Jim Cramer, host of Mad Money, emphasized that individual investors can outperform an index by selecting their own stocks. He mentioned that long-time viewers are familiar with his view that the most effective approach combines a low-cost index fund with a personally curated stock portfolio.
READ ALSO 10 Cheap Jim Cramer Stocks to Invest In and 10 Stocks Jim Cramer and Analysts Are Watching
“Ideally, you want a cheap, low-cost index fund that mirrors the market as a whole… Index funds have ultra-low fees, and with an S&P index fund, you’ve got a vehicle to let you participate in the strength of the market without having to spend the time picking individual stocks.”
Cramer explained that the primary reason people invest in mutual funds is to avoid the time and effort involved in managing a portfolio. He noted that index funds make this easy by providing broad exposure without the complexity of picking individual names. However, he expressed that retail investors do not have a particular need to have exposure to sector-based mutual funds and ETFs. He argued that if someone is willing to invest time in understanding sector trends, that effort would be better directed toward identifying and investing in individual companies rather than broader sector-based vehicles.
“Here’s the bottom line: At the end of the day, I think a cheap S&P 500 index fund is the least bad way to passively manage your money, better than the vast bulk of actively managed mutual funds. But an index fund owns everything, the good, the bad, and the ugly. And if you do have the time to do your homework, I believe you can beat the performance of an index fund by picking stocks yourself, maybe leaving the bad and the ugly out of it. Now, if you don’t have the time, though, stick with the index fund…”
Our Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of over 90 stocks that Jim Cramer commented on during episodes of Mad Money aired between June 6 and June 11. We narrowed the list to 10 stocks that were most favored by analysts. We listed the stocks in ascending order of their average analyst price target upside as of June 18. We also mentioned the hedge fund sentiment around each stock, which was taken from Insider Monkey’s Q1 database of 1,000 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).
10 AI Stocks Jim Cramer and Analysts are Watching
10. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD)
Average Upside Potential: 2.53%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 97
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) is one of the 10 AI stocks that Jim Cramer and analysts are watching. On June 16, Piper Sandler raised its price target on AMD to $140 from $125 and kept an Overweight rating. The firm noted that AMD held its quarterly pre-quarter close call on Friday.
Piper expressed a positive view on recent product announcements, especially the Helios rack, which it believes is important for AMD Instinct growth. The firm expects a recovery in the GPU business in the fourth quarter of 2025, once most China-related charges have passed. It also observed that the client segment, the largest business unit, is beginning to experience some pull-ins.
On June 13, as per TipRanks, BofA maintained a Buy rating on AMD shares and a $130 price target. Following the Advancing AI Event in San Jose, where the company presented updates on its end-to-end AI infrastructure platform, BofA analyst Vivek Arya noted that “investor expectations might have been high.”
He stated that the event demonstrated AMD’s continued progress in its AI roadmap, expansion across customers and partners, and development in software. The company emphasized existing partnerships with Meta, Oracle, Microsoft, xAI, OpenAI, and Humain in Saudi Arabia. No new hyperscaler customer was formally announced. The analyst mentioned a possible engagement with Amazon’s AWS, which sponsored the event, though noted that AWS typically reserves announcements for its own forums.
Lastly, on June 9, admitting that he has “always liked” the company, Cramer said:
“So traders say if I can’t make money after Broadcom reporting a great quarter, the playbook says time to move into the lower quality, cheaper stocks that are less likely to disappoint or should never have been down to begin with. I understand the sentiment, but the problem is that these stocks have already rallied pretty hard, too…I saw some upgrades for AMD…. They’ve moved, especially AMD by the way, on speculation it might be involved with any China deal. Rare earth materials for us, AMD chips for them.
Now, this kind of rotation could be a good one. The stocks that are rallying are excellent. They may be just playing catch-up. It’s a heavily broadening out of the winners, right? Remember when it was just the Mag Seven? We’ve come a long distance, but what comes after this could be treacherous. I’ve seen the end of rallies, and they often take up the laggards last. After it happens, if we have good news, everything’s fine. However, if there’s any degradation in the numbers, it could get very ugly. Right now we’re fine… I’ve always liked AMD, as you know.”
Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) designs and supplies semiconductor products, including AI accelerators, GPUs, x86 microprocessors, and adaptive system-on-chip solutions. The company provides compute infrastructure for hyperscale environments and supports artificial intelligence workloads through its hardware and development platforms.
9. Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)
Average Upside Potential: 12.44%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 65
Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) is one of the 10 AI stocks that Jim Cramer and analysts are watching. On June 5, Scotiabank raised its price target on KMI shares to $27 from $26 and maintained a Sector Perform rating. The firm is updating its target valuation year to 2027 and has introduced estimates for 2028 for U.S. Midstream sector stocks. The analyst noted that units are still expected to trade within a range, with few catalysts anticipated in the near term.
On June 4, BofA raised its price target on KMI to $32 from $30 and reiterated a Buy rating. The analyst stated that the outlook for gas pipelines “continues to brighten” despite recent market volatility. Kinder Morgan and DT Midstream remain the firm’s top midstream picks.
The firm noted increased activity across the gas midstream space this year, citing policy changes under the Trump administration that have eased pipeline development, especially in Appalachia. Utilities are expected to require gas infrastructure through the 2030s and are showing greater willingness to invest. Additional factors include the lifting of the LNG permit pause and interest from countries aiming to narrow trade deficits.
Moreover, on June 6, when a caller asked Cramer about the company, he said, “Kinder Morgan’s good. Kinder Morgan’s good. You know… The company got it together. Anything in the pipeline is just working.”
Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) operates energy infrastructure assets that support the transport, storage, processing, and handling of natural gas, petroleum products, and carbon dioxide. The company also owns and operates facilities related to liquefied natural gas, including gasification, liquefaction, and storage. During the company’s Q1 2025 earnings call, management reiterated their positive outlook on long-term natural gas demand, both in the U.S. and globally and noted that this view has gained broader acceptance among investors and analysts over the past year, especially with growing interest in natural gas as a fuel source for AI and data centers.
Furthermore, management confirmed that they are actively working to supply upcoming data centers. Chief Executive Officer Kimberly Allen Dang mentioned that roughly 70% of new backlog additions in the quarter were tied to power demand, which may be connected to data centers. She mentioned that most of the current activity linked to data centers has come through regulated utilities.
8. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Average Upside Potential: 12.93%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 328
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is one of the 10 AI stocks that Jim Cramer and analysts are watching. On June 20, Oppenheimer raised its price target on AMZN shares to $250 from $215 and kept an Outperform rating. The firm cited higher margins that are now more aligned with Street expectations, supported by an improved trade outlook compared to early May. E-commerce performance remains above overall retail, with quarter-to-date growth of 3.7% year-over-year for non-store retailers, compared to 2.7% for retail excluding motor vehicles, parts, and gas. Oppenheimer noted that it is keeping its revenue forecast largely unchanged but is adjusting margins upward due to reduced trade costs.
It is worth noting that on June 18, MoffettNathanson analyst Michael Nathanson noted that the company announced the integration of Disney’s real-time ad exchange, DRAX, into its demand-side platform, one day after a similar announcement involving Roku. The firm stated that Amazon is “chipping away at The Trade Desk’s (TTD) moat,” a view it has repeated throughout the year.
In addition to that, during June 6’s Mad Money episode, Cramer commented, “Amazon, well, how can you not beat, I mean Amazon’s everything. It’s retail, cloud service… web tech.”
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) sells consumer products, subscriptions, and advertising through online and physical stores, while also offering electronic devices and media content. The company’s services include computing, storage, database, analytics, and machine learning, which support various AI-related workloads.
7. Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)
Average Upside Potential: 15.42%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 158
Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) is one of the 10 AI stocks that Jim Cramer and analysts are watching. On June 9, Barclays analyst Tom O’Malley raised the price target on AVGO shares to $265 from $215 and kept an Overweight rating. The firm stated that demand for artificial intelligence custom silicon remains strong. It also noted that Broadcom’s non-core end markets are showing signs of stabilization.
On the same day, Citi raised its price target on AVGO to $285 from $276 and maintained a Buy rating. The firm noted that the company reported mixed results and guidance. Strength in artificial intelligence was offset by lower margins, attributed to product mix and increased options expense. The firm stated that margins were guided lower due to a higher semiconductor mix. The firm noted that the company expects its AI business to grow 60% year-over-year in fiscal 2025 and 2026, supported by increased adoption.
It is worth noting that the company was mentioned by Cramer on June 9, as he stated:
“There’s nothing more frustrating than watching one of your favorite companies report a strong quarter only to see the market find some reason to send the stock lower, but in retrospect, these can be great buying opportunities. Just look at what happened to Broadcom last week… long-time Cramer fave, big holding in my Charitable Trust. But the stock sold off hard after the company reported on Thursday night…
Putting it all together, though, I think the main problem is that Broadcom stock had run up so dramatically from the April lows. Think about this trajectory. The stock bottomed at $138 in April. It was at nearly $260 before it reported last week. Under those circumstances, anything less than perfection was going to be punished. And while the quarter was very good, it certainly wasn’t perfect, which is why, despite the post-earnings sell-off, I still like the stock and think you may be getting a terrific buying opportunity here…. I think the bears are missing some even more important positives for the quarter, outside of just the headline numbers.
