10 Buzzing AI Stocks on Latest News and Ratings

1. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 158

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is a technology company that has strengthened its mark in the AI realm with the launch of Apple Intelligence, its personal intelligence system. One of the biggest analyst calls on Tuesday, January 7^th, was for Apple Inc. MoffettNathanson, an investment firm, downgraded the stock to “Sell” from Neutral and lowered his target price for the stock to $188 from $202. According to Moffett, Apple’s 30% rally in 2024 is largely unjustified.

“Much has been made of the fact that Apple’s shares have moved steadily higher over the past few months in the absence of any real news. But that’s not actually correct. In fact, there has been a great deal of Apple-relevant news. It’s just that all of it has been bad.”

Moffett asserted that the response to Apple’s iPhone 16 and Apple Intelligence was largely “lukewarm”. When compared to the iPhone 15, sales for the iPhone 16 have waned despite the company pushing Apple Intelligence as a key selling point in its advertisements. Another headwind for the stock that the firm pointed out was intensifying regulatory pressures. China will also be a growing challenge in the future, with competitors such as Huawei depleting the company’s market share in the country. The analyst also stated that President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed tariff plan could weaken Apple’s supply chain to an unknown degree.

“As great a company as Apple is, the outlook for Apple’s shares, given this challenging backdrop, is, unfortunately, decidedly unattractive. A valuation that was already rich got richer, even as the rationale for why it was rich has taken on water”.

While we acknowledge the potential of AAPL as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than AAPL but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: 8 Best Wide Moat Stocks to Buy Now and 30 Most Important AI Stocks According to BlackRock.

Disclosure: None. Insider Monkey focuses on uncovering the best investment ideas of hedge funds and insiders. Please subscribe to our free daily e-newsletter to get the latest investment ideas from hedge funds’ investor letters by entering your email address below.