As per AXA Investment Managers, the US dominated financial markets this year. The investment firm believes that the broader economy has been stronger than anticipated with GDP growth running at an annualized rate of 3.0% in Q2. The blue-chip benchmark, S&P 500 index, has surged ~22% on a YTD basis. Also, the US fixed-income markets saw strong returns. Overall, the financial markets were supported by the success of the US Fed in dealing with inflation.
Interest rates have started to move lower, with credit markets reflecting the strength of the broader US corporate sector, per AXA Investment Managers. At the start of October 2024, the investment firm mentioned that a 50:50 allocation to the S&P 500 Growth equity index and the ICE US High Yield bond index might have resulted in a return of ~18% YTD.
S&P 500 Index – The Road Ahead
Forbes believes that the prevailing outlook for 2025 is cautious optimism. While the momentum in technology innovation, together with the environment of lower interest rates, should help the broader S&P 500 index, investors are required to be wary of certain risks. These include elevated valuations, global tensions, and uncertainty regarding the US presidential election.
According to ClientFirst Wealth, Legacy & Estate Planning, which is an independent, fee-only registered investment advisor (RIA), the ongoing innovation in AI and lower rates should help the S&P 500 Index see growth in the range of 14.5% – 19.6%. Another firm, Running Point Capital Advisors, expects the S&P 500 to see an increase of 7% – 11% in 2025, with some volatility. As per the company, the influencing factors include economic growth, expansion in earnings, higher mergers and acquisitions activity, and a favorable interest rate environment.
Forbes highlighted that investors are required to keep certain sectors, like technology, healthcare, and energy, on the radar in 2025. As per IDC, worldwide spending on AI, which includes AI-enabled applications, infrastructure, and associated IT and business services, should more than double by 2028 to reach $632 billion. The incorporation of AI, and generative AI (GenAI) in particular, in a range of products should result in a CAGR of ~29.0% over 2024-2028, which should help the broader technology sector.
Definitive Healthcare believes that investors should see more device makers and pharmaceutical companies jump on the D2C bandwagon in 2025. Also, ICRA, a Credit Rating Agency, expects a strong financial outlook for the broader hospital industry in FY 2025. The optimistic outlook stems from the increasing incidence of non-communicable lifestyle diseases, a rise in per capita healthcare spending, increased medical tourism, and penetration of health insurance.
US Energy Information Administration, in its short-term energy outlook report (October 2024), mentioned that the summer temperatures this year were warmer in the US as compared to last summer, mainly in the upper Midwest and Northeast regions, which supported pushing up the US electricity demand. EIA expects 2% more U.S. sales of electricity to ultimate customers in 2024 as compared to 2023, followed by another 2% expected growth in 2025. Overall, it expects electricity sales to increase throughout economic sectors. It projects that commercial electricity sales will rise by 3% this year followed by a 1% growth in 2025.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL): Among The 10 Best S&P 500 Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds
Source: Pixabay
Our Methodology
To list the 10 Best S&P 500 Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds, we extracted the stocks from the S&P 500 index. After getting the list, stocks that were the most popular among hedge funds were chosen. Finally, the stocks were arranged in the ascending order of their 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).
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is engaged in designing, manufacturing, and marketing smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has been maintaining a strong position in the premium smartphone market, which should continue to drive topline and bottom-line growth. Its ability to differentiate products with the help of hardware innovations and software ecosystem enhancements should be able to help it maintain market share and pricing power. Wall Street analysts believe that its services segment should continue to achieve strong growth, aided by improved margins.
As this high-margin business expands, it can aid Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s profitability and justify premium valuation. The strong potential for new service offerings and elevated monetization of the existing user base should offer additional upside to revenue and earnings projections. Moving forward, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s growth trajectory is expected to be aided by a strong ecosystem of products and services and a loyal customer base.
During Q3 2024, the company’s business performance was able to generate EPS growth of 11% and ~$29 billion in operating cash flow, enabling it to return more than $32 billion to shareholders. Analysts at Melius Research restated a “Buy” rating on the shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), setting a $265.00 target price on 27th August.
Wedgewood Partners, an investment management company, released a Q3 2024 investor letter. Hereis what the fund said:
“Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) also contributed to performance as investors continued to favorably discount the recent unveiling of its AI strategy. As we have noted in the past, the Company has been at the forefront of proprietary semiconductor computer processor development for well over a decade. Given the compute-intensive nature of AI applications, Apple is well situated to develop a suite of compelling, consumer-friendly AI services that are also cost-effective. Apple’s AI value proposition should compel consumers to continue growing their engagement in the Apple ecosystem over the next several years.”
Overall, AAPL ranks 3rd on our list of 10 Best S&P 500 Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds. While we acknowledge the potential of AAPL as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some deeply undervalued AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for a deeply undervalued AI stock that is more promising than AAPL but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