For starters, Broadcom’s AI revenues came in at $4.4 billion. That’s an increase of 46% from the previous year and up from the already impressive $4.1 billion just last quarter. While that was merely in line with expectations, it underscores that the company’s seeing the most enticing part of its business inflecting. I like this. This strength is coming from both parts of their AI business….. AI chip sales are expected to get to be $5.1 billion this quarter, and that’s up another $700 million sequentially, mind-boggling, $300 million more than the analysts were looking for.
That’s something. This would represent 60% growth for AI chips year-over-year. That’s amazing. This, you see, this is why it’s so hard for me to justify the pullback in Broadcom stock. They’re selling a stock that’s guided for AI semiconductor sales to come in $300 million higher than expected because they’re worried about the slow growth non-AI part of the business. That’s nuts…
… Broadcom paid out $2.8 billion in dividends last quarter, and on top of that… they spent $4.2 billion to repurchase 25.3 million of their own shares… Always good to see the company buying its stock right alongside. Here’s the bottom line: Contrary to the market’s reaction, there was plenty to like about Broadcom’s quarter, and the stock only sold off because some investors were expecting an insane blowout. Honestly, I’m more positive in Broadcom than I was before the report. And the fact that you can buy the stock at a discount here, I think it’s a steal.”
Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) designs and provides semiconductor devices and software solutions for use in networking, broadband, wireless communication, data centers, smartphones, and industrial systems. The company’s technology is used in AI infrastructure, telecommunications, home connectivity, and enterprise computing.
6. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Average Upside Potential: 19.54%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 159
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is one of the 10 AI stocks that Jim Cramer and analysts are watching. On June 13, Morgan Stanley maintained an Overweight rating on AAPL shares and kept its $235 price target. The firm reported that “deep” 618 Festival channel promotions in China are driving higher-than-expected iPhone and iPad sell-through for the June quarter. The firm now anticipates approximately 3.0 million more iPhone units and 2.5 million more iPad units than previously forecast, which could translate to a $4 billion revenue increase, assuming no other changes. The analyst noted that September quarter builds are tracking in line or slightly better.
It is worth noting that on June 9, Mad Money’s host said:
“Hey, finally there’s a stock that people now love to downgrade… I’m talking about Apple. I expect to hear some downgrades tomorrow because of today’s supposedly ho-hum Worldwide Developers Conference… But what the critics seemed to be missing constantly is that the only question I heard was upgrade or not. Did you hear switch? I didn’t hear switch. As long as I didn’t hear switch, I’m going to hold the stock…
First, Apple’s in a dry spell. It doesn’t have anything new that the people want, but it has plenty of optionality… What it should do, it should just go acquire Perplexity. I know they don’t like acquisitions…. I wish they’d buy it… Perplexity is my favorite, and they definitely can afford it. Second, right now, Apple’s staring down two guns, one a ruling that declared Google a monopolist that may end its largesse toward Apple, like the $20 billion check it wrote to them in 2022 to be the default search engine. It’s also on the verge of losing a key case involving Epic, the gaming company, that would let them get around the 30% chunk that Apple takes from every transaction in the App Store. I think Apple could lose one. Probably won’t lose both…
Finally, let’s understand something. Apple is not a company that stands still… Can we stipulate that in the last year, it’s reasonable to believe that Tim Cook, the CEO, might have been a little distracted? Here’s a man… who’s been trying to do everything he’s supposed to do in order to meet the demands of the president of the United States. The president wanted investment in the U.S. What does he do? He announces that Apple’s going to spend $500 billion in the US over four years…
President then made it clear he didn’t want Apple to make as much product as it did in China. So unbelievably and in almost no time… Cook moved a huge amount of iPhone production to India. Then Trump says that India’s not the right place. The phones have to be made here. I mean, come on… But the bottom line: As long as nobody switches to Android, call me sanguine about Apple. Not more than that, not certainly less than that. Sanguine doesn’t mean buy, but it sure doesn’t mean sell…”
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) designs and sells consumer electronics that include smartphones, computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories. The company is engaged in providing subscription services such as Apple Music, Apple TV+, and Apple Arcade. It also operates platforms, including the App Store and Apple Pay.
