Hedge fund’s Q3 trades are now public following the release of 13F forms filed with the SEC. This means that now is the time to track the “Smart Money” of hedge fund gurus like Warren Buffett and Carl Icahn. And with TipRanks’ recently-released stock screener, you can easily pinpoint top stocks that match your investment criteria. The screener has a database of over 5,000 stocks as well as multiple filter options. Here we searched for stocks with both a positive hedge fund signal and a ‘Strong Buy’ best analyst consensus:
Using our big data analytics, we can also track the stock’s overall outlook from the Street. This gives us a better idea of whether these stocks make compelling investment opportunities. Bearing that in mind, let’s now take a closer look at these 3 top stocks.
Apple
Hedge funds continue to boost holdings in tech giant Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). The world’s most famous fund manager, Warren Buffett, now has a huge AAPL position of over $20 billion. In Q3, he increased Berkshire’s AAPL holding for the fifth time since coming late to the stock in 2016. Three other fund managers also have $1 billion + AAPL positions: Ken Fisher (Fisher Asset Management); Lisa M Jones (Pioneer Investment) and Philippe Laffont (Coatue Management).
“We were the first on Wall Street to project that Apple would reach a $1 trillion market cap as reflected by a price target; our current price target of $235.00 equates to approximately a $1.2 trillion market cap” says top Drexel Hamilton analyst Brian White. His bullish $235 price target is AAPL’s highest yet and projects a 38% rise in the next 12 months.
You can click on the screenshot for further insights into which hedge funds are buying AAPL right now.
Applied Materials
Chip gear maker Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) is ticking all the boxes right now. In Q3, hedge funds snapped up 5.9 million more Applied Materials shares. Zero hedge funds exited the stock and only 5 reduced positions vs 18 who increased holdings. UK-based fund manager Egerton’s John Armitage upped his position by 23% to $883 million- making this the fund’s third biggest stock after Comcast and Charter Communications.
“Every Year is a Peak Year for Gary’s [CEO Gary Dickerson] AMAT,” comments Credit Suisse’s Farhan Ahmad. He reiterated his buy rating on AMAT on November 17 with a $72 price target (27% upside potential) following the stock’s strong fiscal fourth quarter results and upbeat guidance.
Overall AMAT boasts 14 consecutive buy ratings from analysts in the last three months. And with a $64.50 average price target, analysts are predicting AMAT can climb 10% over the next 12 months.
Broadcom
Hedge funds have a ‘very positive’ sentiment on semiconductor giant Broadcom Ltd (NASDAQ:AVGO), with positions steadily rising for the last four quarters. The stock’s biggest investor is famous fund guru Steve Mandel of the $20 billion Lone Pine Capital fund. Mandel is worth tracking as he is ranked an impressive #24 out of 202 hedge funds tracked by TipRanks.
AVGO is currently trying to buy out rival chip maker Qualcomm (QCOM) in the largest tech deal ever-recorded. Analysts say the deal would create sizeable synergies for AVGO. Instinet’s Romit Shah writes that Broadcom has “a lot of leverage,” and that “an offer of $80 per share or higher would be perceived as highly compelling to Qualcomm’s largest shareholders.”
Overall, AVGO has one of the best ratings from the Street with 23 back-to-back buy ratings and an average analyst price target of $299. This translates into upside potential of close to 10%.
