In this article, we are going to discuss the 15 best S&P 500 stocks to buy right now.
The S&P 500 posted gains of around 16.4% in 2025. However, the index has since witnessed a decline of 4% so far this year, driven primarily by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and concerns about the economic impact of artificial intelligence.
In addition to creating an atmosphere of global political uncertainty, the war has significantly choked energy supplies and lifted prices, heightening fears of inflation. Moreover, the heavy spending on AI infrastructure and investor nerves over potential AI-driven disruption of software firms have also resulted in a pullback in the leading tech giants so far this year.
That said, the major investment banks remain optimistic and still project the benchmark S&P 500 index to extend its rally in 2026, expecting the strong AI momentum and corporate earnings to offset the short-term economic impact of the war. An example is Morgan Stanley, which still maintains a year-end target of 7,800 for the S&P 500, provided a recession is avoided. Similarly, the analysts over at Goldman Sachs have also projected the index to hit around 7,600 by the end of 2026, as corporate earnings expand and economic growth remains steady.
With that said, here are the Best S&P 500 Stocks to Buy in 2026.
Photo by Dan Dennis on Unsplash
Our Methodology
To collect data for this article, we used our stock screeners to identify stocks that are currently part of the auspicious S&P 500. Then we ranked these stocks by the number of hedge funds invested in them at the end of Q4 2025, as per the Insider Monkey database. The following are the Best S&P 500 Stocks According to 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).
15. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 131
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) is one of the oldest, largest, and best-known financial institutions in the world. The company serves millions of customers, clients, and communities in over 100 global markets.
On March 31, Morgan Stanley analyst Manan Gosalia lowered the firm’s price target on JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) from $365 to $334, while maintaining an ‘Equal Weight’ rating on the shares. The reduced target still indicates an upside of over 13% from the current levels.
According to Morgan Stanley, the median bank stock in its coverage is down by 5% over the last month, driven by concerns about the potential impact of the US-Iran war on economic growth and inflation, as well as by market concerns on private credit headlines. As a result, the analyst firm trimmed its price targets across the group by an average of 9%, as it applied lower target valuation multiples to reflect the ongoing high-risk environment.
Similarly, earlier on March 26, Truist also reduced its price target on JPM (read the details here).
14. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 132
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NYSE:AMD) operates as a semiconductor company internationally. It operates in three segments: Data Center, Client and Gaming, and Embedded.
On April 2, Erste Group turned bullish on Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NYSE:AMD) and upgraded its rating on the stock from ‘Hold’ to ‘Buy’.
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NYSE:AMD) posted a record annual revenue of $34.6 billion for FY 2025. The company now intends to continue this momentum with a target to deliver revenue of $9.8 billion in Q1 2026, up 32% YoY, driven by the ballooning demand for high-performance CPUs and GPUs in data centers. AMD delivered an adjusted operating margin of 28% in the fourth quarter, which, according to the analyst, remains strong relative to its peers. Moreover, Erste believes that the company has an attractive product portfolio and its upcoming second-half launch of the AMD Instinct MI450 series is expected to compete with Nvidia’s Ruby architecture and drive strong demand due to its higher memory capacity.
Hedge Fund Resource Center