We recently published a list of 10 Buzzing AI Stocks on Latest Analyst Ratings and News. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) stands against other 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).
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Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 235
Paul Meeks, chief investment officer at Harvest Portfolio Management, explained in a latest program on CNBC the impact of the appointment of new FTC chair. President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Andrew Ferguson for the role.
“When Ferguson comes in now, first of all, he’s in for all intents and purposes. He does not need to be confirmed by the Senate. I think he’s going to probably come pretty aggressively after Meta and some of the other social media companies that have, at least in his mind, in Trump’s mind, a purported bias against conservatives and social media. So I expect that, and this will be no friend of Mark Zuckerberg. It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out.”
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) is driving usage and ads revenue by improving its algorithms and user experience thanks to AI. Meta also reported strong adoption of its Llama AI model, attracting over 500 million monthly active users across its platforms. This progress positions Meta well for robust profitability in the next two years as it scales its AI infrastructure.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)’s advancements in Reels and WhatsApp are helping manage CapEx growth as the company strives to stay competitive in AI.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)’s clear monetization strategy for its generative AI, especially with Llama3, makes it a strong contender against rivals like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)’s substantial user base of 3.3 billion provides a data and distribution edge that could capture a significant share of the GenAI market. Although short-term investors may be concerned about Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)’s increased AI spending, its forward P/E ratio of 24x, based on FY 2025 EPS estimates of $24.62, makes it the second-most affordable big tech stock, after Google, within its peer group (Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google).
Hardman Johnston Global Equity stated the following regarding Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“During the quarter, we initiated one new position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) and had no liquidations. Management at Meta has effectively addressed concerns about investment efficiency by shifting resources from Reality Labs towards broader AI initiatives with a clearer path to profitability. We believe management has successfully articulated the benefits of this strategy, highlighting how AI is driving user engagement and advertiser productivity. This, in turn, fuels continued revenue momentum and increases the likelihood of positive earnings surprises in the future. Additionally, the parent company of the social media platform, Facebook, has recently taken positive steps to enhance safety, which suggests to us a shift towards a more proactive and responsive approach to addressing important potential challenges and concerns. Weak oversight over data privacy protection was a key reason why we sold the position in the portfolio back in 2021. Removing this governance overhang allows us to feel comfortable to enter back into the stock at a time when we believe it is poised for strong earnings growth going forward.”
Overall, META ranks 2nd on our list of buzzing AI stocks on latest analyst ratings and news. While we acknowledge the potential of META, our conviction lies in the belief that under the radar 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 META but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
