12 Best Big Data Stocks To Buy Now

In this article, we discuss 12 best big data stocks to buy now.

According to Fortune Business Insights, the global big data analytics market was valued at $240.56 billion in 2021 and it is forecasted to grow from $271.83 billion in 2022 to $655.53 billion by 2029, at a compound annual growth rate of 13.4% during the forecast period. The increasing data generation from social media platforms like Facebook, Snapchat, WhatsApp, and Instagram leads to significant databases and huge amounts of data that need big data technology for processing. This is one of the reasons why the demand for big data analytics is expected to increase in the coming years.

Organizations will survive economic volatility in 2023 and will depend on data lineage to allow cost savings and competitive intelligence. During a time when organizations need to trust their databases, enabling a clear view on data’s origin and path, especially when paired with data quality and privacy, will be meaningful in supporting upcoming digital transformation projects. In 2023, organizations will need to largely manage their scattered data and enabling data sharing across platforms will become more critical. 

Investors can also check out 15 Biggest Data Mining Companies in the World and 10 Best Data Center Stocks To Buy to explore and understand the big data industry better. Some of the best big data stocks to invest in include Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM), Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:SNOW), and Datadog, Inc. (NASDAQ:DDOG). 

Our Methodology

We selected the following big data stocks based on overall hedge fund sentiment toward each stock. We have assessed the hedge fund sentiment from Insider Monkey’s database of 920 elite hedge funds tracked as of the end of the third quarter of 2022. The list is arranged in ascending order of the number of hedge fund holders in each firm. 

Best Big Data Stocks To Buy Now

12. Teradata Corporation (NYSE:TDC)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 25

Teradata Corporation (NYSE:TDC) is a California-based provider of a connected multi-cloud data platform for enterprise analytics. Its business consulting services include support for organizations to establish a data and analytics vision, in addition to offering a value-adding multi cloud ecosystem architecture. The company reported solid growth in its public cloud annual recurring revenue, which climbed 89% year-over-year to $279 million.

On November 11, Citi analyst Tyler Radke raised the firm’s price target on Teradata Corporation to $42 from $40 and maintained a Buy rating on the shares. The analyst increased estimates slightly, noting that the company delivered a strong quarter, supported by solidity in the cloud business and a beat on most headline metrics.

According to Insider Monkey’s database, 25 hedge funds were long Teradata Corporation at the end of September 2022, compared to 26 funds in the last quarter. Jean-Marie Eveillard’s First Eagle Investment Management is the largest position holder in the company, with more than 9 million shares worth $282 million. 

Like Salesforce, Inc., Snowflake Inc., and Datadog, Inc., Teradata Corporation is one of the best big data stocks to monitor. 

Here is what First Eagle Investment Management has to say about Teradata Corporation in its Q3 2021 investor letter:

“A longstanding participant in the data warehousing space, Teradata has been transitioning its focus from on-premises database management and analytics to the rapidly growing cloud-computing market. The company has delivered a series of impressive quarterly results, and markets appear to be taking notice of what we see as a sticky, high-margin, high-cash-generating business.”

11. Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE:PLTR)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 35

Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE:PLTR) is a Colorado-based company that develops and deploys software platforms for the intelligence community in the United States in order to help with counterterrorism investigations and operations. The company provides Palantir Gotham, a software platform that enables users to identify patterns hidden deep within datasets and allows individual users to integrate and analyze the data they need in one place. Palantir Technologies Inc. is one of the best big data stocks to invest in. 

On January 10, Palantir Technologies Inc. announced a strategic partnership with security company Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE:NET) to help organizations slash cloud costs, increase control, and improve predictability over multi-cloud workloads. The partnership will allow organizations to rapidly generate significant cost savings from their current cloud bills and transition to a more cost effective cloud infrastructure for the long run.

BofA analyst Mariana Perez Mora on December 22 noted that Palantir Technologies Inc.’s SPAC investments strategy “seemed to be poorly timed” and has not met its investment objectives so far, but the selloff which puts the stock down 65% year-to-date has been overdone. The analyst kept a Buy rating and a $14 price target on Palantir Technologies Inc. shares.

According to Insider Monkey’s data, 35 hedge funds were long Palantir Technologies Inc. at the end of Q3 2022, up from 26 funds in the last quarter. Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies is the biggest stakeholder of the company, with 33.13 million shares worth $269.3 million. 

