The technology sector continues to be driven by rapid innovation and the adoption of cutting-edge technologies. Advances in technology are significantly impacting lives, industries, and economies worldwide, with the integration of AI and ML revolutionizing workflows, enhancing productivity, and creating new revenue opportunities. Organizations around the globe are undergoing digital transformation to stay competitive, streamline operations, improve customer engagement, and drive innovation in their products and services.
With substantial growth potential, the technology sector has consistently outperformed other sectors. In 2024, the S&P 500 Information Technology Sector Index rose by approximately 37%, outpacing the broader S&P 500 Index by an impressive 11.5%. This performance has led to skyrocketing market capitalizations for tech sector companies, prompting caution regarding high valuations. Following the market downturn triggered by DeepSeek’s emergence, JJ Kinahan, CEO of IG North America, stated in an interview with BNN Bloomberg that while the market had reached incredibly high levels, macroeconomic concerns such as inflation and high interest rates persist. He also suggests that developments related to DeepSeek provided an excuse for profit-taking with a ‘reset’ occurring in tech stocks. Now the focus should shift to earnings and the actual benefits derived from those substantial investments.
On a positive note, in his report on December 13, Adam Benjamin, Sector Portfolio Manager at Fidelity Investments, highlighted that the sector benefited in 2024 from outstanding results in the semiconductor industry, reflecting major corporate investments in AI infrastructure. He remains optimistic for 2025, as evident from his positive outlook:
“The outlook for the sector in 2025 and beyond may be bright, as tech companies continue to innovate and digitization and automation become increasingly important in our lives. I believe the next phase of development could present opportunities for software firms, as the application layer begins to roll out generative AI agents across end markets, and as the full benefits of AI begin to be realized. Progress may not be linear, though, and investors must be mindful of stock valuations and the timing and potential impact of further technological advances in the field, as well as the broader macroeconomic environment.”
An engineer offering a demonstration of the ultra-low power FPGA technology.
Our Methodology
To identify the 10 best unstoppable stocks, we conducted extensive research to compile a list of fundamentally strong U.S.-listed companies that performed well in 2024 and are expected to continue their success in 2025. Our focus included technology companies with a market capitalization of $2 billion and above. We screened our coverage based on the following criteria: 1. Stock price should have outperformed the S&P 500 Index in 2024 (+22% rise in share price); 2. must have reported positive revenue growth over the last 5 years; 3. EPS growth for the next year is expected to be over 25%; 4. It should have a potential upside of at least 10%. Ultimately, the stocks were ranked in ascending order of their hedge fund sentiment as per Insider Monkey’s database of 900 hedge funds, as of Q3 2024.
Note: all pricing data is as of market close on January 28.
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).
10. SiTime Corp. (NASDAQ:SITM)
Upside Potential: 16%
Number of hedge funds: 18
SiTime Corp. (NASDAQ:SITM) is a fabless semiconductor company that delivers precision timing solutions to the global electronics industry. Utilizing micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology, SiTime’s products ensure reliable and accurate timing for electronic devices. They are distinguished by their high performance, resilience, reliability, programmability, compact size, and low power consumption. These products are integrated into more than 300 applications across diverse markets, including communications, data centers, automotive, industrial, aerospace, mobile, IoT, and consumer sectors.
SiTime Corp. (NASDAQ:SITM) holds a commanding 90% market share in the MEMS timing devices market. The company’s innovative MEMS-based oscillators are gradually replacing traditional quartz oscillators, presenting significant market expansion opportunities. Over the past year, SiTime’s stock has risen by 64%, outperforming the S&P 500 Index by approximately 39%.
9. PAR Technology Corp. (NYSE:PAR)
Upside Potential: 24%
Number of hedge funds: 24
PAR Technology Corp. (NYSE:PAR) develops and markets products and software that help hospitality operators worldwide to better manage finances, materials, personnel, and the guest experience. Its product and service offerings include point-of-sale (PoS) systems, customer engagement and loyalty programs, digital ordering and delivery solutions, operational intelligence technologies, and payment processing services. Currently, over 100,000 restaurants utilize its software, and the company has deployed 500,000 terminals globally.
