We recently compiled a list of the Warren Buffett and Hedge Funds Are Crazy About These 10 Stocks. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Snowflake Inc (NYSE:SNOW) stands against the other stocks recommended by Warren Buffett and hedge funds.
Warren Buffett will go down in history as one of the most successful investors on Wall Street, a feat achieved through integrity, wisdom and wit. He is dubbed the Oracle of Omaha on his investment firm Berkshire Hathaway, delivering a compounded annual gain of 19.8% since 1958, more than double an increase of 9.9% for the S&P 500. Berkshire Hathaway stock has gained over 3,787,464% since 1965 compared to a 24,708% gain for the S&P 500, underlining Buffett’s stock-picking skills.
Buffett is one of the most accomplished investors in the history of Wall Street having amassed a wealth of $138 billion, as reported by Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index. His net worth could have been much more had he not made generous contributions to various charitable organizations. In contrast to many other billionaires who prefer lavish lifestyles in large homes and luxury vehicles, Buffett is often seen as one of the most humble billionaires globally.
The significant investment gains over the years stem from Buffett buying stocks in various sectors and holding them for years and even decades. Buffett’s secret to prosperity mainly lies in investing in well-established, reputable companies with clear competitive edges. Although this approach focuses heavily on undervalued stocks, it also occasionally includes investments in high-growth companies.
The investment strategy is often backed by the massive cash haul that Berkshire Hathaway holds on generating earnings per share on most of its investments and through dividend payments. Nevertheless, it is becoming increasingly clear that Warren Buffett and hedge funds are crazy about a particular clique of stocks.
High-growth companies and market leaders in respective fields are some of the factors that Buffett and most hedge funds closely watch while selecting stocks. Technology stocks which consist of some of the biggest companies account for 41% of Buffett’s 13F portfolio at the end of March, an edge that has always allowed him to outperform the overall market.
Diversification is another important factor in the top stocks that Warren Buffett and hedge funds are crazy about. While technology stocks account for the biggest share, the billionaire investor is also heavily invested in Financials at 21% and Basic Material at 10.7%. Diversifying aligns with the billionaire investor value investing principles that involve pursuing undervalued investments in various sectors.
Over the years, Buffett has always sought securities whose prices are undervalued relative to their intrinsic value. Rather than focusing on short-term gains in the market, the Berkshire Hathaway chief selects stocks based on their long-term potential. It was one of the reasons that Berkshire Hathaway shares ended 2023 with a 15.8% gain, representing an eighth straight year of advances. Its biggest increase of 29.6% came in 2021 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
While Berkshire Hathaway had $189 billion in cash as of the end of the first quarter, the cash haul is expected to surge to $300 billion by the end of the third quarter. While most people might wonder why Buffett is not putting much of the cash to work, the billionaire investor is always cautious focusing on value investments rather than just investing for the sake.
The billionaire investor is always driven by the mantra: never invest in overvalued equities. Therefore he always takes time scanning for value investments trading at discounted valuations. Additionally, the sheer size of Berkshire Hathaway means it can only put its money into a select few companies that will significantly impact its returns. This is further compounded by the fact that investments in cash equivalents, such as short-term government bonds, are currently offering returns above 5% which is quite high at current levels. As a result, Warren Buffett and his firm are deliberately seeking the perfect investment at the perfect price, and this opportunity could arise at any moment.
In the recent past, Buffett has also gone against the wave amid a shift of focus from oil and gas investment plays amid the transition to clean energy. Buffett remains bullish about investment opportunities in the energy sector amid the carbon care initiatives even as the biggest players continue generating significant returns from the lucrative fossil fuel business. Buffett and hedge funds have also taken keen interest in stocks offering exposure to emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence that are driving valuations higher in the market.
Our Methodology
In this article, we take a look at some of the top stocks in which Buffett and other hedge funds are heavily invested. Warren Buffett and hedge funds are crazy about these 10 stocks partly because of their growth metrics and long-term prospects. While some of the stocks are trading at a premium valuation, they are market leaders in their respective fields and, therefore, well-positioned to generate long-term value. We have ranked the stocks in Warren Buffett’s portfolio based on the number of hedge funds invested and selected the top 10.
A software engineer at work, surrounded by a wall of computer monitors connected to a ‘Data Cloud’ platform.
Snowflake Inc (NYSE:SNOW)
Berkshire Hathaway’s Stake Value: $989.86 Million
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 73
Warren Buffett and hedge funds are crazy about Snowflake Inc (NYSE:SNOW) as it offers exposure in the burgeoning cloud computing sector as a technology investment. The company provides a data cloud that enables customers to consolidate data into a single source. Snowflake Inc (NYSE:SNOW) has also emerged as an artificial intelligence investment play as it increasingly integrates technology to solve business problems.
In 2023, Snowflake Inc (NYSE:SNOW) gained more than 50% in market value, affirming its edge as one of hedge funds’ top investment plays in the tech sector. While the company’s revenue growth rate has slowed recently, it remains positive for free cash flow as it continues adding more customers to its portfolio. Its revenue retention rate also remains at a high of 130%.
Following an analysis of the over 900 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, 73 held stakes in Snowflake Inc (NYSE:SNOW) as of the end of the first quarter of 2024.
In the investor letter for the first quarter of 2024, Alger Focus Equity Fund shared its insights on Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:SNOW), discussing the company’s recent activities and performance:
“Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:SNOW) is a cloud-based data warehousing company that allows organizations to store, analyze and share data in a secure. Scalable and cost-effective manner. This includes the Data Cloud. An ecosystem where Snowflake customers, partners. Data providers, and data consumers can break down data silos and derive value from rapidly growing data sets in a secure, governed, and compliant way. Its platform supports a range of use cases. Including data warehousing, data lakes, data engineering, data science, data application development, and data sharing. While the company reported an overall healthy fiscal fourth quarter. Shares detracted from performance after management lowered their fiscal 2025 forward revenue guidance below analyst estimates. Further, the company announced that CEO Frank Slootman would be retiring from the role immediately, succeeded by Sridhar Ramaswamy, the former SVP of Al who has demonstrated impressive speed in bringing new Al products and features to market.”
Overall SNOW ranks 8th on our list of the best stocks to buy according to Warren Buffett and hedge funds. You can visit Warren Buffett and Hedge Funds Are Crazy About These 10 Stocks to see the other stocks that are on hedge funds’ radar. While we acknowledge the potential of SNOW as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some 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 SNOW 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 was originally published at Insider Monkey.
