In this article, we discuss the 12 Best Stocks to Invest In According to Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies.
Founded in 1982 by mathematician Jim Simons, Renaissance Technologies is widely regarded as the most successful quantitative hedge fund in financial history. Headquartered in East Setauket, New York, the firm pioneered systemic, algorithmic trading, often referred to as quant investing, by completely replacing human economic intuition with mathematical models. Renaissance operates by analyzing huge datasets to identify microscopic, highly predictable anomalies in global markets. To build these proprietary computer systems, the firm famously avoids hiring traditional Wall Street MBAs or finance professionals. Instead, the workforce comprises roughly 300 employees heavily populated by PhDs in mathematics, physics, computer science, astrophysics, and cryptography.
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The crown jewel of Renaissance is the legendary Medallion Fund. Operating with strict capacity constraints to preserve edge, Medallion has achieved an unparalleled historical track record, averaging roughly 66% annual gross returns, and about 39% net of the steep 5% management and 44% performance fees, over a three-decade span. Medallion is so lucrative that it has been completely closed to outside investors since 1993. It is managed exclusively for Renaissance employees and their families. For the public and institutional clients, the firm manages separate portfolios, including the Renaissance Institutional Equities Fund (RIEF) and the Renaissance Institutional Diversified Alpha (RIDA). According to regulatory filings from earlier this year, Renaissance Technologies has a core 13F equity portfolio valued at $63.9 billion. Following the passing of Jim Simon in 2024, the firm continues to be led by CEO Peter Brown, a computational linguist who joined in 1993.
Our Methodology
For this article, we selected stocks by combing through the 13F portfolio of Renaissance Technologies at the end of the first quarter of 2026. Data for the hedge fund sentiment surrounding each stock was taken from Insider Monkey’s Q1 2026 database of 1041 elite hedge funds.
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 498.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 303 percentage points (see more details here).
Jim Simons of Renaissance Technologies
Best Stocks to Invest In According to Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies
12. Roblox Corporation (NYSE:RBLX)
Renaissance Technologies’ Stake: $403 Million
Roblox Corporation (NYSE:RBLX) has featured in the 13F portfolio of Renaissance Technologies since the second quarter of 2021. Back then, this position comprised 754,000 shares and was sold off by the next quarter. A new position was then disclosed in the fourth quarter of 2021, comprising 5.4 million shares. Since then, the stock has been a mainstay in the portfolio of the fund. By mid-2022, the fund had grown this stake to 11.5 million shares. Thereafter, it trimmed the holding, bringing it down to around 4.3 million shares by the middle of 2024. Filings for the first quarter of 2026 show that the fund owned 7.1 million shares in the firm, up over 7% compared to filings for the previous quarter.
Roblox Corporation (NYSE:RBLX) operates an immersive platform for connection and communication in the United States and internationally. The stock has suffered in recent weeks after management slashed full-year 2026 bookings guidance down to a range of $7.33 billion–$7.6 billion, from an initial $8.28 billion–$8.55 billion forecast, citing short-term friction from newly implemented child-safety and age-verification protocols. However, elite investors are looking past this to examine the raw infrastructure metrics. In Q1 2026, Daily Active Users surged 35% year-over-year to 132 million, proving that the core network of the platform remains incredibly strong. Q1 2026 bookings actually grew 43% year-over-year, and the company posted $1.4 billion in Q1 revenue, beating baseline structural expectations.
11. Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX)
Renaissance Technologies’ Stake: $417 Million
Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) is a long-term holding in the 13F portfolio of Renaissance Technologies. The fund has held a stake in the company, with notable gaps in between, since the second quarter of 2011. Back then, this position comprised 756,000 shares. Over the years, the fund has sold off the stake and declared a new position in the stock many times. In the middle of 2022, the fund owned more than 5.7 million shares in the company. The latest stake was purchased in the first quarter of 2024. Filings for the first quarter of 2026 show that the fund owned over 2 million shares in the firm, down 8% compared to filings for the previous quarter.
Elite investors are highly focused on the intentional pivot of Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) toward low-cost, high-return assets. Rather than chasing expensive, low-yield expansion, the firm is squeezing premium margins out of its premier geography: The total production for the company recently clocked in at a massive 3.35 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. Domestic production in the Permian Basin grew more than 7% year-over-year, delivering short-cycle flexibility. The highly anticipated Anchor project in the Gulf of Mexico is actively coming online. This deepwater mega-project unlocks a massive runway of low-carbon-intensity barrels, positioning the company to hit a structural production target of 4 million boed by 2027.
10. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)
Renaissance Technologies’ Stake: $441 Million
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) has been a long-term holding in the 13F portfolio of Renaissance Technologies. The fund first disclosed a stake in the firm back in the first quarter of 2011. This position comprised just under 10 million shares. By the first quarter of 2014, the fund had grown this to over 200 million shares. Over the years, the fund kept buying and selling the stock. The latest stake was purchased in the second quarter of 2023 and comprised over 18 million shares at the time. Filings for the first quarter of 2026 show that the fund owned over 2.5 million shares in the firm, up 189% compared to filings for the previous quarter.