PAR Technology Corp. (NYSE:PAR) stands out by offering a diverse range of hardware products and a unified technology platform that provides integrated solutions and advanced data insights. The increasing use of technology in the hospitality and retail sectors is driving demand for the company’s products. Recently, PAR Technology acquired Delaget LLC, a leading provider of restaurant analytics and business intelligence solutions, for $132 million. Delaget boasts an impressive portfolio, servicing over 30,000 locations and more than 125 brands. Savneet Singh, the company’s CEO and President, remarked:
“The acquisition of Delaget marks another strategic milestone in PAR’s mission to build the industry’s most comprehensive food service platform. Delaget’s analytics capabilities perfectly complement our Operator Cloud solution, while offering immediate value to our customers through enhanced back-office capabilities, delivery operations, and data-driven insights. Our combination will help restaurant operators make better decisions, reduce costs, and drive operational excellence in real-time. Access to the Delaget product suite will accelerate development timeframes of the PAR Data Platform, a major initiative that unites data across a restaurant’s tech stack to provide unparalleled guest and operational insights.”
8. Ambarella Inc. (NASDAQ:AMBA)
Upside Potential: 22%
Number of hedge funds: 30
Ambarella Inc. (NASDAQ:AMBA) specializes in developing low-power system-on-a-chip (SoC) semiconductors and software for edge AI applications. Its products enable features such as person detection, object classification, and analytics, along with performing complex data analysis in real-time, delivering high-quality imagery. These features are used in various human viewing and computer vision applications, including automotive camera systems, video security cameras, mobile and fixed robots, industrial applications, drones, and other consumer devices.
The company focuses on the automotive and Internet-of-Things (IoT) end markets. Ambarella Inc. (NASDAQ:AMBA)’s competitive advantage lies in its specialized SoCs that offer high-quality video and image processing with low power consumption, making them ideal for edge AI applications. The company reported strong Q3 2025 (October quarter) results with revenue increasing by 30% sequentially in both the auto and IoT segments. Despite overall market weakness, the ramp-up of customers’ new products, especially those featuring its new higher-priced AI inference processors like CV5, supported top-line growth. During the results call, President and CEO Dr. Fermi Wang stated:
“We believe the significant and continued build-out of AI training and inference capacity in data centers for increasingly advanced AI networks is a leading indicator for the secular growth opportunity we see for AI inference processing at the edge. Our strategic plan aligns well with this, and the first wave of new AI product revenue is underway. We expect the second wave to commence alongside the first wave next year, with a subsequent wave starting in calendar 2026 or our fiscal 2027, including the CV3 and our 2-nanometer platforms.”
7. Zeta Global Holdings Corp. (NYSE:ZETA)
Upside Potential: 133%
Number of hedge funds: 31
Zeta Global Holdings Corp. (NYSE:ZETA) operates an omnichannel data-driven cloud platform that provides consumer intelligence and marketing automation software to enterprises. Their omnichannel approach allows them to deliver personalized marketing across all addressable channels, including email, social media, web, chat, Connected TV, and video, among others. Zeta’s software and tools utilize AI to help customers target, connect with, and engage consumers, enabling them to acquire, grow, and retain consumer relationships more efficiently and effectively.
The investment case for the company is built on its proprietary data, innovative technology, and scalable marketing solutions. Leveraging AI, the company is well-positioned to benefit from the increasing demand for personalized and efficient marketing strategies.
After a report by the short seller Culper Research in November 2024, the stock plummeted 50% between November 8-15. Although the company refuted the claims and was cleared in a forensic review, the stock has yet to recover. Nonetheless, in early January 2025, an analyst from DA Davidson named Zeta Global Holdings Corp. (NYSE:ZETA) as their top pick in the marketing software space. He believes that upselling opportunities and the marketing cloud replacement cycle should help Zeta sustain 20% year-over-year topline growth. Over the past year, the stock rose 77%, outperforming the broader market index.
