We recently published a list of 10 Best Performing Mid Cap Stocks to Buy According to Analysts. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Oklo Inc. (NYSE:OKLO) stands against other best performing mid cap stocks to buy according to analysts.
On February 7, Simeon Hyman, Global Investment Strategist at ProShares Advisors, appeared on CNBC to discuss the upcoming jobs report and its expected impact on the market. He believes that the market will hold up, and particularly cites mid-cap stocks as an optimal balance for risk and return. He noted that the economy has shown strength in various sectors, such as the ISM manufacturing index, which recently beat expectations. This broadening of economic growth suggests that the jobs numbers might be decent. Hyman also highlighted the positive earnings growth in the S&P 500, with about three-quarters of companies reporting a 12% year-over-year increase, which is encouraging news.
Recently, the mega-cap tech stocks have shown some weakness despite the overall market being on pace for a winning week. Hyman observed that while this broadening of market performance is positive, it also indicates risk, given that the tech sector still accounts for over 30% of the S&P 500 and remains in the red for the year. His word of the day was mid-caps, which he believes are historically the sweet spot in the market. Mid-caps have outperformed both large and small-cap stocks over the decades. Currently, mid-caps are undervalued, offering investors about $0.50 on the dollar, a situation that hasn’t occurred with small caps despite their underperformance. The key advantage of mid-caps is their earnings growth, which sets them apart from small-caps. When discussing mid-caps versus small caps, Hyman highlighted that mid-caps also have a strong domestic focus, with about 75% of their revenues coming from domestic sources. This is similar to small caps but with a crucial difference: mid-caps generally offer higher quality than small caps, lacking the losses and negative earnings often seen in small-cap companies. This makes mid-caps an attractive option for investors looking for stable growth.
Methodology
We used the Finviz stock screener to compile a list of the best-performing mid-cap stocks that were trading between $2 billion and $10 billion. We then picked the top 10 stocks with year-to-date gains higher than 20% and an average upside potential of over 25%. The stocks are ranked in ascending order of their upside potential. We have also added the hedge fund sentiment for each stock, as of Q4 2024, which was sourced from Insider Monkey’s database.
Note: All data is as of February 24.
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).
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Oklo Inc. (NYSE:OKLO)
Year-to-Date Performance as of February 24: 61.14%
Upside Potential as of February 24: 28.08%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 27
Oklo Inc. (NYSE:OKLO) designs and develops fission power plants to provide reliable and commercial-scale energy to customers in the US. It also provides used nuclear fuel recycling services. It’s targeting the AI data center energy market.
The company is capitalizing on the rising demand for reliable, low-carbon power. Deals exceeding $100/MWh validate this need. The company’s build-own-operate model appeals to data centers. It has secured LOIs for 750MW from two data centers, which total 2.1GW in signed agreements. This includes a $25 million prepayment from Equinix. Equinix is a digital infrastructure company that provides data center and interconnection services. Regulatory progress includes aiming for a 24-month NRC license for its Idaho project. The Idaho project refers to the planned deployment of the company’s first advanced nuclear power plant at the Idaho National Laboratory. This is a step towards commercializing its advanced nuclear technology.
The $25 million stock acquisition of Atomic Alchemy enhances the company’s radioisotope production. Atomic Alchemy is a company that develops proprietary reactor and isotope production technologies to produce radioisotopes. Radioisotopes are radioactive elements with applications in advanced manufacturing, including components crucial for AI hardware. Oklo Inc. (NYSE:OKLO) is acquiring Atomic Alchemy to integrate radioisotope production into its fuel recycling process.
On January 24, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives increased the price target on Oklo Inc. (NYSE:OKLO) from $26 to $45. Ives’ confidence stems from projects like Stargate, where nuclear energy is expected to play a vital role. This positions the company as a major player in supporting the growing power demands of AI data centers, particularly under the anticipated policies of the Trump Administration.
Overall, OKLO ranks 8th on our list of best performing mid cap stocks to buy according to analysts. While we acknowledge the growth potential of OKLO as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold great promise for delivering high returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than OKLO but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and Complete List of 59 AI Companies Under $2 Billion in Market Cap
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
