We recently published a list of the 10 Best AI Momentum Stocks to Benefit from Volatility Ahead. Since Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) ranks 6th on the list, it deserves a deeper look.
Wolfe Research has joined the ongoing market correction chorus as more and more experts warn of volatility ahead amid soaring valuations led by AI. Wolfe Research, however, believes investors would stick to mega-cap tech stocks to survive through this volatility.
“Our sense is that volatility will continue to pick up over the summer. However, we expect this to generally benefit the Mag 7, secular growers, and the overall Momentum Trade in the weeks ahead.”
Wolfe analysts expect investors to pile into quality stocks that “they can count on” amid economic “data surprises” ahead. The firm expects “these themes to continue to benefit from an environment in which growth is slowing but the Fed is expected to kick off a deep cutting cycle.”
“Further, our sense is that the biggest companies driving these trends will once again put up very solid results during 2Q earnings season.”
Since Wolfe believes investors are poised to stick with Magnificent Seven stocks in the upcoming volatility and called The Information Technology (SPG1200-45)(XLK) and Communication Services (XLC) “big winners”, we picked Mag. 7 stocks and top 3 AI stocks from the XLK for this article. 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).
Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 150
Wolfe Research believes the Mag. 7 group of stocks is poised to benefit from any volatility this summer. Since Apple is part of the group, the stock should be watched closely.
Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) skeptics have long believed that Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) is a laggard in the AI race, but experts say Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) almost always makes its own way and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) will come roaring back in the AI competition and surpass Microsoft and Alphabet. The first signs of Apple Inc’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) AI capabilities are here. Last month, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) revealed new M4-powered iPad Pro and claimed that its devices, powered by Neural Engine, will be “more powerful than any neural processing unit in any AI PC today.” Apple Inc’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) Neural Engine is Apple Inc’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) neural processing unit (NPU) that accelerates AI workloads.
After the latest AI announcements at the WWDC event, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares added over $215 billion in market cap and closed at a record high on June 11. TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in a fresh note that Apple has a competitive edge over others with its on-device AI.
Notable Wall Street analyst and Deepwater Asset Management Managing Partner Gene Munster recently made waves when he said in a post on Twitter that Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) is a better investment than Nvidia for the long term. Munster believes owning Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) over the next year will have a higher return because the market is in “denial” about Apple’s AI potential.
Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) is trading at 26X its 2025 EPS estimate ($7.22). This multiple, though higher than the industry average of 30, does not show the stock’s overvalued, given Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) sales growth of 6.40% for fiscal 2025 and 10.50% growth for the next five years on a per-annum basis.
Mar Vista Focus strategy stated the following regarding Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:
“Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock was pressured in the quarter as investors fretted over softening demand for smartphones, regulatory action from the US Department of Justice, and the Chinese government mandates restricting iPhone use by government officials. Despite these near-term headwinds, we continue to believe the company remains competitively advantaged and benefits from the Apple ecosystem, which has an installed base of over 2 billion devices and over 1 billion paying subscribers. We believe the Apple ecosystem will support a more predictable cash flow stream, which should grow intrinsic value high-single-digits over our investment horizon.”
Overall, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) ranks 6th on Insider Monkey’s list titled 10 Best AI Momentum Stocks to Benefit from Volatility Ahead. While we acknowledge the potential of Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), 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 Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) 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.
