On March 19th, the stock market bounced back after the US Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged at 4.25% to 4.5%. The Fed also anticipated two rate cuts this year despite elevated inflation. The S&P 500 index was up over 1%, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped by well over 200 points. The rally was led by the magnificent seven stocks after weeks of market declines amid trade wars and disappointing economic data.
Elsewhere, AI continues to transform industries and individual lives, from AI nurses reshaping hospital care to schools reporting that students are learning faster and more effectively with AI.
Furthermore, AngelList CEO Avlok Kohli claimed that all software companies are AI companies now.
“The enthusiasm into AI actually carries over into everything, which effectively impacts all startups,” said Kohli when asked if investors are as excited about emerging startups outside of AI.
Meanwhile, security risks surrounding AI continue to loom. Computer scientist and AI pioneer Fei-Fei Li co-authored a report suggesting that lawmakers should consider AI risks that “have not yet been observed in the world” when devising AI regulations. The report highlighted that the novel risks posed by AI could require legislation that compels AI developers to publicly report their safety tests and security protocols.
We selected AI stocks by reviewing news articles, stock analysis, and press releases. We listed the stocks in ascending order of their hedge fund sentiment taken from Insider Monkey’s Q4 2024 database of over 1000 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 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
A busy trading room floor with analysts absorbing the day’s financial markets information.
8. Stereotaxis Inc. (NYSE:STXS)
Number of Hedge Fund Followers: 11
Stereotaxis Inc. (NYSE:STXS) engages in discovering, designing, and delivering innovative surgical robotic systems, instruments, and information systems for minimally invasive endovascular surgeries. Its robotic systems help physicians operate with precision and safety, boosting productivity and connectivity in the operating room. The company is focusing on enhancing its robotic systems and the operating room environments using AI, automation, and data integration.
On March 19th, Stereotaxis (NYSE:STXS) announced that Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) accepted the company into the Nvidia Connect program. The program assists members with Nvidia’s software development resources and frameworks.
“We greatly appreciate the support of NVIDIA in our efforts to pioneer endovascular robotics and take the technology to new incredible heights. The combination of robotics’ mechanistic benefits – precision, safety, stability – with the promise of AI innovations will dramatically transform what is possible in treating patients. We are excited for the path ahead of us.”
-said David Fischel, CEO of Stereotaxis Inc.
7. FinVolution Group (NYSE:FINV)
Number of Hedge Fund Followers: 13
FinVolution Group (NYSE:FINV) is a fintech company that focuses on transforming online consumer finance by using AI-powered credit technology to connect borrowers and financial institutions.
On March 18th, FinVolution Group (NYSE:FINV) announced a 4.1% year-over-year increase in 2024 revenue to $1.8 billion as transaction volumes surged 6.1% to $28.2 billion. The company posted a net profit of USD 327.1 million as it prioritizes global expansion, strategic partnerships, and refinement of its AI technologies that leverage LLMs to optimize the credit lifecycle, including customer acquisition, risk control, user engagement, and customer service.
“Over the past year, FinVolution achieved solid growth and demonstrated healthy financial performance. In 2024, we allocated US$160.4 million to shareholder returns, accounting for approximately 49.1% of our annual net profit. Since 2018, we have returned a total of approximately $765 million to our shareholders. This underscores our steadfast commitment to enhancing shareholder value and our strong confidence in the company’s business fundamentals and cash flow outlook.”
-said Jiayuan Xu, CFO of FinVolution Group.
