We recently published a list of 10 AI Stocks Analysts Are Focusing On These Days. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) stands against other AI stocks analysts are focusing on these days.
Dennis Unkovic, a partner at Meyer, Unkovic & Scott, said in a latest program on CNBC that DeepSeek is the result of President Xi Jinping’s policy of prioritizing AI and tech research over the past few years. The analyst believes DeepSeek is the response of China to American tariffs.
“Today, if you take technology, maybe two-thirds of it is Western and one-third of it is Chinese. It’s clear to me that what the Chinese want to do is move the needle so they’re at least 50/50. What this means…. in the future, is you’re going to have a country that’s going to have to say, what kind of technology do I want to adopt? Is it technology from the West, or is it technology from China? So I think this is a strong opening salvo of the Chinese to the U.S., saying, if you want to put tariffs on me, this is the way we’re going to go.”
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For this article, we picked 10 AI stocks that are trending amid the DeepSeek-triggered selloff that rocked the markets. With each stock, we have mentioned the number of hedge fund investors. 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
Dan Niles, Niles Investment Management founder & portfolio manager, gave his bullish views on Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in a recent program on CNBC.
“If you’re going to want to trade around it from a longer-term perspective, you know Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) is using AI the best, and you’re seeing that in the performance this year where it’s up 11%. And you had numbers go up all last year despite them taking up capex all last year.”
Niles said that Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) is a “long-term winner” among the major tech companies.
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).
Rowan Street Capital stated the following regarding Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META): Investment Initiated: April 2018: Internal Rate of Return (IRR*): 22% *IRR represents the annualized rate of return on an investment, accounting for the timing and magnitude of cash flows over the holding period.
For META, our 22% IRR aligns closely with the company’s compounded growth in earnings per share (EPS) and free cash flow per share during the 6 years holding period.
Looking ahead, Meta is expected to grow its revenues, earnings, and free cash flow per share at mid-teens rates over the next two years. There’s a good possibility that it could exceed these estimates, considering the breadth of growth initiatives currently in place, such as advancements in Al, monetization of Reels, expansion into business messaging, and the ongoing development of the metaverse…” (Click here to read the full text)
Overall, META ranks 3rd on our list of AI stocks analysts are focusing on these days. 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 time frame. 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.
