In this article, we will look at the 12 Best UK Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds.
UK equities have spent much of the past decade trading at a discount to US peers, often overlooked in favor of faster-growing U.S. markets. That dynamic, however, has started to shift as investors look beyond a concentrated group of large-cap US stocks and toward markets where valuations appear more reasonable. The UK market, with its mix of global businesses and domestically exposed companies, has increasingly come back into focus, particularly as earnings resilience and dividend yields remain part of the appeal.
Institutional investors have begun to highlight this valuation gap more directly. Schroders notes that it continues to maintain “a healthy UK overweight allocation,” while “acknowledging the attractive valuation levels.” Fidelity International emphasizes a more bottom-up approach, targeting “UK companies which the Investment Manager believes to be undervalued” or where “the potential has not been recognized by the market.” At the same time, Aberdeen points out that “UK equities continued their positive start to 2026,” indicating that sentiment toward the market has started to improve at the margin.
Taken together, these views suggest that the UK market is being revisited not just as a value trade, but as a more balanced opportunity set where both cyclical recovery and stock-specific catalysts could play a role. With that in mind, we take a closer look at the 12 Best UK Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds.
Our Methodology
We used screeners to identify UK stocks with an average upside potential of at least 20% and limited our final selection to companies that have recently reported noteworthy developments likely to impact investor sentiment. These stocks are also popular among analysts and 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).
12. AstraZeneca PLC (NYSE:AZN)
On March 16, 2026, AstraZeneca PLC (NYSE:AZN) announced that Imfinzi, in combination with FLOT chemotherapy, has been approved in the European Union for treating adults with resectable early-stage and locally advanced gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancers. The company said the regimen includes treatment before and after surgery, followed by Imfinzi monotherapy, with the approval based on results from the Phase III MATTERHORN trial published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
On March 10, 2026, Guggenheim raised its price target on AstraZeneca PLC (NYSE:AZN) to 16,000 GBp from 15,500 GBp previously and maintained a Buy rating after updating its model following FY25 results and recent investor discussions.
On March 9, 2026, AstraZeneca PLC (NYSE:AZN) and Daiichi Sankyo announced that the supplemental biologics license application for Enhertu was accepted and granted priority review in the U.S. for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer with residual disease after prior treatment.
Earlier in March, Morgan Stanley raised its price target on AstraZeneca to $219 from $109 and maintained an Overweight rating, citing updated risk/reward and pointing to sector-leading earnings growth supported by a stronger pipeline outlook, with more favorable positioning expected into the second half of 2026.
AstraZeneca PLC (NYSE:AZN) develops and commercializes prescription medicines across multiple therapeutic areas, including oncology.
11. LivaNova PLC (NASDAQ:LIVN)
On March 19, 2026, LivaNova PLC (NASDAQ:LIVN) announced that the FDA granted premarket approval for its aura6000 System for treating adults with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea. The system uses proximal hypoglossal nerve stimulation to address patients with an apnea-hypopnea index of 15 to 65 who are unable to use or do not respond to first-line therapies such as positive airway pressure.
Last month, Barclays raised its price target on LivaNova to $73 from $67 and maintained an Equal Weight rating following a Q4 earnings beat. Baird also raised its price target to $83 from $75 and kept an Outperform rating, saying updated estimates suggest 2026 could be another beat-and-raise year. Mizuho raised its price target to $85 from $72 and maintained an Outperform rating, citing a solid outlook for 2026.
The rating updates followed LivaNova’s Q4 results, where the company reported adjusted EPS of 86c versus the 81c consensus estimate and revenue of $360.9M compared with $354.31M expected. CEO Vladimir Makatsaria said 2025 delivered “double-digit revenue growth” along with margin expansion and strong cash generation, driven by execution in its core businesses. Makatsaria added that the company is investing in its OSA platform to enter a high-growth market while maintaining momentum across its existing segments.
LivaNova PLC (NASDAQ:LIVN) develops and markets medical technologies and therapies across multiple global healthcare markets.
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