We recently published a list of Top 10 AI Stocks to Watch Right Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) stands against other top AI stocks to watch right now.
Tom Hancock, GMO U.S. quality ETF portfolio manager, said in a latest program on CNBC that the NASDAQ has become “risky” bet amid a lot of volatility.
“It’s become not really an index; it’s become a single bet. So it it’s a very risky thing to invest in. It’s not what I think you would want from a sort of diversified investor. It’s probably going to give you more volatile returns next year, and I’d a little bit worry that the AI rally has extended itself. So uh those may be uncomfortably volatile returns.”
Hancock said investors should also pay attention to some of the “old economy” stocks. He thinks AI stocks have become a “hype trade” and any “hiccup” in the economy could result in these stocks crashing. He also urged investors to look for stocks outside the US.
Hancock believes AI gains are now set to broaden out to smaller companies that have not received a lot of attention so far.
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For this article we picked 10 AI stocks currently trending based on latest news. 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).
An Apple store displaying the latest in consumer electronics, from smartphones to wearables.
Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 158
Investment firm J.P. Morgan recently said that the latest Wave7 Research survey indicates Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone 16 is lagging in market share compared to the previous cycle, potentially due to limited awareness of Apple Intelligence.
“Recent surveys from Wave7 Research into US sales trends across various carriers in Oct/Nov-24 highlight that average share for iPhone 16 cycle continues to track lower y/y (relative to share for iPhone 15 in the same period) despite better than seasonal trends in the latest month of survey data,” J.P. Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee wrote in a note to clients. “The survey highlights that the lower momentum, reflected in the lower market share y/y, is likely led by the (still) lower consumer awareness for Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) Intelligence, despite expectations for the feature set to be a key driver for an upgrade cycle.”
Chatterjee maintains an Overweight rating on Apple shares.
Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) has been seeing a long-term decline in mobile carrier upgrade rates, especially postpaid, for several years. This suggests that people are holding onto their devices longer, likely due to economic factors, satisfaction with current technology, or a lack of exciting new features in recent models.
In the latest earnings call, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) CEO Tim Cook highlighted new features for the iPhone, such as a more comfortable watch band and sleep apnea detection, but none appeared to be major demand drivers for new customers.
Parnassus Growth Equity Fund stated the following regarding Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares rose during the quarter, making our underweight position a relative detractor. Investors reacted positively to the new iPhone 16 lineup and its advanced features, including generative artificial intelligence, greater durability and increased processing power.”
Overall, AAPL ranks 5th on our list of top AI stocks to watch right now. While we acknowledge the potential of AAPL, 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 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.
