On January 6, Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities joined ‘Closing Bell’ on CNBC to suggest that the tech bull market continues to play out. Ives referred to Nvidia’s Jensen Huang as the godfather of AI and predicted that Huang would plant the flag for the next chapter of the AI revolution. This phase transitions the narrative beyond just hardware and chips toward end-to-end involvement in robotics and autonomous tech. Ives argued that this shift toward robotics and autonomy is currently not factored into the stock price of Nvidia or other tech companies. He aligned this vision with the broader industry.
Earlier on December 19, Andrew Slimmon, senior portfolio manager at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, appeared on BNN Bloomberg to assess the outlook on US markets amid AI growth. Slimmon explained that AI-related stocks had recently rallied following a strong earnings report from Micron, which reassured investors that demand for memory chips remains massive. He noted a bipolar environment where stocks surge on fundamental news but sell off when investors become anxious during the quiet periods between reports. Addressing the potential for an AI bubble, Slimmon pointed out an incredible statistic: the S&P tech sector was actually trading at a lower forward P/E ratio than at the start of the year. He argued that the very fear of a bubble reined in valuations. He observed that only two or three of the MAG7 stocks have outperformed the S&P this year, despite strong earnings. He viewed this valuation constraint as a healthy long-term development that prevents the market from reaching dangerous extremes.
Looking ahead to 2026, Slimmon discussed market vulnerability and the necessity of a washout to reset bullish sentiment. He recalled that at the start of 2025, lofty price targets were reset by surprise tariffs, which actually prepared the market for another run. For 2026, he identified the Fed, rather than valuation, as the primary threat to the bull market.
That being said, we’re here with a list of the 12 best future stocks to buy for the long term.
Our Methodology
We sifted through financial media reports to find stocks with multi-year growth opportunities. We then selected stocks with a 5-year revenue growth rate of at least 15%, and that analysts and hedge funds are bullish on. The stocks are ranked in ascending order of the number of hedge funds that have stakes in them, as of Q3 2025.
Note: All data was sourced on January 16.
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).
12 Best Future Stocks to Buy For the Long Term
12. CleanSpark Inc. (NASDAQ:CLSK)
Average Upside Potential: 74.16%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 34
CleanSpark Inc. (NASDAQ:CLSK) is one of the best future stocks to buy for the long term. On January 13, Northland started coverage of CleanSpark with an Outperform rating and a price target of $22.50. As a leading Bitcoin miner, the company currently operates approximately 50 EH/s of capacity within the US. The firm highlighted that CleanSpark is diversifying its infrastructure by expanding into HPC and AI datacenters. Northland believes that this shift creates abundant opportunities for the company to secure HPC lease agreements on highly favorable terms over the near to medium term.
Additionally, on January 8, Maxim also initiated coverage of CleanSpark Inc. (NASDAQ:CLSK) with a Buy rating and $22 price target on the shares. Maxim Group noted that CleanSpark is pivoting from its traditional focus on Bitcoin mining assets to AI data centers to capitalize on surging infrastructure demand.
This expansion is supported by the acquisition of a 285MW site in Texas (made earlier in October 2025) and a total of ~1.5GW of contracted power secured by November 2025. The firm highlighted that CleanSpark’s immediate access to power gives it a competitive edge and allows it to move faster than rivals who are currently stalled by significant approval delays.
CleanSpark Inc. (NASDAQ:CLSK) operates as a bitcoin mining company in the Americas. The company owns, leases, and operates data centers and power assets.
11. AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN)
Average Upside Potential: 9.65%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 54
AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) is one of the best future stocks to buy for the long term. On January 6, Barclays analyst James Gordon raised the firm’s price target on AstraZeneca to 16,500 GBp from 14,000 GBp, while maintaining an Overweight rating on the shares.
On the same day, AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) also published positive full results from the Phase III TULIP-SC trial, confirming that the subcutaneous/SC administration of Saphnelo (anifrolumab) significantly reduces disease activity in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus/SLE. This is a vital outcome for the over 3.4 million people globally living with SLE, as roughly 50% of patients develop irreversible organ damage within 5 years due to persistent disease activity and chronic steroid use.
The trial showed that weekly 120 mg SC doses were well tolerated, with a safety profile mirroring the IV version. While Saphnelo IV is already approved in 70+ countries and has treated 40,000+ patients, the new SC formulation was approved in the EU in December 2025 and is currently under regulatory review in the US and Japan. This self-administered option via a pre-filled pen allows patients to manage their treatment outside of a clinic, aligning with global recommendations that emphasize early intervention and the pursuit of clinical remission.
AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, manufactures, and commercializes prescription medicines.
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