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NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is executing smoothly from a financial standpoint. The company completely shattered Wall Street consensus expectations across every major metric for the recent quarter. It pulled in $81.6 billion in Q1 revenue, marking an 85% year-over-year surge and a 20% sequential increase from the prior quarter, beating analyst estimates of $79.2 billion. Net profit skyrocketed to $58.3 billion, a 211% year-over-year jump, revealing a high-efficiency business model that converts high-end computing demand straight into cash flow. Non-GAAP EPS landed at $1.87, beating expectations of $1.77. The company generated $49 billion in quarterly Free Cash Flow, operating at a 60% free cash flow margin.
9. Sandisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK)
Renaissance Technologies’ Stake: $508 Million
Sandisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) is a relatively recent addition to the 13F portfolio of Renaissance Technologies. The fund first disclosed a stake in the company in the second quarter of 2025. This position comprised 413,000 shares. In the next quarter, the fund added to this stake by over 100%, growing it to more than 835,000 shares. In the fourth quarter of 2025, another 44% addition was made to the position. Filings for the first quarter of 2026 show that the fund owned nearly 800,000 shares in the firm, down more than 33% compared to filings for the fourth quarter of 2025. Sandisk develops, manufactures, and sells data storage devices.
Sandisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) recently posted Q3 FY26 revenue of $5.95 billion, representing a 251% increase year-over-year compared to the $1.7 billion recorded in the prior-year quarter. The company generated diluted adjusted EPS of $23.41, obliterating Wall Street consensus estimates of $14.36 by 63%. It posted a net income of $3.62 billion, a profound shift from a net loss of $1.93 billion during the same period last year. The datacenter segment revenue surged by 645% quarter-over-quarter. This exponential growth was driven by cloud expansion in Asian enterprise markets and high traction across deep-learning workloads.
8. Franco-Nevada Corporation (NYSE:FNV)
Renaissance Technologies’ Stake: $548 Million
Franco-Nevada Corporation (NYSE:FNV) has been a staple in the 13F portfolio of Renaissance Technologies for many years. The fund first disclosed a stake in the company back in the second quarter of 2012. This position comprised 178,000 shares. By the next quarter, this holding had been sold off. Another position was opened in the stock in the fourth quarter of 2012 and sold off by the third quarter of 2013. A new position was then disclosed in the first quarter of 2014. Since then, the stock has featured consistently in the portfolio. Filings for the first quarter of 2026 show that the fund owned 2.2 million shares in the firm, down 10% compared to filings for the previous quarter.
The latest financials of Franco-Nevada Corporation (NYSE:FNV) demonstrate the pure operating leverage embedded in the royalty business model. When commodity prices surge, nearly 100% of the upside flows directly to the bottom line. Total revenue skyrocketed 77% year-over-year to $650.7 million, beating Wall Street consensus estimates of $625.35 million. Adjusted net income jumped 123% year-over-year to $458.3 million, or $2.38 per share, outperforming analyst expectations of $2.11 by a 12.8% positive surprise. While cost inflation hurts physical miners, Franco-Nevada’s gross margin expanded to 80.9%, and its margin per Gold Equivalent Ounce surged 77% to $4,534, up from $2,559 in the prior-year period.
7. Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)
Renaissance Technologies’ Stake: $589 Million
Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) is another long-term holding in the 13F portfolio of Renaissance Technologies. The fund first disclosed a stake in the company back in the first quarter of 2011. This position comprised over 762,000 shares. By the middle of 2012, this stake had been sold off completely. After buying and selling a stake in the firm two more times, the fund declared a new position in the company in the third quarter of 2016. Since then, the firm has featured consistently in the portfolio of the fund. Filings for the first quarter of 2026 show that the fund owned 13.7 million shares in the firm, down 1% compared to filings for the previous quarter.
Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) recently outperformed Wall Street expectations for the first quarter of 2026, showcasing elite operating leverage. It reported total Q1 2026 revenue of $610.8 million, beating consensus estimates and representing a 10% year-over-year increase. Non-GAAP diluted EPS landed at $0.87, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $0.77. Driven by well-controlled clinical expenses, Q1 non-GAAP net income surged 30% year-over-year to $232.8 million. The company’s trailing 12-month net profit margin expanded significantly to 35.1%, up from 28% in the prior trailing period.
6. VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)
Renaissance Technologies’ Stake: $700 Million
VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) is a long-term holding in the 13F portfolio of Renaissance Technologies. The company has featured consistently in the portfolio of the fund since the fourth quarter of 2010. Back then, this position comprised 3.3 million shares. By the third quarter of 2019, the fund had grown this stake to more than 8.2 million shares. Thereafter, it trimmed the holding, reducing it to under 3 million shares by the end of 2024. Filings for the first quarter of 2026 show that the fund owned 2.8 million shares in the firm, up more than 1% compared to filings for the fourth quarter of 2025.
VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) recently posted earnings for the first quarter of 2026. The firm reported an adjusted diluted EPS of $2.34, outperforming the consensus analyst target of $2.30. Revenue climbed 6.6% year-over-year to $429 million, up from $402.3 million in Q1 2025, edging past expectations of $424.5 million. Following the operational outperformance, management confidently raised its full-year 2026 revenue guidance to a range of $1.730 billion to $1.745 billion, up from the previous $1.715 billion–$1.735 billion range. Full-year operating income expectations were similarly lifted to a range of $1.170 billion to $1.185 billion.
While we acknowledge the potential of VRSN to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than VRSN and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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