Will NetApp’s (NTAP) AI Innovations Drive Revenue Growth in 2025?

We recently compiled a list of the 11 Important AI News and Ratings for Investors. In this article, we are going to take a look at where NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) stands against the other AI stocks.

The rapid advancements in artificial intelligence have raised both opportunities and concerns, especially regarding its safety and the ethical implications of its widespread use. Establishing regulatory frameworks for AI is essential to ensure its responsible development, protecting against potential risks while maximizing its positive impact across industries.

Experts Urge AI Firms to Improve Safety Efforts

The Future of Life Institute released its 2024 AI Safety Index, evaluating the safety practices of leading AI companies including Anthropic, Google DeepMind, OpenAI, x.AI, and Zhipu AI among others. The review panel, consisting of prominent AI experts, found significant gaps in the companies’ risk management and safety strategies, especially regarding their ability to ensure that advanced AI systems remain beneficial and under human control.

Despite some positive steps in certain areas, the panel expressed concern that these companies are not adequately addressing the existential risks associated with AI development. The report highlighted the need for improved accountability, transparency, and safety frameworks, as competitive pressures seem to be overshadowing safety considerations. The index aims to provide the public with insights into AI companies’ safety efforts and encourage better practices within the industry.

READ ALSO: 10 Companies Hoarding Bitcoin Like There’s No Tomorrow and 11 AI News That You Should Not Miss.

Navigating the Future of AI with Safety Standards

In a CNBC interview, Max Tegmark, president of the Future of Life Institute and MIT professor, emphasized the need for AI safety standards, drawing a parallel to regulated industries like aviation and medicine. He highlighted the current lack of clear plans to ensure AI safety, especially as systems like chatbots and autonomous vehicles become more integrated into real-world applications. Tegmark advocates for policy changes to make AI companies prioritize safety, much like other industries, to prevent potentially dangerous outcomes. While the situation is concerning, he believes that proper regulation could lead to significant benefits.

For this article, we selected AI stocks by going through news articles, stock analysis, and press releases. We listed the stocks in ascending order of their hedge fund sentiment taken from Insider Monkey’s database of 900 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 multi-monitor workstation displaying data-centric services.

NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 38

NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) provides a range of data management and cloud solutions designed to transform data infrastructures. The company focuses on AI-driven storage, cloud integration, and data services, helping businesses optimize their data storage, compliance, and cloud operations across various industries.

On December 17, Morgan Stanley increased NetApp’s price target to $146 from $132, maintaining an Equal Weight rating. The firm expects AI-driven companies to perform better in 2025 while being cautious about service provider stocks due to anticipated recovery already factored in.

On the other hand, JPMorgan analyst Samik Chatterjee upgraded NetApp to Overweight from Neutral, raising the price target to $160 from $150. The firm expects faster revenue growth driven by higher IT budgets for data centers and storage as enterprises prepare for AI use. NetApp is also expected to continue gaining market share due to its strong product innovation, including the C-series products and the recent launch of Block storage.

Overall, NTAP ranks 9th on our list of important AI news and ratings for investors. While we acknowledge the potential of NTAP as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that 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 NTAP 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.