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Vistra Corp (VST): A Hot Growth Stock to Buy According to Hedge Funds

We recently compiled a list of the 8 Hot Growth Stocks To Buy According to Hedge Funds. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Vistra Corp (NYSE:VST) stands against the other hot growth stocks.

A month before the election that spelled Donald Trump’s victory, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report showing a robust labor market with rising wages, a decrease in unemployment, and the addition of 254,000 jobs in September. The unemployment rate fell to 4.1% in September, down from 4.2% in August and 4.3% in July. Earlier concerns arose when the unemployment rate increased, leading some economists to worry that the Federal Reserve’s decision not to cut interest rates impacted the labor market.

However, the Fed eased those concerns in September by cutting the federal funds rate by half a percentage point. The Fed had initially raised rates aggressively beginning in March 2022 to combat inflation, pausing mid-2023. While inflation has cooled significantly since peaking in June 2022, economists note the high rates continue to impact the economy, especially the housing market. That said, Fed Chair Jerome Powell addressed the housing market on September 30, noting that he expects housing inflation to keep easing and that overall economic conditions are conducive to further disinflation.

On another note, while September’s Consumer and Producer Price Indexes aligned with expectations, signaling that inflation is trending toward the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, economists at Goldman believe the Fed may have already reached that goal. The investment bank forecasts that the Commerce Department’s Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index for September will show a 12-month inflation rate of 2.04%. If accurate, this figure would be rounded down to 2%, aligning perfectly with the Fed’s long-standing objective. This would come just over two years after inflation surged to a 40-year high, prompting a series of aggressive interest rate hikes. Moreover, the S&P 500 has gained 4% since the Fed’s rate initial cut last month, as investors have poured over $20 billion into U.S. stock funds.

Both Fundstrat and Goldman raised their year-end stock market forecasts in week 41 of this year, with Goldman predicting an additional 2% rise after the S&P 500 exceeded its previous target. This would cap off an already strong year, with the index up more than 20%. A key driver behind the forecasts for continued stock price growth is the expectation that a broader range of industries will contribute to the market’s rise. However, in reality, indexes like the S&P 500 remain largely dependent on investor enthusiasm for tech, particularly in the realm of artificial intelligence. On that note, the bank also pointed to a recovering microchip supply chain, which is expected to lift profits for both chipmakers and tech giants as they develop new AI applications.

While historical performance isn’t always a reliable indicator, seasonal trends suggest that Q4 often boosts the broader U.S. markets, partly driven by increased consumer spending during the holiday season. Market analysts also note that growth stocks tend to perform well when global interest rates reverse course. However, Adam Parker, CEO of Trivariate Research, shared in an interview with CNBC that he feels more pessimistic about growth stocks compared to his outlook before August 5 lows, citing the unusual market conditions and a slight dip in corporate earnings growth projections.

Moreover, despite high expectations that interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve would boost the stock market, this hasn’t materialized as anticipated. Investors seem to be increasingly sensitive to growth concerns amid a global landscape marked by the U.S. presidential election, Middle East instability, and an uncertain Fed rate outlook for next year. While the Fed has hinted at more rate cuts, moving too quickly could jeopardize inflation goals. Regarding this, analysts at Stifel made the following remarks:

“The conclusion … is that if the Fed cuts rates in 2025 absent a recession (two 25’s as this year comes to a close do not count) then that would be a mistake, with investors paying the price in latter 2025 / 2026, based on historical precedent.”

In terms of making money in the stock market, most investors are naturally drawn to growth stocks. While defensive investments are gaining traction due to global economic slowdown, Andrew Slimmon of Morgan Stanley Investment Management advises against this approach. These sentiments emphasize that high-growth stocks can outperform the market and deliver strong returns even if the stock fluctuates during the short term. Many of these stocks have shown impressive revenue growth and, with key catalysts in place, may continue to outperform.

Additionally, hedge funds see the most promising growth stocks as those positioned to benefit from rising consumer purchasing power. As the Fed aims for a soft economic landing, consumer cyclical stocks may gain, bolstered by improved consumer spending. Rate cuts should also support growth and tech stocks, setting the stage for potential gains across these sectors. In that same vein, the average annual return for the 500 largest-cap companies has consistently exceeded 10%, giving investors strong confidence to favor the stock market over more conservative options like bonds or fixed-income securities.