Here is what Tao Value has to say about Palantir Technologies Inc. in its Q4 2021 investor letter:

“We have no new position this quarter and have made below changes to our portfolio. We also sold Palantir (PLTR) as I identified it subject to high retail bubble risk (using above method) and are not part of our core “Mindful Compounder” holdings.”

10. International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 40

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) is a New York-based company that provides integrated technology solutions and services worldwide. The company operates through four business segments – Software, Consulting, Infrastructure, and Financing. International Business Machines Corporation specializes in data and artificial intelligence solutions, security software and services for threats, data, and identity, and data and analytics, among others. International Business Machines Corporation is one of the leading big data stocks to invest in. 

On December 13, International Business Machines Corporation entered a partnership to advance logic scaling technology as part of Japan’s initiatives to become a worldwide leader in semiconductor research, development, and manufacturing. Both companies will work on developing International Business Machines Corporation’s breakthrough 2-nanometer node technology for implementation by Rapidus at its fabrication plant in Japan.

BofA analyst Wamsi Mohan on October 18 maintained a Buy recommendation on International Business Machines Corporation but trimmed the firm’s price target on the shares to $145 from $155. 

According to Insider Monkey’s data, 40 hedge funds were bullish on International Business Machines Corporation at the end of September 2022, and Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke, and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital held the biggest position in the company, with 4.3 million shares worth $515.7 million. 

In its Q1 2022 investor letter, St. James Investment Company, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and International Business Machines Corporation was one of them. Here is what the fund said:

“IBM was not the first company to build computers. The distinction belongs to Sperry-Rand’s subsidiary UNIVAC, which introduced the first commercially successful computers in the early 1950s. In this era, IBM did possess the largest research and development department of the business machines industry and quickly caught up, introducing cost-competitive computers a few years after UNIVAC. By the late 1950s, IBM held the dominant market share in computers. IBM also touted a vastly superior sales organization, which used a sales tactic called “paper machines” (the equivalent of today’s “vaporware”). If a competitor’s product was selling well in a market segment that IBM had yet to penetrate, the company would announce a competing product and start taking orders for the “paper machine” long before it was available. (read more)

9. Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLK)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 46

Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLK) is a California-based provider of software and cloud solutions that provide operationalized insights from the data generated by digital systems in the United States and internationally. On December 1, Splunk Inc. announced a five-year extension of its Strategic Collaboration Agreement with Amazon Web Services. It is one of the best big data stocks to buy. 

On December 15, Wedbush analyst Taz Koujalgi assumed coverage of Splunk Inc. with a Neutral rating and an $86 price target. The company has faced execution and demand challenges in recent quarters, and the analyst is worried about competitive challenges, and the likely disruption that management challenges could entail. The valuation seems compelling, but he would like to see some stability in execution after a few quarters of a year-over-year drop in net new ARR.

According to Insider Monkey’s data, 46 hedge funds were bullish on Splunk Inc. at the end of Q3 2022, compared to 47 funds in the prior quarter. Alex Sacerdote’s Whale Rock Capital Management is the largest stakeholder of the company, with 2.3 million shares worth $176.7 million. 

Here is what Carillon Tower Advisers specifically said about Splunk Inc. in its Q2 2022 investor letter:

“Splunk Inc., a leader in artificial intelligence solutions for corporate data logs and security, fell in a weak tech group. The company has been transitioning to more of a software-as-a service (SaaS) business model that has, we believe, temporarily depressed earnings and cash flow. We like Splunk’s leadership position in the industry and the company has installed a new CEO and is rolling out new features and products.”

8. New Relic, Inc. (NYSE:NEWR)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 48

New Relic, Inc. (NYSE:NEWR) was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. It is a software-as-a-service company that deploys a software platform for customers to collect telemetry data and derive insights from that data in a unified front-end application. It is one of the best big data stocks to buy now. For full-year 2022, New Relic, Inc. laid out a revenue guidance of between $912 million and $920 million, representing a year-over-year growth of 16.1% and 17.1%, respectively, versus a consensus of $920.52 million. 

On December 15, Wedbush analyst Taz Koujalgi initiated coverage of New Relic, Inc. with a Neutral rating and a $68 price target. The analyst observed that the company has seen its growth momentum improve, and it has almost moved its entire installed base to a consumption-based pricing model.

According to Insider Monkey’s Q3 data, 48 hedge funds were bullish on New Relic, Inc., compared to 41 funds in the prior quarter. Ricky Sandler’s Eminence Capital is the largest position holder in the company, with 5.68 million shares worth over $326 million. 

