Big data refers to large and diverse collections of data that cannot be managed by traditional data processing tools. Although the need to manage large data sets goes back to the 1960s and 1970s, it was around 2005 when open-source frameworks were created to store and analyze big data sets. Then, the Internet of Things (IoT) enabled gathering more data on product performance and customer usage patterns with more devices connected to the Internet. With the current expansion of generative AI and cloud computing enterprise use, big data continues to grow.
According to a report by Research and Markets, the big data market is projected to grow from $220.2 billion in 2023 to $401.2 billion by 2028, at a compound annual growth rate of 12.7% during the forecast period. Region-wise, North America holds the largest market share, driven by early adoption of big data solutions, a mature IT infrastructure, and a strong focus on innovation. Simultaneously, Asia Pacific serves as the fastest-growing segment in the market as a result of rapid digitization, proactive government support for technological advancements, and growing internet connectivity.
Big data offers numerous benefits such as enhancing predictive capabilities, better insights, strategic decision-making, personalized customer experiences, and improved operational efficiency. The use cases for big data are diverse spanning various industries including retail and ecommerce, healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, as well as government and public services. For instance, the e-commerce giant Amazon utilizes big data gathered from customers to fine-tune its recommendation engine to recommend products to customers who tend to feel overwhelmed by the variety of choices available to them in the modern era. Such suggestions tend to drive impulsive purchases.
Simultaneously, the biotech leader AstraZeneca has unlocked the potential of data and AI-driven drug discovery and development. The firm claimed to hold a vast trove of oncology data from numerous consenting patients, including clinical, imaging, and multi-omics data. This data is fed by the firm's Oncology Data Science team into a system that uses AI and other statistical tools to generate novel hypotheses in oncology drug development. Other than data from its clinical trials, the firm also collaborates with external companies to leverage real-world data that represents patients from across the globe.
Our Methodology:
In order to compile a list of the 12 best big data stocks to buy according to hedge funds, we went through relevant ETFs and media reports to make a list of big data stocks. Moving on, we shortlisted the top 12 stocks from our list which had the highest number of hedge fund holders. The 12 best big data stocks to buy according to hedge funds have been arranged in ascending order of their hedge fund holders, as of Q3.
At Insider Monkey we are obsessed with 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 group of software engineers working in an open, futuristic office.
Elastic N.V. (NYSE:ESTC) combines the precision of search with the intelligence of AI. The company enables its customers to find the answers they need in real-time, using all of their data, at scale.
The firm’s platform, Elastic Search AI Platform is available as both a hosted, managed service across public clouds as well as self-managed software, allowing its customers to find insights and drive AI and machine learning use cases from large amounts of data. The firm offers three search-powered solutions including Search, Observability, and Security, that are built on the platform. The platform features are promising and include being able to securely store and quickly access all data from megabytes to petabytes, explore data, spot trends, and anomalies, find insights, and share results with Elastic's fully integrated data visualization user interface, as well as making it easy to find exactly what one is looking for.
For the second quarter of fiscal 2025 which ended on October 31, Elastic N.V. (NYSE:ESTC) recorded a revenue increase of 18% year-over-year. Elastic Cloud revenue was $169 million, witnessing a rise of 25% year-over-year. As digital transformation drives mission-critical business functions to the cloud, the firm believes that companies need to incorporate search AI capabilities across IT and line-of-business organizations to find the answers that matter from all of their data in real time and at scale. Thus, Elastic is helping businesses looking to leverage big data.
Overall ESTC ranks 8th on our list of the best big data stocks to buy according to hedge funds. While we acknowledge the potential of ESTC 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 ESTC but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
