We recently published a list of 10 Best AI Stocks to Buy Based on New AI ETF. Since Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) ranks 3rd on the list, it deserves a deeper look.
Over the past few months the market has seen a massive influx of AI-related ETFs as investors look to ride the bandwagon of AI investing. A report from Wall Street Journal in June said that all ten AI ETFs tracked by website ETF.com saw inflows this year. One major AI ETF, launched by Roundhill, saw its assets grow to $35 million from under $1 million in just two weeks.
Amid the craze of AI ETFs, does it make sense to start investing in every new ETF? Analysts offer some guidance. A Wall Street Journal report quoted Morningstar analyst Kenneth Lamont, who said that we should look for “thematic purity” while investing in AI ETFs. The ETF you choose, according to the analyst, must be investing in “bellwether” stocks positioned to benefit from the AI industry trends.
There is a new AI ETF in town. KraneShares Artificial Intelligence and Technology ETF (AGIX), launched earlier this month, tracks the Solactive Etna Artificial General Intelligence Index, which captures the performance of AI tech companies. The index seeks exposure to three main AI categories: hardware, infrastructure, and applications. The index picks companies by assigning AI Exposure Score, which assesses each company’s relevance to AI tech. You can get exposure to AI companies focusing on data centers, LLMs, AI tech to reduce costs and improve customer experience.
In this article, we will discuss the top 10 holdings of this new AI ETF and see whether they have the potential to rise in the coming months and weeks. 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: 246
Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) accounts for about 4.2% of the net assets of KraneShares Artificial Intelligence and Technology ETF (AGIX).
Jefferies analyst Brent Thill chose Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) as one of his top AI picks in the consumer AI space.
The social media giant is using AI for optimizing ad targeting and recommendation systems to boost engagement and ads revenue. In the first quarter, Meta Platforms Inc’s (NASDAQ:META) revenue jumped 27% to $36.5 billion. A whopping 97% of this revenue came courtesy of ads. In 2024, Meta Platforms Inc’s (NASDAQ:META) ads revenue is expected to rise by 17%. Reels, which is posting solid numbers and engagement lately, saw a 20% ad load in the first quarter, compared with 16.2% in the same quarter last year. Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) recently posted speculator Q1 results but the stock slipped after the company revealed that Meta Platforms Inc’s (NASDAQ:META) CapEx will come in the range of $35 billion to $40 billion, higher than the previous forecast of $30 billion to $37 billion. However, long-term analysts believe since most of this spending will go into AI projects, it’ll bode well for the stock down the road.
Based on its 2025 EPS estimate of $23.11 set by Wall Street, Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is trading at a forward P/E of 21, which makes the stock attractively valued given Meta’s earnings are expected to grow 14.50% next year and by 30% over the next five years on a per-annum basis.
Alger Focus Equity Fund stated the following regarding Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in its Q1 2024 investor letter:
“Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) operates the world’s largest social network, with over 3 billion monthly active users across its platform. The company generates revenue predominantly from advertising. which accounts for over 95% of its total revenue, evenly split between North America and international markets. During the quarter, shares contributed to performance following the release of strong fiscal fourth quarter operating results, with revenues and earnings surpassing analyst estimates. The better-than- expected revenues were attributed to strong advertiser demand and Al-driven ad improvements. Moreover, the company materially raised its fiscal first quarter sales and earnings guidance above analysts’ estimates, buoyed by continued strong advertiser demand trends and enhancements to Reels. Advantage+. Click-to-message, and Shop Ads. Further, management noted that ongoing investment in Al is enhancing user engagement and advertiser returns through improved targeting and measurement. Separately, Meta authorized a new share repurchase plan representing approximately 5% of its market capitalization and announced the initiation of its first dividend, implying an approximate 0.4% yield.”
Overall, Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) ranks 3rd on Insider Monkey’s list titled 10 Best AI Stocks to Buy Based on New AI ETF. While we acknowledge the potential of Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META), 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 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.