Here is what ClearBridge Investments SMID Cap Growth Strategy has to say about New Relic, Inc. in its Q4 2021 investor letter:

“New Relic, which develops observability software including application monitoring, infrastructure and network monitoring capabilities, was another strong contributor. After a long evolution to a consumption-based pricing plan and rejuvenation of its tech platform, New Relic shares were boosted by quarterly results that topped expectations on strength across a number of metrics including consumption and churn.”

7. Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 49

Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL) designs, develops, manufactures, and supports comprehensive and integrated technology solutions, products, and services in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and internationally. Dell EMC is helping businesses store, analyze, and protect their data, which allows them to understand customer behavior, optimize operations, manage risk, and enable innovation. Dell Technologies Inc. is one of the top big data stocks to monitor. 

On December 6, Dell Technologies Inc. declared a $0.33 per share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. The dividend is payable on February 3, to shareholders of record on January 25. The dividend yield on January 16 came in at 3.29%. 

Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi on January 9 maintained an Outperform rating on Dell Technologies Inc. but lowered the firm’s price target on the shares to $60 from $72. Dell Technologies Inc.’s valuation is “compelling” and fiscal 2024 estimates have been appropriately reset, the analyst told investors in a research note.

According to Insider Monkey’s data, 49 hedge funds were long Dell Technologies Inc. at the end of September 2022, and Steve Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management is the leading position holder in the company, with over 4 million shares worth $139.30 million. 

Third Point Management shared its detailed stance on Dell Technologies in its Q3 2021 investor letter. Here’s what the fund said:

“Michael Dell has created substantial value for shareholders since re-listing the company several years ago. Earlier this year, Dell Technologies announced that it would be spinning its $50 billion stake in VMWare, which we believe will unlock the under-appreciated value of the Dell server and PC businesses. Dell’s best attribute has been strong free cash flow generation, which the company has used to de-lever and create significant latent value for equity holders. Looking ahead, we believe this core Dell business, which still trades at a discount to its hardware peer group, should instead command a premium multiple thanks to its leading market share, profitability, and impressive execution. There are few large cap companies which possess a nearly 10% FCF yield, 2.5% dividend yield and 1.5x leverage ratio; Dell is one of them.”

6. MongoDB, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDB)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 50

MongoDB, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDB) is a New York-based company that provides a general purpose database platform worldwide. It is one of the best big data stocks to invest in. As per its 2023 outlook, MongoDB, Inc. expects a revenue of $1.257 billion to $1.260 billion, versus a consensus of $1.21 billion, and non-GAAP earnings per share $0.29 to $0.31, compared to a Street consensus of a per share loss of $0.31. 

On January 9, Truist analyst Miller Jump maintained a Buy recommendation on MongoDB, Inc. but lowered the firm’s price target on the shares to $235 from $300 as part of a broader research note on Infrastructure & Security Software.

According to Insider Monkey’s third quarter database, 50 hedge funds were bullish on MongoDB, Inc., compared to 56 funds in the prior quarter. Paul Marshall and Ian Wace’s Marshall Wace LLP is a prominent stakeholder of the company, with 696,998 shares worth $138.3 million. 

In addition to Salesforce, Inc., Snowflake Inc., and Datadog, Inc., elite investors are piling into MongoDB, Inc. to gain exposure to the big data industry. 

ClearBridge Investments made the following comment about MongoDB, Inc. in its Q3 2022 investor letter:

“We made limited changes to the portfolio in the third quarter. New buys included embryonic positions in several rapid growers — MongoDB, Inc. and Clear Secure (YOU) — whose valuations have come in quite dramatically. MongoDB is a company we followed for many years before its 2017 IPO. The stock looks very attractive trading at a third of its recent peak in November 2021. The company’s database software is growing rapidly and taking share in a $50 billion plus global market.”

5. Elastic N.V. (NYSE:ESTC)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 53

Elastic N.V. (NYSE:ESTC) is a California-based search company that delivers technology solutions designed to run in public or private clouds in multi-cloud environments. It is a self-managed and software as a service company that specializes in search, logging, security, observability, and data analytics use cases. For 2023, Elastic N.V. expects total revenue to be between $1.067 billion and $1.073 billion, representing 24% year-over-year growth at the midpoint. The consensus revenue estimate came in at $1.08 billion. It is one of the best big data stocks to invest in. 

