We recently compiled a list of the 10 Most Promising Tech Stocks According to Hedge Funds. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) stands against the other promising tech stocks.
NASDAQ is Poised for Long-Term Returns
Big tech is expected to outperform in the coming months. On October 2, Ari Wald, Oppenheimer’s Head of Technical Analysis, appeared in an interview on Yahoo Finance to discuss his market thesis and explain why investors must consider high-growth companies.
Wald highlights that market breadth is expected to remain high supporting extended highs throughout the end of 2024. In addition to that, he expects the bull cycle to remain intact and believes the trend will continue in 2025. During the late summer, the market saw a change in the high beta versus low volatility ratio stocks. It was seen that high-beta stocks could not keep up with high dividend-paying and lower-volatility names.
Given the rotational nature of the market, Wald expects higher beta names to make a strong comeback and reclaim their leadership position. Wald suggests that investors should consider investing in higher growth companies, as the Nasdaq and Russel 100 are expected to lead again. Trends show that the mag seven is growing and climbing, as the market conditions continue to settle.
Viewing Tech Stocks on Valuations Alone is Wrong, Strategist Says
Technology stocks have more room to run. On October 14, Malcolm Ethridge, Capital Area Planning Group managing partner, appeared in an interview on CNBC where he discussed the technology market outlook and revealed his favorite picks.
Ethridge suggests that judging stocks based on their valuations alone is a big mistake, especially in the current market cycle which is heavily influenced by the AI boom. Looking at the broader perspective, he believes there are a lot of positive opportunities among the magnificent seven and outside of it.
He adds that companies among the mega tech have been pouring billions into generating large language models and the likes of it. He also suggests that most of this technology is yet to be understood and therefore the true value we can derive from these technologies is yet to come. These companies also have a lot of intrinsic value and there is more to be realized soon.
Now that we have studied the technology market outlook, let’s take a look at the most promising tech stocks according to hedge funds. You can also read our piece on the most promising AI stocks according to analysts.
Our Methodology
To come up with the most promising technology stocks according to hedge funds, we sifted through multiple ETFs, our own rankings, and similar rankings on the internet. We then ranked the most promising tech stocks based on the hedge fund sentiment as of Q2 2024.
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 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
A development team working together to create the next version of Windows.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 279
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a well-known technology company behind the commonly used Microsoft Suite. The company also develops cloud products and personal computing products.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is pouring capital into artificial intelligence. Over the past few months, the company has closed deals with startups and technology companies to run their workloads on Microsoft Azure, its cloud platform. A few days ago, the company made an addition to its list of partnerships by signing an agreement with Rezolve AI, a startup revolutionizing the online retail landscape.
In addition to that, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) along with other crucial stakeholders made a $100 billion deal to improve the functioning of data centers and artificial intelligence. The company has also been making strategic investments in AI and data in other countries.
Chad Morganlander, Washington Crossing Advisors’ Senior Portfolio Manager and Co-Founder, appeared on Yahoo Finance on April 27, emphasizing the importance of MSFT. He shares that MSFT is one of the highest-quality stocks an investor can own. He adds that with its dividend-paying history and investments in AI, the company is likely to experience lower earnings volatility.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a long-standing company with immensely strong fundamentals. This coupled with its investments in AI and data make it one of the most promising stocks according to hedge funds.
Fred Alger Management’s Alger Spectra Fund stated the following regarding Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:
“Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a beneficiary of corporate America’s transformative digitization. The company operates through three segments: Productivity and Business Processes (Office, LinkedIn, and Dynamics), Intelligent Cloud (Server Products and Cloud Services, Azure, and Enterprise Services), and More Personal Computing (Windows, Devices, Gaming, and Search). During the quarter, shares contributed to performance after the company reported strong fiscal third quarter results, underscoring its leadership position in the cloud and highlighted its role as a primary facilitator and beneficiary of AI adoption. Company revenue growth, operating margin, and earnings growth surpassed consensus expectations. The utility scale Azure cloud business grew 31% in constant currency of which 7% was AI related versus 3% two quarters ago. Further, management noted most of the AI revenue continues to stem from inference rather than training indicating high quality AI applications by Microsoft’s clients. Management also indicated that the significant cost-cutting programs in corporate America are done, suggesting that the cost optimization headwinds previously impacting Azure’s growth are over. Separately, management provided color on their new AI-productivity tool, Copilot, noting that approximately 60% of Fortune 500 companies are already using Copilot, and that the quarter witnessed a 50% increase in Copilot assistance integration within Teams. We continue to believe that Microsoft has the potential to hold a leading position in AI, given its innovative approach and demonstrated high unit volume growth opportunity.”
Overall MSFT ranks 1st on our list of the most promising tech stocks according to hedge funds. While we acknowledge the potential of MSFT as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than MSFT but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
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