In this article, we will take a detailed look at the 10 Buzzing AI Stocks on Latest Analyst Ratings and News.
CJ Muse, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst, explained in a latest program on CNBC that the AI investment cycle is different from the ones we have seen in the past. Muse believes major technology companies investing billions in AI are generating “meaningful” free cash flows.
“This cycle is unlike any other. I think most investors look back to the advent of the internet and how long the internet infrastructure investment cycle played out. But this one’s very different. The companies making the investments, predominantly the hyperscalers, are generating meaningful free cash flow despite spending hundreds of billions of dollars building out AI. Let’s be clear: this is existential for these companies as they all try to get to AGI. I think this is a multi-year investment cycle.”
The analyst talked about the latest AI model released by OpenAI and said the race is now to reach artificial general intelligence (AGI) and companies would require more and more computing power to improve the reasoning capabilities of AI systems.
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For this article, we picked 10 AI stocks currently making headlines on the back of latest analyst ratings and important news. With each stock, we have mentioned its hedge fund sentiment. Why are we interested in 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).
10. Palantir Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:PLTR)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 43
Steve Grasso, Grasso Global CEO, explained on CNBC why he has changed his mind on Palantir. The analyst is now giving a Buy recommendation on the stock.
“I thought it was going to be in the target of the Department of Government Efficiency that Musk and VC are leading. You know, 35% of the revenues are derived from the government, specifically and dominantly from the US government. If those margins are at risk, the stock should go lower.
But when I start to see Elon Musk make comments about the next war being fought with drone swarms versus jets, and Paler is dabbling with JVs in the drone department, it makes me think that there could be an underlying bid with the name. Especially because Artificial Intelligence on one hand and drone technology on the other hand—put them two together—the government is going to be there, leading, knocking down their door for investments within the company.”
What makes Palantir Technologies Inc (NYSE:PLTR) one of the top AI stocks? Its technologies are actually solving the problems of businesses. Palantir’s data technology Ontology is solving the famous hallucination problem for AI systems, thanks to the company’s years of experience with military and defense systems. Earlier this year at an event with customers, Palantir Technologies Inc (NYSE:PLTR) shared some specifics on how its customers are being able to reduce costs and increase profits due to its artificial intelligence platform (AIP) that was launched about a year ago.
Airbus accelerated A350 production by 33%, BP reduced costs per barrel by 60%, and Jacobs Connect cut power usage by 30%. Panasonic decreased waste by 12%, ESI Group sped up ERP harmonization by 70%, and PG&E reduced transformer ignitions by 65%. Eaton boosted productivity by 25%, while Tyson Foods achieved $200 million in cost savings.
Fidelity Growth Strategies Fund stated the following regarding Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“Untimely ownership of Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) (+47%) also hurt the fund’s relative result. This software and services firm, which operates in both government and commercial segments, saw strong growth during the quarter, largely driven by its “AIP” – or Artificial Intelligence Platform – offering. In early August, the company reported Q2 financial results that mostly met somewhat lofty expectations. We established a sizable holding in Palantir Technologies during the quarter, and at quarter end it was the second-largest position and a slight overweight.”
9. Dell Technologies Inc (NYSE:DELL)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 60
JP Morgan recently named Dell Technologies Inc (NYSE:DELL) among its top picks for 2025 and set a price target of $160 for the stock.
“We anticipate a broadening of demand drivers to include Traditional IT Infrastructure in 2025, moving beyond the focused investments in AI seen in 2024, which situates Dell (DELL) as one of the best-positioned companies within our coverage, due to materially stronger core business growth.”
JPMorgan analysts expect $2 per share in earnings from AI Infrastructure.
Dell recently posted mixed quarterly results with revenue missing expectations. What stands out is Dell’s Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG), which posted an impressive 34% year-over-year growth, reaching $11.4 billion in revenue. The server business rose a whopping 58% increase YoY to $7.4 billion.
Dell Tech Inc (NYSE:DELL) experienced a shift in AI server demand toward the next-generation Blackwell architecture. Dell Tech Inc (NYSE:DELL)’s management highlighted that there was a dramatic shift in orders toward Nvidia’s (NVDA) Blackwell-based systems during Q3, which impacted short-term shipments as these products ramp up production. This shift shows Dell Tech Inc (NYSE:DELL)’s competitive position, as customers are willing to wait for the latest tech solutions. Dell secured $3.6 billion in AI server orders this quarter, an 11% increase from the previous quarter. Dell Tech Inc (NYSE:DELL) also signed over 2,000 enterprise customers for their AI solutions.