Our Methodology

In this article, we compiled a list of the top growth stocks with year-to-date gains exceeding 20%. These hot stocks to buy are ranked in ascending order based on hedge fund sentiment, offering a clear view of which growth stocks are most favored by institutional investors.

At Insider Monkey, we are obsessed with 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 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).

Solar panel workers installing a new farm for clean energy generation.

Vistra Corp (NYSE:VST)  

Year-To-Date Gain as of November 6: 213.92%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 92

Vistra Corp (NYSE:VST) is a Texas-based, vertically integrated energy company with a broad portfolio that includes electricity generation, wholesale energy sales, fuel production, and logistics. The company provides electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers.

On October 17, JPMorgan initiated coverage of Vistra Corp (NYSE:VST) with an Overweight rating and a price target of $178. The firm emphasized the company’s strong positioning within Texas’s growing power demand landscape, noting potential gains from natural gas production growth and market volatility. JPMorgan’s analysis also highlighted a potential increase in baseload electricity demand, predicting a supply shortfall of around 40 gigawatts by 2030, mainly due to coal plant retirements and Texas Emissions Reduction Plan (TERP) incentives. This scenario could benefit Vistra Corp (NYSE:VST) significantly.

Looking ahead to 2025, Vistra Corp (NYSE:VST) raised its adjusted EBITDA midpoint range by $200 million, citing favorable market conditions and effective hedging strategies. The company, known for its shareholder-friendly approach, has returned about $5 billion to investors since late 2021 and plans to continue share buybacks of at least $2.25 billion through 2025.

Here’s what Fidelity Investments said about Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:

“An overweight stake in utility company Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) (+24%) was the top individual relative contributor. In Q1, the Texas-based independent power producer completed its acquisition of Ohio-based nuclear fleet operator Energy Harbor. The new Vistra, with its expanded geographic footprint, is in strong position to gain from the buildout of AI-capable data centers, which require enormous amounts of power to run. It is expected that local grids in the U.S. will need to invest heavily over the coming years to improve their power infrastructure and meet growing demand. In the nearer term, firms may choose to contract with independent power producers, like Vistra, rather than rely on the local provider.”

Overall VST ranks 5th on our list of the hot growth stocks to buy according to hedge funds. While we acknowledge the potential of VST as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that certain AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than VST but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: 8 Best Wide Moat Stocks to Buy Now and 30 Most Important AI Stocks According to BlackRock.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.

AI, Tariffs, Nuclear Power: One Undervalued Stock Connects ALL the Dots (Before It Explodes!)

Artificial intelligence is the greatest investment opportunity of our lifetime. The time to invest in groundbreaking AI is now, and this stock is a steal!

AI is eating the world—and the machines behind it are ravenous.

Each ChatGPT query, each model update, each robotic breakthrough consumes massive amounts of energy. In fact, AI is already pushing global power grids to the brink.

Wall Street is pouring hundreds of billions into artificial intelligence—training smarter chatbots, automating industries, and building the digital future. But there’s one urgent question few are asking:

Where will all of that energy come from?

AI is the most electricity-hungry technology ever invented. Each data center powering large language models like ChatGPT consumes as much energy as a small city. And it’s about to get worse.

Even Sam Altman, the founder of OpenAI, issued a stark warning:

“The future of AI depends on an energy breakthrough.”

Elon Musk was even more blunt:

“AI will run out of electricity by next year.”

As the world chases faster, smarter machines, a hidden crisis is emerging behind the scenes. Power grids are strained. Electricity prices are rising. Utilities are scrambling to expand capacity.

And that’s where the real opportunity lies…

One little-known company—almost entirely overlooked by most AI investors—could be the ultimate backdoor play. It’s not a chipmaker. It’s not a cloud platform. But it might be the most important AI stock in the US owns critical energy infrastructure assets positioned to feed the coming AI energy spike.

As demand from AI data centers explodes, this company is gearing up to profit from the most valuable commodity in the digital age: electricity.

