As Apple (AAPL) dives into augmented and virtual reality with its Vision Pro headset, top mutual funds are pouring real money – $2.6 billion – into AAPL stock. In the latest list of new buys by top funds, these savvy investors have also lasered their way into other tech titans Microsoft (MSFT), picking up $2.4 billion worth of MSFT stock.
X
Wall Street may have been confused by Apple’s unveiling of the Vision Pro’s price, which starts at $3,499. Analysts were expecting it to cost around $3,000 for the device to go on sale early next year. Apple stock shook off the initial decline after the announcement.
Broadcom (AVGO), Adobe (ADBE), ServiceNow (NOW), Oracle (ORCL) and Applied materials (AMAT) are among 10 companies grossing between $109 million and $341 million in this month’s report.
Within this elite group, top investors have also found storage space for the retail giant walmart (WMT), investing approximately $207 million in WMT shares.
Microsoft spearheads the dominant presence of software stocks across a wide range of industry groups on the list of new buys by top mutual funds, with 38 companies making it to the top. Broadcom joins 11 other semiconductor stocks that etched their names on the latest report.
Click here to see the full list of new buys by top funds.
Apple and Microsoft are the best bets of the best mutual funds
Further confirming their strength and institutional demand, five of the 12 companies below have also secured a place on the major IBD stock lists.
ServiceNow and AMAT stocks both earn a spot on the IBD Big Cap 20. ServiceNow also joins CRM stocks on the IBD 50, while Microsoft continues its longstanding presence among the IBD’s long-term leaders.
| Business | Symbol | Amount invested in $ (mil) | Competition score | EPS Ranking | RS Ranking | RS Industrial Group | SMR Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple | AAPL | 2,600 | 90 | 80 | 89 | B | A |
| Microsoft | MSFT | 2,392 | 97 | 90 | 92 | A | A |
| Broadcom | AVGO | 341 | 97 | 95 | 95 | A+ | A |
| Adobe | ADBE | 246 | 98 | 95 | 87 | A | A |
| ServiceNow | NOW | 238 | 99 | 99 | 89 | A | A |
| equinix | EQIX | 230 | 90 | 88 | 80 | VS | VS |
| Selling power | RCMP | 207 | 98 | 98 | 92 | A | B |
| walmart | WMT | 207 | 84 | 88 | 81 | VS | B |
| Accenture | ACN | 181 | 87 | 82 | 82 | C+ | B |
| Oracle | ORCL | 155 | 98 | 84 | 94 | A+ | A |
| Applied materials | AMAT | 111 | 98 | 88 | 91 | A+ | A |
| S&P Global | SPGI | 109 | 90 | 88 | 78 | C+ | A |
Microsoft leads software industry dominance
Software vendors were undeniably prominent on the latest New Buys list of top mutual funds. But it’s also important to focus on specific industry groups within the broader sector.
From Windows and Azure Cloud to Xbox, Microsoft AI and beyond, Microsoft operates in a wide range of business segments. It is categorized under the Desktop industry group, alongside Adobe.
NOW, CRM Lead In-Demand Enterprise Software Group
ServiceNow, Selling power (CRM), Working day (WDAY), Datadog (DDOG), Dynatrace (DT) and Palantize (PLTR) lead the Computer Software-Enterprise group. With a crop of 14 stocks, enterprise software leads all software groups in terms of the number of companies on the list of new buys by major funds.
Welcoming the major IPOs of the class of 2021, monday.com (MNDY) also made its way onto the new buys screen by top mutual funds. Earlier this month, the productivity software game was featured in The New America column.
| Business | Symbol | Amount invested in $ (mil) | Competition score | EPS Ranking | RS Ranking | SMR Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ServiceNow | NOW | 238.29 | 99 | 99 | 89 | A |
| Selling power | RCMP | 207.28 | 98 | 98 | 92 | B |
| Working day | WDAY | 27.57 | 99 | 98 | 89 | A |
| Palantir Technologies | PLTR | 16.31 | 99 | 81 | 98 | VS |
| Cloudy | NET | 11.6 | 99 | 81 | 85 | B |
| Datadog | DDOG | 11.29 | 98 | 99 | 87 | A |
| Dynatrace | DT | 5.51 | 99 | 99 | 92 | A |
| Nutanix | NTNX | 4.93 | 88 | 81 | 92 | – |
| JFrog | FROG | 4.55 | 99 | 81 | 90 | VS |
| Manhattan Associates | MANH | 1.53 | 99 | 95 | 95 | A |
| Black Baud | BLKB | 0.64 | 95 | 79 | 93 | B |
| monday.com | MNDY | 0.61 | 97 | 81 | 95 | VS |
| UiPath | PATH | 0.37 | 98 | 81 | 88 | VS |
| Qualtrics International | XM | 0.13 | 99 | 81 | 94 | VS |
Bets by the best mutual funds in the chip industry
Led by AVGO, AMAT and ASML, 12 stocks earned a spot on this month’s new buys list by top funds. As in the software sector, semiconductor stocks can come from a range of chip-rated industry groups.
AMAT, ASML, Research (LRCX), KLA (KLAC) and Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) all belong to the group of solid-state equipment. The band ranks solidly at No. 15 on the industries 197 IBD tracks.
Broadcom, Rambus (RMBS) and Lattice Semiconductor (LSCC) are among those in the fabless group of chips, which ranks 12th.
| Business | Symbol | Amount invested in $ (mil) | Competition score | EPS Ranking | RS Ranking | SMR Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broadcom | AVGO | 807 | 97 | 95 | 95 | A |
| ASML | ASML | 723 | 99 | 95 | 91 | A |
| Research | LRCX | 617 | 95 | 88 | 93 | A |
| Monolithic power systems | MPWR | 490 | 98 | 98 | 82 | A |
| KLA | KLAC | 443 | 97 | 95 | 92 | A |
| Axcelis Technologies | ACLS | 158 | 99 | 96 | 99 | A |
| Applied materials | AMAT | 133 | 98 | 88 | 91 | A |
| Nova | NVMI | 108 | 95 | 88 | 91 | A |
| Towards innovation | ON | 107 | 95 | 85 | 96 | B |
| ON Semiconductor | ON | 84 | 89 | 85 | 91 | A |
| Lattice Semiconductor | LSCC | 81 | 97 | 99 | 91 | A |
| Rambus | RMBS | 64 | 99 | 97 | 98 | A |
Follow Matthew Galgani on Twitter at @IBD_MGalgani.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
US economic optimism is stuck in a rut as debt ceiling deal is rejected
Apple Investor Focus eyes iPhone 15 introduction after headphone debut
Use technical analysis to determine when to buy growth stocks
Having trouble locating purchase points? Try this pattern recognition tool