In this article, we will take a look at the 12 Best Most Active Stocks to Buy Right Now.
Stocks went on a wild ride before stabilizing at the start of the 3rd week of 2026 following Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s statements claiming that President Trump was attempting to pressure the central bank into decreasing interest rates with the prospect of a criminal prosecution. The S&P 500 fell 0.4% for the week, while the Dow dropped 0.3%. At the same time, the Nasdaq finished down 0.7% for the week. Speaking on market outlook over this, Jim Lebenthal, chief markets strategist at Cerity Partners stated the following on CNBC:
“The impact of Chairman Powell being under investigation is likely a long-term impact, meaning it’s not going to change interest rates in the near term; it’s not going to change inflation in the near term.”
Back in 2025, the markets mostly ignored the President’s attempts to put pressure on the Fed, which went on to decrease interest rates three times as inflation steadied. However, the Fed is generally projected to postpone additional cuts when it meets later this month, waiting to observe how the inflation outlook and economy evolves this year.
Meanwhile, on December 9, the Labor Department reported that nonfarm payrolls climbed by 50,000 in December, falling short of analyst forecasts of 73,000. However, the unemployment rate fell to 4.4% in the same month, from 4.5% the previous month.
This drop in the unemployment rate, combined with a modest decline in job gains, rekindled investor confidence that the economy continues to fare well and will eventually improve.
Our Methodology
For this list, we sifted through ETFs, such as the iShares S&P 500 ETF, and picked blue chip stocks with the highest 3-month average volumes. For each holding, we have also added the hedge fund sentiment, as of Q3 2025, which was sourced from Insider Monkey’s database.
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. PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)
Avg Volume: 7.58 Million
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 68
PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) ranks among the best most active to buy right now. JPMorgan raised PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) from Neutral to Overweight on December 10, increasing its price target to $164 from $151. The boost comes after Pepsico’s recent press release highlighting initiatives to increase shareholder return, which featured early guidance for 2026.
Analyst Andrea Teixeira claimed that PepsiCo’s enhanced strategic plan “should position PEP to drive HSD total shareholder return (TSR) in 2026,” and that its stock would continue to trade “at a steep high-teens discount” to reputable competition.
JPMorgan also highlighted that, while there have been no major deviations in the company’s business objectives, which were primarily based on Pepsico’s existing programs, progressively higher productivity targets combined with improved top-line growth provide a solid outlook. The firm added that the integration of Siete and Poppi in the second half of the year, as well as improved Alani Nu distribution, “sets the company up for better organic top-line performance.”
One of the most well-known names in the world, PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) is an American multinational company involved in the food, snack, and beverage sectors.
Hedge Fund Resource Center