On January 10, Barclays analyst Raimo Lenschow reiterated an Overweight rating on Elastic N.V. but lowered the firm’s price target on the shares to $62 from $77. Valuation levels are “still interesting” for U.S. software in 2023, but estimates remain “seemingly too high” given the macro headwinds, the analyst told investors in a research note. 

According to Insider Monkey’s data, 53 hedge funds were bullish on Elastic N.V. at the end of September 2022, compared to 57 funds in the prior quarter. Daniel Patrick Gibson’s Sylebra Capital Management is the leading stakeholder of the company, with 4.65 million shares worth $333.6 million. 

Jackson Square Partners made the following comment about Elastic N.V. in its Q3 2022 investor letter:

“Case Study: Pivot to Profitability: Driving free cash flow growth at Elastic N.V.

Similar to the Wix and NYT examples above, we have been working with a number of companies (Warner Music Group, Upwork, Grocery Outlet, Lyft, Pacific Biosciences, Vimeo, Lending Club, etc.) to drive operations toward an acceleration in free cash flow growth and to clearly articulate this pivot in strategy to the broader investment community — many of whom are skeptical in the face of current GAAP financials showing low or no profitability. This is a nearly uniform dynamic across all of our Disruptor holdings and much of the reason behind the recent strong headwinds in performance, which we believe will be temporary and fleeting as strength becomes more evident in financial statements. Below we outline our thinking on Elastic — a high conviction Disruptor holding in the midst of this FCF transition.

Background: Elastic is an infrastructure software company that develops the Elastic Stack, an open source suite of software that stores, searches, and visualizes huge quantities of data. Elastic has over 18,000 paying customers across every major industry who leverage its software for a variety of use cases. These include search tools for apps and websites like Booking.com (search tools represent 35% of annual contract value, ACV); logging and analysis software for huge volumes of machine generated events across a global IT footprint, such as Telefonica monitoring performance across its global network (logging and analysis represents 40% of ACV); and security tools to detect and investigate suspicious incidents, such as USAA monitoring its internal network and applications for suspicious activity (25% of ACV). Customers primarily choose Elastic for the breadth of its software suite and cost efficiency versus point solutions. Elastic customers realize ROI through higher customer conversion from better search, faster and more reliable IT infrastructure with robust logging and analysis of traffic, and fewer costly security incidents…” (Click here to read the full text)

4. Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 58

Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) was founded in 1951 and is based in Dublin, Ireland. It is a professional services company that specializes in strategy and consulting, data management, robotic process automation, natural language processing, virtual agents, data and analytics strategy, data discovery and augmentation, data management, data democratization, artificial intelligence solutions, metaverse, and sustainability services. On December 16, Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) declared a quarterly dividend of $1.12 per share, in line with previous. The dividend is distributable on February 15, to shareholders of record on January 10. Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) is one of the best big data stocks to consider. 

On December 20, Cowen analyst Ashwin Shirvaikar raised the price target on Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) to $300 from $295 and kept an Outperform rating on the shares. The analyst said short-term caution on growth and margin yields a second half ramp that may be hard to underwrite as 2023 enterprise IT budgets await finalization. 

According to Insider Monkey’s data, 58 hedge funds were bullish on Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) at the end of Q3 2022, compared to 61 funds in the prior quarter. Nicolai Tangen’s Ako Capital is the biggest stakeholder of the company, with nearly 2 million shares worth $500 million. 

Here is what  Distillate Capital has to say about Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) in its Q3 2022 investor letter:

“The largest new purchases include Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN). Accenture modestly lagged the market last quarter and became similarly attractive enough to warrant ownership. Similar to our prior presentations, one way to visualize the current portfolio and note recent changes versus the benchmark is to look at scatter plot of all of Distillate’s FSV holdings versus those in the benchmark with valuation on the vertical axis and free cash ϲow stability on the horizontal axis.”

3. Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:SNOW)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 73

Snowflake Inc. was incorporated in 2012 and is based in Bozeman, Montana. Snowflake Inc. provides a cloud-based data platform in the United States and internationally. The company’s platform offers Data Cloud, which allows customers to consolidate data into significant business insights, build data-driven applications, and share data. Its platform is used by various organizations. Snowflake Inc. is one of the premier big data stocks to buy. 

On January 6, Wells Fargo analyst Michael Turrin initiated coverage of Snowflake Inc. with an Overweight rating and a $170 price target. While shares are down nearly 60% TTM as concerns about cloud consumption models have surfaced, the firm’s work suggests Snowflake Inc. is built to survive this storm given the company’s mission-critical technology, solid expansion dynamics inherent to this model, and impressively well-balanced financial profile, the analyst told investors in a research note. 

