Like King Kong swatting away an airplane buzzing around his head, Microsoft just shoved Nvidia off its perch at the top of the list of new buys by the best mutual funds. In recent weeks, Microsoft stock has also snatched the market-capitalization crown as the world's most valuable company, topping both Apple and Nvidia stock.
Nvidia led last month but went AWOL in July. Microsoft took its place. Microsoft and Google parent Alphabet were the only two Magnificent Seven stocks to make this month's screen.
Top-performing institutional investors scooped up an impressive $10.9 billion worth of Microsoft stock. Google stock came in next, raking in over $9.7 billion.
Including drugmaker Eli Lilly ($2.9 billion), video streamer Netflix ($1.6 billion) and retail giant Costco ($1.4 billion), 13 stocks make this exclusive billion-dollar club.
Semiconductor industry leaders Lam Research ($1.6 billion) and Taiwan Semiconductor ($1.2 billion) also etched their names on this screen.
Microsoft Topples Nvidia, Tussles With Apple
After taking turns wearing the crown of most-valuable company multiple times in recent weeks, Microsoft now edges out Apple for sole possession of that throne. The software, AI, cloud and video game giant has a market cap of $3.48 trillion, slightly eclipsing Apple's value of $3.47 trillion. Nvidia ($3.11 trillion) is the only other stock with a market cap north of $3 trillion.
As Google stock continues to hit record highs, Alphabet has seen its market cap rise to over $2.33 trillion. Fellow Mag 7 member Amazon.com also recently hit the $2 trillion mark.
The links below highlight just a portion of this month's new buys and sells by top funds.
Click here to see all the stocks on the list.
Microsoft, Google Lead The Billion-Dollar Club
While Microsoft was the sole stock to garner a capital inflow of over $10 billion this month, each of these other companies took in large investments from the best mutual funds.
ServiceNow just missed the cut with an inflow of $997 million. Walmart came close to joining fellow big-box retailer Costco on this screen but came up short at $850 million.
| Company | Symbol | Amt Invested (bil) | Comp Rating | EPS Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft | $10.9 | 94 | 97 | |
| Alphabet | 9.7 | 99 | 98 | |
| Eli Lilly | 2.9 | 99 | 90 | |
| T-Mobile US | 2.5 | 89 | 93 | |
| TJX | 2.4 | 96 | 94 | |
| Boston Scientific | 2.1 | 96 | 90 | |
| Netflix | 1.6 | 99 | 99 | |
| Lam Research | 1.6 | 92 | 81 | |
| Fair Isaac | 1.5 | 97 | 97 | |
| Arista Networks | A | 1.4 | 99 | 98 |
| Costco Wholesale | 1.4 | 94 | 90 | |
| Taiwan Semiconductor | 1.2 | 97 | 81 | |
| Intuit | 1.2 | 97 | 94 |
Palantir, CrowdStrike Lead Software Buys By Best Mutual Funds
Just as Microsoft and Google have seen a boost in demand from the artificial intelligence boom, Palantir Technologies, CrowdStrike, Palo Alto Networks and CyberArk Software have tapped that wave to emerge as top AI stocks.
AI and cloud-based networks create challenges for cybersecurity firms, driving demand for cybersecurity stocks. As a result, CrowdStrike now trades at record highs. Meanwhile, CyberArk and PANW stock continue to build potential breakouts that would lift them to an all-time high.
After clearing an early trendline entry, Palantir stock jumped past a 26.57 buy point on Friday, rising nearly 5%.
Microsoft stock spiked to an all-time high.
Follow Matthew Galgani on X (formerly Twitter) at @IBD_MGalgani.
