with industry-leading margins and a dominant footprint in Europe.”
6. Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 56
Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) owns and runs an ecommerce platform for used cars. On February 24, the firm posted earnings for the fourth quarter of 2021, reporting a revenue of $3.75 billion, up close to 105% compared to the revenue over the same period last year and beating analyst expectations by $240 million. The total retail units sold by the firm during the period stood at 113,016, an increase of 57% year-on-year. The gross profit during the quarter was $516 million, an increase of 111% compared to a year ago.
Latest 13F filings show that the hedge fund chaired by Druckenmiller owned 522,127 shares of Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) at the end of December 2021 worth more than $121 million, representing 4.38% of the portfolio.
At the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, 56 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $7.2 billion in Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA), compared to 58 in the preceding quarter worth $8.3 billion.
Along with Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) is one of the tech stocks that elite investors are buying.
In its Q4 2021 investor letter, ClearBridge Investments, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“A handful of disruptors accounted for most of the underperformance during the quarter. For the most part, the fundamentals and long-term theses for owning these companies remain intact. Shares of Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA), for example, took a breather after gaining more than 600% in a rally from the March 2020 lows. The online platform for used car sales keeps expanding its footprint to more U.S. markets, taking advantage of a very fragmented and locally-based used car business. In an inflationary environment for used vehicles, Carvana’s volumes and pricing remain strong and it should benefit from continued upward pricing trends as new car models add more features and shift to electrification.”
5. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NYSE:PANW)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 73
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NYSE:PANW) provides cybersecurity solutions. On March 25, RBC Capital analyst Matthew Hedberg kept an Outperform rating on the stock and raised the price target to $710 from $670, noting that the stock was a “top idea” based on “durable” double-digit top-line growth with improving margins. The analyst also appreciated the demand environment for the company in general and lauded the fast growing NGS business in addition to the durable FWaaS business.
Latest 13F filings show that Duquesne Capital owned 229,500 shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NYSE:PANW) at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021 worth more than $127 million, representing 4.63% of the portfolio. The fund slashed its stake in the firm by 43% in the fourth quarter compared to third quarter data.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, London-based firm Generation Investment Management is a leading shareholder in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NYSE:PANW) with 976,997 shares worth more than $543 million.
4. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 279
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is a diversified technology firm with core interests in ecommerce. Securities filings show that the hedge fund led by Druckenmiller owned 56,882 shares of the company at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021 worth more than $189 million, representing 6.87% of the portfolio. The fund decreased its stake in the firm by 42% between October and December compared to third quarter filings. The firm has featured in the Druckenmiller portfolio consistently since early 2017.
On March 25, Evercore ISI analyst Mark Mahaney maintained an Outperform rating on Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) stock with a price target of $4,300, identifying the stock as the “number one mega cap internet long idea” and noting that the market was underappreciating opportunities such as “shipping elasticity, brand advertising revenue, and grocery” in relation to the stock.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, London-based investment firm Citadel Investment Group is a leading shareholder in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) with 4.1 million shares worth more than $13 billion.
In its Q4 2021 investor letter, Mercator International, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“Transformative technologies often generate euphoria. People are excited by the big new thing that is changing the world. We saw this pattern with the boom of westward canal transportation at the dawn of the nineteenth century. Railway stocks similarly attracted large numbers of eager investors a few decades later. Then came the electrification of America, the telephone, and the automobile industry, to name just a few transformative technologies.
The initial euphoric phase always ends with a reality check. Valuations come back to earth. At the end of the cycle, only a few companies remain standing. A shakeout has a way of clarifying the field of opportunities.
For example, readers may recall that when the internet bubble burst two decades ago, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) stock suffered greatly but pet.com was gone. For those investors who had stayed on the sidelines, this was an excellent time to buy Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN). The company’s business model had shown its merits and competition was rapidly shrinking. The stock price was now also much more attractive.”
3. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 262
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a Washington-based technology company. The company is one of the biggest players in the professional workspace software, cloud computing, and gaming domains. In a volatile market, it is also one of the few tech players with a reliable dividend history stretching back almost two decades. In mid-March, the firm declared a quarterly dividend of $0.62 per share, in line with previous. The forward yield was 0.9%. The dividend is payable to shareholders by late May and early June.
Regulatory filings reveal that the investment firm of Druckenmiller owned 800,490 shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021 worth $269 million, representing 9.76% of the portfolio.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, Washington-based investment firm Fisher Asset Management is a leading shareholder in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) with 26 million shares worth more than $9 billion.
In its Q4 2021 investor letter, ClearBridge Investments, an investment management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“Despite these mixed emerging growth results, the ClearBridge Global Growth Strategy outperformed the benchmark due to resilience among our secular and structural growth holdings. The bulk of these contributions came from U.S. mega-cap growth stocks Apple and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) which continued to uniquely act both offensively and defensively as they have through most of the pandemic.”
2. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 158
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is a California-based technology firm. Latest data shows that Duquesne Capital owned 94,414 shares of the firm at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021 worth more than $273 million, representing 9.91% of the portfolio. The fund slashed its position in the company by 20% between October and December compared to third quarter filings. The company has been a constant feature in the Druckenmiller portfolio, with minor exceptions, since late 2015.
On April 13, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) announced that it would be investing at least $9.5 billion across offices and data centers in the United States in 2022, up from $7 billion in 2021. The investment will create 12,000 full-time jobs this year, per the firm.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, London-based investment firm TCI Fund Management is a leading shareholder in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) with 2.9 million shares worth more than $8.5 billion.
In its Q4 2021 investor letter, Vulcan Value Partners, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“In contrast, we made a different kind of mistake about a decade ago. Google, now Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), performed very well for us while we owned it. The company kept outperforming our assumptions and we kept lowering them to be conservative. “Trees do not grow to the sky.” The stock kept going up and our value grew but did not keep pace with the stock. It hit our estimate of fair value and we sold it with a nice gain, patting ourselves on the back. We kept following the company and what they actually did over the next several years was roughly double the assumptions we used to value it. Therefore, our value was too conservative, and we sold it too cheaply, missing many years of compounding. Fortunately, we experienced some volatility several years ago that allowed us to purchase Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (Google) again with a margin of safety.”
1. Coupang, Inc. (NYSE:CPNG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 29
Coupang, Inc. (NYSE:CPNG) is a South Korea-based ecommerce firm. The company has been in the Druckenmiller portfolio since the first quarter of 2021. The fund has steadily increased the initial stake it bought in the company, adding to it up 47%, 14%, and 15% in the subsequent quarters. The initial stake comprised just a little over 10.5 million shares purchased at an average price of $46.22. The shares have lost value in the past twelve months, dropping by about 63%.
According to the latest filings, the hedge fund chaired by Druckenmiller owned more than 17.7 million shares of Coupang, Inc. (NYSE:CPNG) at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021 worth $521 million, representing 18.92% of the portfolio.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, California-based investment firm Greenoaks Capital is a leading shareholder in Coupang, Inc. (NYSE:CPNG) with 115 million shares worth more than $3.4 billion.
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Disclosure. None. 10 Technology Stocks to Buy Now According to Stanley Druckenmiller is originally published on Insider Monkey.
