Institutions Bought 3 Stocks Heavily in Q1 2025

Key Points

• Institutional activity shifted in Q3, reverting to buying for tech stocks like Apple, Crowdstrike, and Advanced Micro Devices. 
• Analysts' sentiment is also bullish for these stocks, rated as Moderate Buys with potential for double-digit upsides. 
• Cash flow and balance sheet strength are central to these investments, allowing for capital returns, balance sheet improvements, or both. 

Institutional buying in tech stocks like Apple NASDAQ: AAPL, CrowdStrike NASDAQ: CRWD, and Advanced Micro Devices NASDAQ: AMD took a turn for the better in Q3 2024 and ramped to a multiyear high in Q1 2025. Although activity is mixed in Q1, with selling also ramping to multiquarter highs, the balance activity for each is solidly bullish. It suggests any market weakness in Q2 will be taken advantage of. Noteworthy details include the broad base of buyers, including fund managers, public and state retirement funds, and private wealth managers of all sizes. 

Apple’s Uptrend Is Intact; Higher Prices Are Still Expected

Apple’s share price is struggling near the end of Q1 2025, with action swinging over and under a critical resistance target. That target is a previously set all-time high and a meaningful pivot point regardless of the ultimate stock price direction. The critical detail for investors is that support appears to be strong at the 150-day EMA, an EMA associated with long-term investors, including institutional buyers. 

Apple insiders sold in 2024 and Q1 2025 but do not present a problem for investors because Apple uses share-based compensation, and insider activity aligns with the same. More importantly, analysts' activity aligns with the shift in institutional buying and supports the market at the long-term EMA.

Analysts' trends include steadily rising coverage, firm sentiment, a Moderate Buy rating, and an upwardly trending consensus target. The consensus target is up by 20% in the last year with most 2025 revisions leading to the high-end range. Wedbush set the high price target, $325, nearly 50% upside from the critical support target. 

CrowdStrike Plunges on Mixed Earnings Outlook

CrowdStrike’s share price began to correct in mid-February and accelerated the decline following the Q4 release because of weaker-than-expected earnings guidance. However, the guidance is weak due to increased spending intended to advance the technology and improve sales, which are setting records quarterly. Other pertinent details include the cash flow, sufficient to sustain operations and business investment while building cash on the balance sheet and improving shareholder equity. Shareholder equity is rapidly improving, rising by 42% in F2025. 

CrowdStrike insiders also sell in 2025 but, as with Apple, do not present a red flag due to institutional activity and analysts' sentiment. Institutions own more than 70% of the stock and have been ramping up their buying activity while analysts' sentiment trends are bullish. Analysts' sentiment trends include increasing coverage, a Moderate Buy rating, and a rising price target. The consensus in early March is a gain of 20% by year’s end with a chance of retesting the all-time highs. 

Advanced Micro Devices: Market Overreacts to Analysts' Sentiment Reset

Advanced Micro Devices analysts’ trends include a price target reset that shaved 15% off the consensus target in 12 months. However, the market overreacted to the reset, moving well below the range of targets, offering a minimum of 10% upside and 55% upside at the consensus. The value is highlighted by the low P/E ratio, which implies a fair value of 21x the 2025 forecasts but a deep value of under 9x in the 2030 outlook. Although AMD did not experience the same AI boom as NVIDIA, it benefits from it and is set up for sustained double-digit growth through 2030, with bottom-line growth CAGR nearly doubling the top. 

Catalysts for AMD in 2025 include growth in AI-capable PC CPUs and a return to growth in the gaming sector. Although PC growth will be sluggish overall, the mix will shift to AI-capable, with AI-capable market share growing more than 25% to over 40%. Regarding gaming, the gaming industry still faces headwinds but is expected to revert to growth by year-end and then accelerate as AI-enhanced gaming becomes widely available.

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