According to Insider Monkey’s Q3 data, 73 hedge funds were bullish on Snowflake Inc., compared to 66 funds in the preceding quarter. Brad Gerstner’s Altimeter Capital Management is the leading stakeholder of the company, with 17 million shares worth $2.8 billion. 

Baron Funds made the following comment about Snowflake Inc. in its Q3 2022 investor letter:

“Snowflake Inc. provides a cloud platform for large-scale data analytics. Snowflake’s shares were up 22%, reacting positively to second quarter results that beat market forecasts with revenue growth of 83% year-over year and adjusted free-cash-flow margins of 12%. Record new customer additions and world-class dollar net retention of over 170% implied resiliency in demand despite increasing macro uncertainties. We remain shareholders and believe that Snowflake will be able to benefit from long-term growth with favorable unit economics, addressing one of the largest opportunities in technology. Snowflake’s culture of innovation (such as its expansion into cloud application development and data sharing), go-to-market initiatives, and an ongoing secular shift to the cloud in its end markets should help, in our view, sustain the company’s competitive moats over the long term.”

2. Datadog, Inc. (NASDAQ:DDOG)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 74

Datadog, Inc. is a New York-based company that offers a monitoring and analytics platform for developers, information technology teams, and cloud enterprises in North America and internationally. It is one of the top big data stocks to invest in. 

On January 4, Oppenheimer analyst Ittai Kidron named Datadog, Inc. as a top pick for 2023. His bullish stance is based on his view that Datadog, Inc. is relatively resilient to macro pressures, given the mission-critical nature of its observability solutions, and the company is benefitting from selling additional product modules which should further expand with a move to application/cloud security. Datadog, Inc. can maintain operating margins in the “high-teens” and grow revenue over 30%. The analyst views Datadog, Inc. as a core long-term holding and reiterated an Outperform rating on the stock with a price target of $105.

According to Insider Monkey’s data, 74 hedge funds were bullish on Datadog, Inc. at the end of September 2022, compared to 82 funds in the last quarter. Chase Coleman’s Tiger Global Management is the leading position holder in the company, with 5.7 million shares worth $512.70 million.

Baron Funds made the following comment about Datadog, Inc. in its Q3 2022 investor letter:

“Similarly, we continued scaling up our investment in Datadog, Inc., recognizing significant opportunities for the long term, while the majority of investors remain preoccupied with the here and now. While the company may see some short-term headwinds to growth (the company reported seeing some impact to its volume-driven logs and Application Performance Management modules), long-term prospects remain bright, in our view. Datadog reported a best-in-class gross retention rate in the “mid-to-high 90s%,” 74% year-over-year revenue growth, and 21% adjusted operating margins.”

1. Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 117

Salesforce, Inc. is an American cloud-based software company that provides customer relationship management software and applications focused on sales, customer service, marketing automation, data analytics, and application development. It is one of the best big data stocks to invest in. On January 16, Goldman Sachs rebalanced its ROE growth basket, which outperformed S&P 500 ROE by 10 percentage points in 2022. The investment advisory named Salesforce, Inc. as one of the top 50 picks for 2023. 

On January 9, investment advisory Piper Sandler reiterated an Overweight rating on Salesforce, Inc. but lowered the firm’s price target on the stock to $171 from $175. Analyst Brent Bracelin issued the ratings update. 

According to Insider Monkey’s data, Salesforce, Inc. was part of 117 hedge fund portfolios at the end of September 2022, compared to 116 in the prior quarter. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management held the leading stake in the company, with 12.7 million shares worth $1.8 billion. 

Aristotle Atlantic made the following comment about Salesforce, Inc. in its Q3 2022 investor letter:

“We sold Salesforce, Inc. to reduce our weighting in the Information Technology sector. Salesforce held their investor day, and the company reiterated their organic Fiscal Year 2026 revenue target of $50 billion. This target remains more back-end loaded based on current slowing macroeconomic conditions and requires new annual contract growth well ahead of what the company has been averaging for the past few years. We are skeptical that the company will be able to achieve this revenue target organically and see Merger & Acquisitions (M&A) being key to achieving the growth. While we believe Salesforce has shown good success in growing its non-CRM clouds, we do see more competitive pressures emerging for the Marketing and Customer Service Clouds, specifically on the pricing side during a global economic slowdown.”

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This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.