Carillon Scout Mid Cap Fund stated the following regarding Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:
“Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL) was a top contributor despite reporting disappointing first-quarter earnings results, because investors looked through the near-term disappointment and expected strong growth from AI-related servers and personal computers. We expect Dell to participate in the growth of artificial intelligence hardware, especially as enterprises invest more aggressively. We like the company’s depth and breadth of products and services, as well as its focus on keeping costs low.”
8. ServiceNow Inc (NYSE:NOW)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 78
ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) is among the software stocks Stifel expects to thrive in 2025 amid a mix of artificial intelligence monetization, falling interest rates, economic growth, and limited exposure to China.
“We observed that after a strong CY23, which saw accelerating revenue growth fueled by easy year-over-year comparisons, peaking at around 15%, 2024 revenue growth slowed in Q2 to 11.8%, but then rebounded by 150 basis points to 13.3% in Q3,” said Stifel analysts, led by Brad Reback, in their detailed 2025 software outlook. “Although current projections expect a slowdown to around 11% in Q4, we anticipate a potential 300 basis points upside to these forecasts, considering normal seasonal trends and management’s cautious outlook.”
ServiceNow Inc (NYSE:NOW) impressed the market with strong Q3 results. But can the stock keep going higher? ServiceNow Inc (NYSE:NOW) recently launched its Now Platform Xanadu, adding more than 350 out-of-the-box generative AI capabilities to Now Assist. These features include data visualization automation, chat- and email-reply generation, change summaries, and LLM-based proactive prompts in Virtual Agent.
ServiceNow Inc (NYSE:NOW) also released RaptorDB Pro, a high-performance database enabling customers to centralize operational data and analytics onto ServiceNow platforms. These platforms are expanding the company’s abilities in the IT market.
ServiceNow Inc (NYSE:NOW) bulls believe the company’s organic revenue growth after fiscal 2025 could clock in between 20% to 22%. ServiceNow Inc (NYSE:NOW) can also expand its margins by 250bps annually, driven by 100bps from gross profits, 100bps from R&D reductions, and 50bps from SG&A leverage.
ServiceNow Inc (NYSE:NOW) will also benefit from organic growth catalysts. Grand View Research predicts that the global information technology service management (ITSM) market will grow at a CAGR of 9.3% from 2023 to 2030.
Polen Focus Growth Strategy stated the following regarding ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“In the third quarter, the top relative contributors to the Portfolio’s performance were NVIDIA (not owned), Shopify, and ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW). ServiceNow reported better-than-expected sales and bookings during the quarter, with subscription sales up +23%. Encouragingly, GenAI offerings within its product suite, rolled out in late 2023, already appear to be an incremental driver of this growth. In our view, ServiceNow is a great example of a consistent grower, with a strong moat serving diverse and growing end markets with expanding margin opportunities over time.”
7. Oracle Corp (NYSE:ORCL)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 91
Analysts at Monness, Crespi, Hardt downgraded Oracle Corp (NYSE:ORCL) to Sell from Neutral, setting a $130 price target.
Oracle Corp (NYSE:ORCL) has outpaced other stocks in the firm’s coverage this year, marking its best performance since 1999, largely fueled by the generative AI trend. However, the company’s current price-to-earnings ratio is roughly twice its long-term historical average.
Despite Wall Street’s positive outlook ahead of Oracle Corp (NYSE:ORCL) second-quarter fiscal 2025 results, the company reported weaker-than-expected performance, according to the analysts. They also noted that their earnings estimate for fiscal 2025 has remained unchanged from the previous year, while Oracle Corp (NYSE:ORCL) Cloud Services revenue forecast was downgraded.
The analysts expressed concern about Oracle Corp (NYSE:ORCL) plan to significantly increase its capital expenditures in fiscal 2025, labeling it as unsustainable.
They also highlighted the challenges in the public cloud sector, a market dominated by three major, highly innovative tech companies with vast resources and a growing generative AI capacity, along with comprehensive cloud offerings.
Parnassus Value Equity Fund stated the following regarding Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) announced second-quarter results that exceeded consensus expectations, driven by growth in its cloud infrastructure business, which is benefiting from demand for AI applications. Investor sentiment was further bolstered by the company’s announcement of a new partnership with Amazon.”
6. Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 99
Danny Moses, Moses Ventures founder, explained in a latest program on CNBC why he is no longer short on Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA). However, the analyst also said it’s hard to go long on the stock because it’s based on “all promises.”
