Our list today highlights the Best Stocks to Buy According to Citadel LLC.

Citadel LLC (formerly known as Citadel Investment Group) is known as one of the most successful and profitable alternative asset managers. Citadel was recently ranked number one among Great Money Managers by net gains since inception through December 2024 by LCH Investments NV.

It was founded in 1990 by Kenneth Griffin, its CEO and Co-Chief Investment Officer, with $4.6 million in initial capital. Fast forward to October 2025—Citadel LLC now reports $69 billion in investment capital, which reflects the firm’s proprietary funds deployed across its various strategies.

On the other side, Citadel Advisors LLC, the registered investment advisory company that oversees Citadel’s managed funds and client accounts, reports $446 billion in assets under management (AUM). This represents its total capital under management from institutional and private clients.

In addition to these, Citadel Securities is another separate legal entity within the broader Citadel family of companies and is one of the largest market-making and trading firms in the U.S.

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According to reports, Griffin owns approximately 80% of Citadel. He is the 33rd-richest person in the world, with a net worth of $50.5 billion, according to Forbes data from October 28. Forbes also noted that each of the four wealthiest hedge fund managers in the U.S., with Griffin at the top, achieved double-digit net returns in 2024 and outperformed the benchmark composite index.

Griffin remains highly active in the markets, and investors keenly watch his insights. On October 7, he spoke with Bloomberg Television at the Citadel’s Future of Global Markets Conference in New York and shared his views on the opportunities, risks, and the current state of the markets. He acknowledged that pro-American policies and decisions by the Trump Administration have partly contributed to the market’s optimism, and that the economy is on what he called “a bit of a sugar high” driven by fiscal and monetary measures.

However, Griffin cautioned that the market may be underestimating the potential risk of a resurgence in inflation and that elevated inflation has led to weakness in the U.S. dollar. He also observed that the recent surge in “dollar substitutes,” such as cryptocurrencies and gold, indicates that these assets are increasingly being seen as safe haven alternatives—a role the dollar once played.

With this background, let’s explore the 13 best stocks to buy according to Citadel LLC.

Our Methodology

To identify the best stocks to buy from Citadel’s portfolio, we began by reviewing the firm’s Q2 2025 13F filings using Insider Monkey’s 13F database. We focused on the top 100 holdings by portfolio allocation and considered both equity and call positions to capture full long exposure. From this pool, we shortlisted stocks with potential upside of more than 20% and selected the top 13 of them with the highest upside. We then ranked those in ascending order of their respective upside. Additionally, we included data on hedge fund holdings in these companies as of Q2 2025 to provide further insight into investor interest.

We have also added the performance of each stock from the end of Q2 2025 to October 24, to provide the readers with insight into how Citadel’s portfolio picks have played out so far.

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).

Note: All pricing data is as of market close on October 24, 2025.

13 Best Stocks to Buy According to Citadel LLC

13. Nike Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Value of Citadel’s Long Position: $868 Million

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 81

Potential Upside: 22%

Returns between June 30 and October 24: -3%

Nike Inc. (NYSE:NKE) is one of the best stocks to buy according to Citadel LLC. On October 15, BTIG’s Consumer Retail analyst Robert Drbul initiated coverage of the company, assigning a Buy rating and a $100 price target. The analyst also named Nike as “Top Pick for 2026”, which indicates his strong confidence in the stock.

Drbul was encouraged by Nike’s progress on its turnaround efforts; however, he still believes that there is a lot more ground to cover. For his model, the analyst now pencils in EPS projections of $1.70 and $2.75 for FY26 and FY27, respectively. With the new leadership in place, the analyst believes the company could achieve EPS of $3.50 in FY28 and see its long-term operating margin inch towards 12% or more.

Separately, on October 23, Nike Inc. (NYSE:NKE) said that it is currently testing the world’s first powered footwear system for running and walking, which it called ‘Project Amplify’. The company is collaborating with bionic footwear company Dephy to develop the product, which will feature a battery-charged motor. While the product is still some years away from reaching customers, such innovations will be crucial for Nike’s turnaround and for regaining lost market share in recent years.

Nike Inc. (NYSE:NKE) designs, develops, and sells athletic footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services worldwide. The company is the world’s largest seller of athletic footwear and apparel.

12. AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Value of Citadel’s Long Position: $929 Million

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 83

Potential Upside: 23%

Returns between June 30 and October 24: -13%

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is one of the best stocks to buy according to Citadel LLC. On October 22, Bank of America Securities analyst Michael Funk reaffirmed a Buy rating on the stock with an unchanged price target of $34.00. This reaffirmation came after the company reported Q3 2025 earnings, which the analyst deemed better than expected.

Funk said that the company’s figures on adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow were ahead of expectations. He also opined that AT&T’s offerings hold a competitive edge in the market, as evidenced by the post-paid net additions reported in Q3, and potentially could help it attract more customers from competitors like Verizon.

The analyst also viewed the company’s outlook positively, as AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) guided for service revenue growth in low single digits and adjusted EBITDA growth of at least 3%. He further anticipated several other catalysts for his positive view, including the company’s robust shareholder returns policy with consistent stock repurchases and substantial dividends (yield of around 4.35%). Moreover, the analyst is also optimistic about the growth push from AT&T’s $5.75 billion acquisition of Lumen’s (NYSE:LUMN) Mass Markets fiber internet connectivity business. This deal is expected to close in the first half of 2026.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a leading telecommunications and media company based in the United States. The company primarily provides mobile and fixed telephony services, broadband, and digital television.