10 AI Stocks Analysts Are Backing Right Now

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According to a report from Bloomberg News, ChatGPT founder OpenAI is looking for local partners to set up a data center in India with at least 1 gigawatt capacity.

The Microsoft-backed company has formally registered as a legal entity in India and begun building a local team.

Back in August, the company mentioned that it had plans of opening its first India office in New Delhi later in the year. The opening will allow it to expand in its second-largest market by user base.

Bloomberg said that while the timing and location of the plan remains uncertain, CEO Sam Altman may reveal the details when he visits the country in September.

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. The hedge fund data is as of Q2 2025.

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).

10 AI Stocks Analysts Are Backing Right Now

10. Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 33

Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) is one of the 10 AI Stocks Analysts Are Backing Right Now. On September 2, Susquehanna analyst Shyam Patel raised the price target on the stock to $95.00 (from $85.00) while maintaining a Neutral rating.

The firm highlighted mixed 2Q results, with weakness in the online marketing business due to continued monetization headwinds from the transition to AI-powered search. However, the management remains optimistic about the long-term potential of AI search monetization.

“BIDU reported mixed 2Q results, with weakness in the online marketing business as it continues to face monetization headwinds from the transition to AI-powered search, though the company saw solid momentum in AI cloud. Despite the near-term headwinds from AI-powered search, management remained optimistic about the long-term potential for AI search monetization. While the valuation remains undemanding, we believe the stock is likely to remain rangebound, leading us to maintain our Neutral rating.”

Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) is a Chinese internet giant and AI pioneer, known for its noteworthy investments in artificial intelligence technology and its position as the dominant search engine within the country.

9. Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 46

Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) is one of the 10 AI Stocks Analysts Are Backing Right Now. On September 2, Morgan Stanley analyst Meta Marshall downgraded the stock from Equalweight to Underweight with a price target of $67.00 (from $78.00).

According to the firm, Fortinet’s consensus estimates for FY26/27 would likely come under pressure as the company may not be able to sell as many firewalls. This will cause the name to be a “relative underperformer.”

Despite the company’s continued success in attaching additional products to its installed base, the firm believes the smaller-than-expected firewall refresh could result in downward revisions to future estimates, creating a headwind for the stock.

“We see FTNT as continuing to be successful with attaching additional products into their installed base, but with the firewall refresh turning out to be smaller than expected, we think FY26/FY27 estimates may need to come down, creating a headwind for the stock. With FTNT down 17% YTD, more than that since Q2 earnings, one might say the risk has already been priced in. However, with FCF multiple still in the low-to-mid 20s, for what we think could become a high-single digit grower post-refresh, we tend to look at the risk reward more negatively in the near term. Once downdraft in estimates is priced in, we could return to the name as we saw continued traction with US sales expansion, and upsell of additional SASE / SecOps products in the past few quarters, but for now we see shares likely to underperform on relative basis.”

Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT), a cybersecurity company, provides enterprise-level next-generation firewalls and network security solutions, leveraging artificial intelligence across its cybersecurity products.

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