6. Semtech Corp. (NASDAQ:SMTC)
Upside Potential: 15%
Number of hedge funds: 32
Semtech Corp. (NASDAQ:SMTC) is a provider of semiconductors, Internet of Things (IoT) systems, and cloud connectivity, primarily supplying high-performance analog and mixed-signal semiconductors. The company designs, develops, manufactures, and markets a broad range of products and services for commercial applications across various markets, including infrastructure (data centers, optical networks, base stations, switches), high-end consumer electronics (smartphones, tablets, desktops, set-top boxes), and industrial sectors (IoT, smart grids, automotive).
Key strengths of Semtech Corp. (NASDAQ:SMTC) include its exposure to diverse end markets and geographies. Additionally, the company stands to benefit from the rising demand for IoT solutions, advancements in 5G technology, and the increasing need for sustainable and energy-efficient solutions. Semtech’s focus on innovation and its ability to develop new products that address complex design challenges position it well to capitalize on these trends.
On January 17th, UBS initiated coverage on Semtech Corp. (NASDAQ:SMTC) with a Buy rating and a price target of $85, indicating a 42% upside. The positive outlook is based on the company’s CopperEdge product securing a critical win in NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA)’s Blackwell platform and the subsequent expansion opportunity in AI data centers as the partnership with NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) strengthens. Over the past year, Semtech Corp. (NASDAQ:SMTC)’s shares have surged 183%, significantly outperforming the benchmark’s 24%.
5. Nutanix Inc. (NASDAQ:NTNX)
Upside Potential: 22%
Number of hedge funds: 50
Nutanix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTNX) provides software-defined hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) platforms that combine computing, storage, networking, and virtualization into a single solution. This platform simplifies cloud complexity, allowing businesses to seamlessly operate applications and manage data across public and private clouds, data centers, on-premises, and edge locations.
Nutanix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTNX) bases its investment case on the secular trends of hybrid multicloud adoption and generative AI. The company has established a leadership position in the HCI market and projects a $76 billion total addressable market by FY 2027, offering substantial growth potential. In mid-December 2024, UBS initiated coverage on Nutanix with a Buy rating and a price target of $81, indicating a 27% upside. Around the same time, a Morgan Stanley analyst named it as a Top Pick with an unchanged Overweight rating and raised the price target to $85 from $78. The positive outlook is based on the view that Nutanix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTNX) and similar stocks are entering 2025 with healthier budgets, better inventory positions, and improved valuations, following a softer IT spending environment in 2024. Over the past year, the company’s share price increased by 24%, matching the performance of the S&P 500 Index.
4. Coherent Corp. (NYSE:COHR)
Upside Potential: 36%
Number of hedge funds: 51
Coherent Corp. (NYSE:COHR) is a developer and manufacturer of engineered materials, networking products, optoelectronic components, and optical and laser systems for the industrial, communications, electronics, and instrumentation markets. The company holds a strong position in the optical communications market, particularly with its innovative solutions for data centers, such as datacom optical transceivers.
In March 2024, Coherent Corp. introduced its Optical Circuit Switch (OCS), specifically designed for AI data center deployments. This innovation aims to reduce the number of electrical switches required, thereby cutting costs and power consumption. On January 25, 2025, a Barclays analyst raised the price target for Coherent Corp. (NYSE:COHR) to $125 from $105 and reiterated his Overweight rating. Over the past one year, the company’s share price surged by 73%, significantly outperforming the S&P 500 Index by 49%.
3. Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL)
Upside Potential: 53%
Number of hedge funds: 60
Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL) is a key player in IT infrastructure modernization, artificial intelligence (AI), software-defined, and cloud-native infrastructure solutions. The company offers a wide array of products and services, including personal computers, servers, storage solutions, networking, software, and information security. When it comes to data centers, Dell provides an extensive range of products and services that address both traditional and emerging needs, such as servers, storage systems, hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI), cloud computing solutions, server racks and enclosures, modular data centers, and networking equipment. This comprehensive portfolio positions Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL) well to leverage growth in the data center industry.
Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL)’s Servers & Networking revenue grew a solid 58% year-on-year in Q3 2025 (November 2024), outpacing all other businesses by a significant margin. Encouraged by the strong results, Jeff Clarke, COO at DELL, said: “Interest in our portfolio is at an all-time high, driving record AI server orders demand of $3.6 billion in Q3 and a pipeline that grew more than 50%, with growth across all customer types.”. In early January 2025, UBS named Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL) as their top large-cap pick in Enterprise Hardware and Networking coverage in the US. UBS currently rates it as a BUY with a price target of $158. Over the past year, the company’s stock performance has been broadly in line with the S&P 500 Index.
2. Marvell Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL)
Upside Potential: 20%
Number of hedge funds: 70
Marvell Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL) is a supplier of data infrastructure semiconductor solutions for end-markets spanning from the data center market to enterprise networking, carrier infrastructure, consumer, and automotive/industrial. Its current product portfolio includes custom Application Specific Integrated Circuits (“ASICs”), electro-optics, ethernet solutions, fibre channel adapters, processors and storage controllers.
The key growth drivers for Marvell Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL) are the rising demand for data infrastructure solutions, the widespread adoption of AI and machine learning technologies, and the expansion of cloud computing services. Marvell’s platforms, custom compute offerings and strategic partnerships are enabling the company to capture a larger share of the data infrastructure market. The company has a notable presence in the semiconductor industry, especially within the data infrastructure and networking segments. Its robust market position, significant opportunities in AI computing, and strategic alliances make the company make it a solid investment opportunity. The company pegs its data center accelerated compute addressable market at $202 billion by 2028, rising at a CAGR of 24% from 2023.
Melius Research has recently initiated coverage of Marvell Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL) with a Buy rating and a target price of $188. The analyst anticipates that Marvell will benefit from Microsoft’s anticipated increase in investments. He also believes that the market consensus has yet to fully account for Marvell’s long-term goal of capturing a 20% market share in the custom accelerator market for major cloud providers. In his view, the company’s growth potential is significant, particularly driven by the AI trend.
1. NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA)
Upside Potential: 36%
Number of hedge funds: 193
NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) designs and manufactures graphics processing units (GPUs), system on a chip units (SoCs), and AI hardware and software. It primarily serves four major markets: Data Center, Gaming, Professional Visualization, and Automotive. For data centers, NVIDIA provides accelerated computing platforms and end-to-end networking solutions, including Quantum for InfiniBand and Spectrum for Ethernet, along with platforms for automated driving and AI Enterprise.
NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) has evolved from a PC gaming GPU company to a dominant player in the accelerated computing space, offering full-stack computing infrastructure with data-center-scale solutions. The company’s strength is evident in its commanding over 80% market share in GPUs. NVIDIA has greatly benefited from the growing adoption of AI and machine learning technologies, driving strong demand for its chips. The company’s revenue, profitability, and market capitalization have surged since the introduction of GenAI models like ChatGPT.
In the past year, NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) stock rose 109%, significantly outperforming the broader S&P 500 Index, which increased by only 24%. Despite a recent selloff triggered by news related to Deepseek, the stock remains a consensus Buy among analysts, who still see an upside of around 36%. Theo Mass, portfolio manager at Northcape Capital, recently remarked that the 17% overnight plunge in Nvidia shares was ‘wildly overdone,’ as it did not fundamentally change the growth outlook for NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA). Addressing concerns about Deepseek potentially hampering demand, Northcape Capital remains bullish on NVIDIA’s outlook. As Mr. Mass stated:
“The biggest game in town that these mega-cap tech companies and US chip suppliers are pursuing is still inference AI over the next five to 10 years. While training has been a significant start to the AI phenomenon, in five or 10 years, Deepseek will be a small start-up in the grand scheme of things. Nvidia has noted that 40% of their revenue is already related to inference AI, and they welcome some competition and optimization in these models. So, I’m still bullish on Nvidia.”
While we acknowledge the potential of NVDA to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that 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 NVDA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and Complete List of 59 AI Companies Under $2 Billion in Market Cap.
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