We recently compiled a list of the 15 AI Stocks Taking Wall Street by Storm. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) stands against the other AI stocks.
Artificial intelligence continues to achieve remarkable breakthroughs, yet its latest contribution might come as a surprise to many. According to a report by CNBC, AI can solve one of the biggest problems facing the USA: its skyrocketing fiscal deficit. According to three economists from the Brookings Institution, artificial intelligence could prove a positive “critical shock” for the country’s fiscal health.
READ NOW: 15 Buzzing AI Stocks Making Headlines and 15 AI Stocks to Watch: News and Analyst Ratings
The Center on Regulation and Markets at Brookings released a working paper last month stating that under the most optimistic scenario, AI could reduce the annual U.S. budget deficit by as much as 1.5% of gross domestic product by 2044. This would lower annual budget deficits by roughly one-fifth at the end of the 20 years.
“The use of AI presents the rare — possibly unique — opportunity to expand access to health care information and services while simultaneously reducing the burden on the conventional health care system”.
– Paper’s authors, Ben Harris, Neil Mehotra and Eric So.
While adopting AI in healthcare is optimistic, Ajay Agrawal, a professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, reveals how economists’ outlook on AI and healthcare is “a mix of enthusiasm and despair”.
“Enthusiasm because there’s probably no sector that stands to benefit more from AI than health care. … But there’s friction due to regulation, due to incentives — because of the way things are structured and how people are paid for things — and friction due to the associated risks and liabilities”.
-Agrawal said.
In other news, CNBC reported that OpenAI has allowed its employees to sell about $1.5 billion worth of shares in a new tender offer to SoftBank. Current and former OpenAI employees will be able to cash out their shares this way, while the Japanese tech conglomerate will be able to get a larger slice of the pie of the AI startup. The tender offer follows the persistence of SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son after he made a $500 million investment in OpenAI’s recent funding round, also reflecting his growing interest in AI.
For this article, we selected AI stocks by going through news articles, stock analysis, and press releases. These stocks are also popular among hedge funds.
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).
A data center filled with racks of hard disk drives and solid state drives.
Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 66
Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) develops, manufactures, and sells data storage devices and solutions and stands to gain from a rise in SSD demand, particularly for AI-related tasks.
On November 26, TD Cowen analyst Krish Sankar maintained a “Buy” rating on Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) and set a price target of $80.00. The company’s performance and strategic positioning have led to the buy rating. According to the analysts, the company’s HDD segments reveal positive metrics, specifically superior gross and net profit margins, compared to its closest competitor STX. Moreover, the company’s strategic initiatives in research and development are also boosting its competitive edge. There are some concerns regarding the Flash business’s valuation and free cash flow, but the overall financial health and potential for price stabilization in the NAND market contribute to a positive long-term outlook. Lastly, Sankar believes the stock has the potential to reach the higher end of its valuation range.
Overall WDC ranks 8th on our list of the AI stocks taking Wall Street by storm. While we acknowledge the potential of WDC as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some 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 WDC but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 8 Best Wide Moat Stocks to Buy Now and 30 Most Important AI Stocks According to BlackRock.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
