Ken Griffin's Citadel reported a monster profit of $16 billion last year, making it the most profitable hedge fund in history. The firm's assets are diversified across thousands of stocks, none of which accounts for more than 0.3% of its portfolio (excluding options contracts), so investors should not fixate on any particular position.

However, Citadel is clearly doing something right, and investors can still pick up tips from its holdings. For instance, the firm more than tripled its stakes in Alphabet (GOOG -3.33%) (GOOGL -3.37%) and CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD -0.01%) during the third quarter, a clear sign of conviction.

Wall Street analysts more broadly have expressed similar confidence in those companies. Both stocks sport consensus buy ratings, and neither has a single sell recommendation at the present time. Here's what investors should know about these highly recommended growth stocks.

1. Alphabet

The bull case for Alphabet centers on its strong presence in the ad tech and cloud computing markets, which are forecast to grow at roughly 14% annually through 2030. The company is also bringing artificial intelligence (AI) features to its various products and platforms in an effort to strengthen its market positioning.

Alphabet will account for nearly 29% of global digital ad revenue this year due to its ability to engage and source data from internet users. The company owns six products that reach more than 2 billion people each -- among them, Google Search and YouTube, the dominant internet search engine and the most popular streaming video platform, respectively.

The search advertising market is particularly important because it accounts for more than 40% of all digital ad spending. So Alphabet is experimenting with generative AI in Google Search, hoping to improve the user experience and reinforce its leadership. The company is also using generative AI to make its ad tech software more conversational.

In cloud computing, Google Cloud ranks a distant third behind Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure, but it still accounted for 11% of cloud infrastructure and platform services spending in the third quarter. That success is partially due to its AI expertise, and Alphabet could gain market share as it brings that expertise to bear. For instance, Duet AI is a new generative AI assistant that can automate workflows across Google Workspace, such as drafting text in Google Docs and organizing data in Google Sheets.

Alphabet reported solid financial results in the third quarter, beating estimates on the top and bottom lines. Revenue increased 11% to $76.7 billion and GAAP net income soared 42% to $19.7 billion. The only blemish was slowing growth in Google Cloud, but that was enough to send the stock tumbling after the report. Investors should monitor that segment closely. It accounts for a significant portion of the company's addressable market.

Here's the bottom line: Alphabet has a good shot at delivering annualized revenue growth in the double-digit percentages through 2030 given its strong presence in the ad tech and cloud computing markets. That makes its current valuation of 6 times sales look reasonable, especially when its three-year average is 6.5 times sales. Investors should consider buying a small stake in this growth stock today.

2. CrowdStrike Holdings

CrowdStrike is a recognized leader in endpoint security, cloud security, and threat intelligence, among other cybersecurity markets. Its success is attributable to its broad portfolio of integrated software and its robust threat-detection capabilities that are powered by sophisticated AI systems.

The CrowdStrike Falcon platform includes more than two dozen software modules that address several major security verticals. That selling point is particularly compelling because businesses often depend on dozens of point products, which complicates security workflows with multiple interfaces. CrowdStrike eliminates that complexity.

Additionally, leadership in threat intelligence points to superior AI, which itself hints at superior threat protection. Indeed, consultancy Frost & Sullivan says, "CrowdStrike leads the industry with regards to the application of artificial intelligence/machine learning to endpoint security, as well as providing unparalleled prevention of malware and malware-free attacks."

CrowdStrike reported solid financial results in its fiscal 2024 second quarter, which ended July 31. Revenue increased 37% to $732 million as new customers adopted Falcon and existing customers deployed more of its software modules, and non-GAAP net income more than doubled to reach $180 million. Investors can expect similar momentum in the future because CrowdStrike has hardly tapped its substantial market opportunity.

The company currently values its addressable market at $76 billion, but management says growing demand for cybersecurity software and continued product innovation could push that figure to $158 billion by 2026. Additionally, while CrowdStrike has about 23,000 customers today, that figure pales in comparison to the customer bases of vendors like Palo Alto Networks (80,000), Fortinet (680,000), and Microsoft (1 million).

Here's the bottom line: CrowdStrike should have no trouble maintaining its rapid growth rate in the coming years. Indeed, management is targeting $10 billion in annual recurring revenue within five to seven years, implying growth of roughly 24% annually during that period. That estimate makes its current valuation of 18.7 times sales seem fair, creating a reasonable buying opportunity for patient investors.