The “Toll Booth” Operator of the AI Energy Boom

  • It owns critical nuclear energy infrastructure assets, positioning it at the heart of America’s next-generation power strategy.
  • It’s one of the only global companies capable of executing large-scale, complex EPC (engineering, procurement, and construction) projects across oil, gas, renewable fuels, and industrial infrastructure.
  • It plays a pivotal role in U.S. LNG exportation—a sector about to explode under President Trump’s renewed “America First” energy doctrine.

Trump has made it clear: Europe and U.S. allies must buy American LNG.

And our company sits in the toll booth—collecting fees on every drop exported.

But that’s not all…

As Trump’s proposed tariffs push American manufacturers to bring their operations back home, this company will be first in line to rebuild, retrofit, and reengineer those facilities.

AI. Energy. Tariffs. Onshoring. This One Company Ties It All Together.

While the world is distracted by flashy AI tickers, a few smart investors are quietly scooping up shares of the one company powering it all from behind the scenes.

AI needs energy. Energy needs infrastructure.

And infrastructure needs a builder with experience, scale, and execution.

This company has its finger in every pie—and Wall Street is just starting to notice.

Wall Street is noticing this company also because it is quietly riding all of these tailwinds—without the sky-high valuation.

While most energy and utility firms are buried under mountains of debt and coughing up hefty interest payments just to appease bondholders…

This company is completely debt-free.

In fact, it’s sitting on a war chest of cash—equal to nearly one-third of its entire market cap.

It also owns a huge equity stake in another red-hot AI play, giving investors indirect exposure to multiple AI growth engines without paying a premium.

And here’s what the smart money has started whispering…

The Hedge Fund Secret That’s Starting to Leak Out

This stock is so off-the-radar, so absurdly undervalued, that some of the most secretive hedge fund managers in the world have begun pitching it at closed-door investment summits.

They’re sharing it quietly, away from the cameras, to rooms full of ultra-wealthy clients.

Why? Because excluding cash and investments, this company is trading at less than 7 times earnings.

And that’s for a business tied to:

  • The AI infrastructure supercycle
  • The onshoring boom driven by Trump-era tariffs
  • A surge in U.S. LNG exports
  • And a unique footprint in nuclear energy—the future of clean, reliable power

You simply won’t find another AI and energy stock this cheap… with this much upside.

This isn’t a hype stock. It’s not riding on hope.

It’s delivering real cash flows, owns critical infrastructure, and holds stakes in other major growth stories.

This is your chance to get in before the rockets take off!

Disruption is the New Name of the Game: Let’s face it, complacency breeds stagnation.

AI is the ultimate disruptor, and it’s shaking the foundations of traditional industries.

The companies that embrace AI will thrive, while the dinosaurs clinging to outdated methods will be left in the dust.

As an investor, you want to be on the side of the winners, and AI is the winning ticket.

The Talent Pool is Overflowing: The world’s brightest minds are flocking to AI.

From computer scientists to mathematicians, the next generation of innovators is pouring its energy into this field.

This influx of talent guarantees a constant stream of groundbreaking ideas and rapid advancements.

By investing in AI, you’re essentially backing the future.

The future is powered by artificial intelligence, and the time to invest is NOW.

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A New Dawn is Coming to U.S. Stocks

I work for one of the largest independent financial publishers in the world – representing over 1 million people in 148 countries.

We’re independently funding today’s broadcast to address something on the mind of every investor in America right now…

Should I put my money in Artificial Intelligence?

Here to answer that for us… and give away his No. 1 free AI recommendation… is 50-year Wall Street titan, Marc Chaikin.

Marc’s been a trader, stockbroker, and analyst. He was the head of the options department at a major brokerage firm and is a sought-after expert for CNBC, Fox Business, Barron’s, and Yahoo! Finance…

But what Marc’s most known for is his award-winning stock-rating system. Which determines whether a stock could shoot sky-high in the next three to six months… or come crashing down.

That’s why Marc’s work appears in every Bloomberg and Reuters terminal on the planet…

And is still used by hundreds of banks, hedge funds, and brokerages to track the billions of dollars flowing in and out of stocks each day.

He’s used this system to survive nine bear markets… create three new indices for the Nasdaq… and even predict the brutal bear market of 2022, 90 days in advance.

Click to continue reading…