We recently published a list of 10 AI Stocks Poised for Big Moves. In this article, we are going to take a look at where AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP) stands against other AI stocks poised for big moves.
Last month, President Xi Jinping held a rare meeting with some of the biggest names in China’s technology sector, urging them to “show their talent” and believe in the power of China’s model and market.
Following this guidance, tech leaders in China are raising billions and betting on the AI race. In the latest news, Chinese artificial intelligence startup Zhipu AI has raised more than 1 billion yuan ($137.22 million) in fresh funding, only months after securing a 3 billion yuan investment.
READ ALSO: 10 AI Stocks to Watch Now and 10 AI Stocks Gaining Momentum Right Now
According to Zhipu AI, state-backed Hangzhou City Investment Group Industrial Fund and Shangcheng Capital are among the investors in the round. The move comes amid intense competition in China’s AI sector, particularly after DeepSeek emerged with its AI models, claiming to match Western competitors’ capabilities at lower costs.
In another news article, Chinese smartphone maker Honor reported that it will spend $10 billion over the next five years on developing AI for its devices. This comes as the former Huawei unit prepares for a public listing, its CEO James Li has revealed.
The company no longer wants to be merely a smartphone company. Rather, Li said in a speech at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) trade show in Barcelona that it is now aiming to develop a system of AI-powered PCs, tablets and wearables.
Similar to Zhipu AI, Honor’s announcement comes amid a boom in Chinese AI investment after DeepSeek emerged with its acclaimed cheaper and efficient AI models. Back in August, Reuters had also reported how Honor has been receiving a high level of support from the Shenzhen local government in terms of research and development funding, tax breaks and support in expanding overseas.
President Xi has been stressing continuity in China’s economic development strategy. However, he believes that its private business had “broad prospects and great promise” to create wealth and opportunity. Sure enough, it seems as if his efforts and vision are rapidly coming to fruition.
For this article, we selected AI stocks by going through news articles, stock analysis, and press releases. These stocks are also popular among hedge funds. The hedge fund data is as of Q4 2024.
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 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
A close-up of a mobile device, showing an advertiser reaching out to a consumer via a software-based platform.
AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 95
AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP) provides a leading marketing platform powered by AI technology. On February 27, Jefferies analyst James Heaney CFA reiterated a “Buy” rating on the stock with a price target of $600.00. The analyst has dismissed claims made in recent short reports about AppLovin misrepresenting the benefits of its AI advertising platform, citing them as weak and inaccurate.
He argued how these fraudulent clicks and downloads don’t align with the company’s ability to generate substantial revenue for its clients. AppLovin’s CEO also refuted the claims, highlighting how its e-commerce pilot program has reached a run rate of roughly $1 billion a year of gross advertiser spend in the e-commerce category alone in December. Further supporting the positive outlook is the company’s expansion into sectors beyond ecommerce, such as automotive and healthcare.
Heaney also explained how AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) couldn’t be misappropriating META’s advertising data, stating that it would need unauthorized intrusion to do so. The analyst remains optimistic about the company’s growth potential and considers the recent pullback as an opportunity for investment.
Overall, APP ranks 6th on our list of AI stocks poised for big moves. While we acknowledge the potential of APP 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 time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than APP 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.