“The first quarter this year, it had just started to trade on fundamentals for the first time in a long time. It was hanging around $140 to $150, right? So you felt like, okay, the quarter was bad, right? What happened? The promise of Autonomous Day in August, which ended up getting pushed out to October. He flies to China to get some regulatory relief on certain things, and lo and behold, attaches himself to Trump to make all the other stuff go away.
When the story moves from non-fundamental to technical and those kinds of things, that’s when I leave a story. We talk about it on the podcast a lot, giving updates there. But to people that are listening now, it’s very difficult, certainly, to short a name that’s not trading on fundamentals. It’s also hard to go long a name when it’s all on promises.”
Looking beyond the recent spike in Tesla shares amid Donald Trump’s victory, Tesla’s fundamentals are challenged. How? Tesla Inc’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) key robotaxi event was short on details. Notably absent was the discussion of a “more affordable” model that Musk had previously mentioned to boost confidence in Tesla’s vehicle sales growth outlook.
What about the $30,000 price tag claim?
Musk has indicated that the Cybercab will have a production cost of approximately $30,000. Operating within the robotaxi fleet is projected to cost around $0.20 per mile. With a production cost of $30,000, the retail price of the Cybercab is likely to exceed this figure. For instance, if the Cybercab is priced at $30,000 per unit, that translates to $15,000 per seat. In contrast, the average price per passenger seat in Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s most affordable long-range RWD Model 3—factoring in full self-driving (FSD) licensing—is under $10,000 ($29,990 post-incentive vehicle price plus $8,000 for the FSD license, divided by four passenger seats). Regarding operational costs, while the Cybercab is expected to cost $0.20 per mile, charging the Model 3 is estimated at under $0.10 per mile, leaving a significant margin to cover maintenance and downtime.
There is a lot of hype around Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) robo taxis but many believe they will not be enough to fix the company’s long-term challenges.
What are these challenges?
Tesla Inc’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) product lineup is showing signs of stagnation, with over 95% of sales still coming from the Model 3 and Model Y. Meanwhile, competitors are rolling out more advanced models. Even Rivian’s CEO suggested Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) could be nearing market saturation for these models. According to Reuters, Tesla’s market share in Europe is slipping as legacy automakers like BMW post stronger sales. Chinese competitor BYD is also gaining ground in Europe, despite talk of tariffs.
Polen Focus Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“The largest relative detractors during the quarter were Apple, Airbnb, and Tesla (not owned). We’ve spoken at length about our rationale for not owning Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA). In short, the market seems to be pricing in a lot of positive optionality for this company in the near-to-intermediate term (and particularly a fully autonomous fleet of electric vehicles in the medium term). What exists today is an automobile manufacturer limited to the higher-income segment that is increasingly challenged to sell vehicles when interest rates are not zero. We continue to question the company’s long-term growth profile and governance.”
5. Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 107
Matthew Bryson from Bright Lake Wealth Management said while talking to Schwab Network in a latest program that he believes Micron Technology’s (NASDAQ:MU) problems are temporary in nature.
“I think that a lot of the problems are very temporal in nature. Certainly, the extent of the decline was a bit of a surprise. But where you’ve got inventory right-sizing in handsets of smartphones, that’s not an end-market problem. It’s that our customers took on too much inventory, mostly late 2023. It just needs to get worked out, and I think that’s done by the end of Q1.
I think Blackwell delays, where business hasn’t disappeared but system builds have gotten pushed, are weighing on Q4 and Q1. Again, people are going to buy lots of Blackwell, so I think this is a one-to-two-quarter phenomenon. You end up with a relatively positive cycle for Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) in the back half of calendar 2025.”
How can Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) make a turnaround?
The company’s management expects PC unit growth to accelerate into the second half of calendar 2025. Nvidia’s (NVDA) Blackwell has only just begun ramping up production and 2025 is expected to show improved sequential and annual comparisons. Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) management has also guided for a return to growth in the second half of the fiscal year and raised the estimate of the HBM market’s total addressable market to over $30 billion in 2025, driven by their sold-out position for the calendar year.
Based on these factors, now could be the right time for long-term investors to pile into MU.
Invesco Growth and Income Fund stated the following regarding Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU): In late June, Micron reported earnings that were generally in line with expectations. However, management provided weaker guidance going forward. The stock immediately began to sell off, which continued through the third quarter as investors appeared to question the company’s long-term growth outlook. Rotation out of AI-related stocks also appeared to weigh on Micron Technology.”
