In this article, we will look at the 14 Best Major Stocks to Invest in Right Now.
On January 5, Tom Lee, Fundstrat Global Advisors’ head of research and Fundstrat Capital CIO, appeared on CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box’ to talk about his 2026 outlook and the latest market trends.
He expects joy, compression, and rally to be compressed in one year, adding that 2025 had a terrible start and led to people being gloomy before eventually experiencing a rally. The market in 2026 will test the Fed, which Lee considers the reason behind the fear this year. However, he also believes that there are a lot of things to be optimistic about in 2026: the Fed is cutting, tariffs are anniversarying, and the ICM could finally turn back above 50, which is good news.
READ ALSO: 7 Affordable Stocks With Good Earnings Growth for 2026 and 17 Cheap Stocks Under $20 to Buy Now.
Lee also expressed optimism about some groups that lagged, including energy, financials, and small caps, along with the Mag7, which is expected to continue producing good earnings growth. Therefore, there are a lot of things that could go right in the market in 2026, according to him.
In a recently published article on 13 Best Strong Buy Stocks to Invest in Right Now, we talked about how Claudia Sahm, chief economist at New Century Advisors and former Fed economist, appeared on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” to talk about her 2026 outlook. Here is an excerpt from the article:
She stated that while there are a lot of unanswered questions, her outlook for the year is “relatively positive”. She was of the view that we need to transition out of the low-hire labor market into one where we see a hiring pickup, and there is potential to do so. The first half of the year would provide insight into these dynamics, with the Fed lowering interest rates and trying to frontload some of the insurance against the labor market deteriorating.
In addition, we have some fiscal stimulus coming on early in the year with tax cuts for households and for businesses. We would, therefore, get considerable clarity early in the year if we are going to get some oomph to get the labor market going again. That, according to her, is critical for sustained growth instead of just a couple of quarters of really outsized GDP growth.
With these positive trends for the year in view, let’s look at the 14 best major stocks to invest in right now.
A close-up view of a stock market floor, traders bustling around the trading board.
Our Methodology
We sifted through holdings of blue chip ETFs, wide moat ETFs, and quality ETFs to compile a list of major stocks. We then selected the top 13 with the highest number of hedge fund holders as of Q3 2025. We sourced the hedge fund sentiment data from Insider Monkey’s database. The list is sorted in ascending order of hedge fund holders.
Note: All data was recorded on January 7.
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).
14 Best Major Stocks to Invest in Right Now
14. Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 129
Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF) is one of the best major stocks to invest in right now. Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF) received several rating updates from analysts since the beginning of the new year. Goldman Sachs lifted the price target on the stock to $300 from $276 on December 6 and maintained a Buy rating on the shares. The same day, Barclays also raised the price target on Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF) to $294 from $271 and reaffirmed an Overweight rating on the stock.
In addition, Wells Fargo lifted the price target on Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF) to $280 from $265 on January 5 and maintained an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm discussed the trends in the consumer finance sector ahead of earnings, stating that it likes the setup into fiscal Q4 with meets and beats. It also cited solid 2026 guidance, along with larger tax refunds in the first half of the year. The firm added that it anticipates guidance to exhibit year-over-year declines in card/auto NCOs, and is still not seeing incremental low-end credit pressure.
Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF) also received a rating update from Keefe Bruyette on January 2, with the firm lifting the price target on the stock to $290 from $260 and maintaining an Outperform rating on the shares. The rating update came with the firm adjusting price targets in the consumer finance and payments groups.
Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF) is a financial holding company that provides financial products and services, with its operations divided into the following segments: Credit Card, Consumer Banking, and Commercial Banking.
13. Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 136
Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is one of the best major stocks to invest in right now. Monness Crespi Hardt & Co., Inc. reiterated a Hold rating on Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) on January 5 and set a price target of $525.00. In addition, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods maintained a Buy rating on the company on January 2 with a price target of $665.00.
Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) also received a rating update from Freedom Capital on December 25. The firm lifted the price target on the stock to $655 from $635 and maintained a Hold rating on the shares. The firm told investors that the primary reason supporting the price target increase is Mastercard Incorporated’s (NYSE:MA) “strong” Q4 results, with the company continually posting higher growth rates when compared to Visa, despite its smaller scale.
Separately, Mastercard Incorporated’s (NYSE:MA) released preliminary insights from the Mastercard SpendingPulse™ show healthy trends, with the US retail sales, excluding automotive, growing 3.9% year-over-year between November 1 and December 21. The Mastercard SpendingPulse measures both online and in-store retail sales, representing all payment types. It is not adjusted for inflation.
The stock received another rating update from Evercore ISI on December 12, which lifted the price target to $610 from $600 while keeping an In Line rating on the shares. The firm also added the stock to its “Tactical Outperform” list going into the end of the year and into the fiscal Q4 earnings season, citing valuation, potential reversion of relative year-to-date underperformance, and the potential for higher investor interest going into year-end as notable factors.
Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is a technology company that provides payment solutions for developing and implementing debit, credit, prepaid, commercial, and payment programs via its brands. Its portfolio includes Mastercard, Cirrus, and Maestro. The company also offers intelligence and cyber solutions.