5. Marvell Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL)
Average Upside Potential: 20.08%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 73
Marvell Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL) is one of the 10 AI stocks that Jim Cramer and analysts are watching. On June 18, BofA increased its price target on Marvell (NASDAQ:MRVL) to $90 from $80 and kept a Buy rating following a company event focused on its custom-compute (ASIC) segment. The firm believes the AI update may provide reassurance to investors and support the stock’s alignment with AI peers. BofA projects “conceptual EPS power” of approximately $8 by calendar year 2028, exceeding last year’s total addressable market estimate of around $6 and nearly 60% higher than the current Street consensus of about $5.
On the same day, B. Riley raised its price target on MRVL to $115 from $110 and maintained a Buy rating following the company’s custom AI investor webcast. The firm described the update as indicating a “strong” next-generation AI growth inflection for Marvell.
On June 9, a caller inquired about the company, and Cramer replied:
“Okay, it’s starting to react correctly. When they reported that great quarter, people didn’t think it was that good. That’s nonsense. Matt Murphy did a terrific job. I like the fact that the stock bounced at 60, and then started heading back, at one point, traded at 71 today. I think you’re in great shape with Marvell Technology. I really like it.”
Marvell (NASDAQ:MRVL) provides semiconductor solutions for data infrastructure, including system-on-a-chip architectures and interconnect products used across data center and network environments. The company’s products support AI workloads through components such as digital signal processors, custom ASICs, and data center interconnect technologies.
4. Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL)
Average Upside Potential: 20.11%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 63
Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL) is one of the 10 AI stocks that Jim Cramer and analysts are watching. On May 30, TD Cowen analyst Krish Sankar raised the price target on DELL stock to $125 from $120 and maintained a Hold rating. In the firm’s view, more than $12 billion in AI server orders during the April quarter and expected AI-related shipments of approximately $7 billion in the July quarter were key positives in the first fiscal quarter. The firm noted that macroeconomic conditions may slightly affect traditional server and consumer demand. Tariffs and commodity prices were identified as inflationary pressures.
On the same day, Morgan Stanley raised its price target on DELL to $135 from $126 and reaffirmed an Overweight rating. The analyst described fiscal Q1 results as mixed but noted that momentum may increase through the remainder of the year. The firm raised its fiscal year 2026 EPS estimate by 3 percent, reflecting stronger Q2 guidance and an improved second-half outlook driven by continued AI server momentum.
On June 9, Cramer mentioned the company as he commented:
“So traders say if I can’t make money after Broadcom reporting a great quarter, the playbook says time to move into the lower quality, cheaper stocks that are less likely to disappoint or should never have been down to begin with. I understand the sentiment, but the problem is that these stocks have already rallied pretty hard, too. Take Dell. It reported an excellent quarter on May 29th… Stock initially failed to rally, but that’s because it had run up into the quarter…
Now, this kind of rotation could be a good one. The stocks that are rallying are excellent. They may be just playing catch-up. It’s a heavily broadening out of the winners, right? Remember when it was just the Mag Seven? We’ve come a long distance, but what comes after this could be treacherous. I’ve seen the end of rallies, and they often take up the laggards last. After it happens, if we have good news, everything’s fine. However, if there’s any degradation in the numbers, it could get very ugly. Right now we’re fine. I think Dell’s incredibly cheap versus last quarter. The stock can go up 10 points before I would even think about worrying about it.”
Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) delivers integrated technology solutions that include storage systems, servers, networking products, laptops, and peripherals. The company also provides software, consulting, financing, and support services for businesses, institutions, and individual consumers across various industries.
3. Hut 8 Corp. (NASDAQ:HUT)
Average Upside Potential: 37.99%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 31
Hut 8 Corp. (NASDAQ:HUT) is one of the 10 AI stocks that Jim Cramer and analysts are watching. On June 6, Roth Capital began coverage of HUT stock with a Buy rating and a $25 price target. The firm noted that the company is evolving into a power-focused digital infrastructure company, with 1.0GW currently energized and 2.6GW under exclusivity.
The firm cited long-term growth visibility supported by bitcoin hosting and high-performance computing colocation. According to Roth, three HPC sites position the company to capture demand related to artificial intelligence, with adjusted EBITDA margins exceeding 60%. The firm noted that established colocation agreements in both bitcoin and HPC create an advantage that could lead to margin expansion and a potential re-rating, assuming effective execution.
Furthermore, on June 10, whilst discussing stocks that are being loved by young investors, Mad Money’s host said:
“But what they’re really interested in are stocks that don’t get coverage, even if they trade millions and millions of shares every day. Look at the volumes of these things. We all ought to be talking about them constantly, stocks like Hut 8… When I think of this cohort, I wonder why we don’t devote hours to this stuff because there’s a hunger for it like no other I’ve ever seen. Any stock that trades 10 million shares a day is worth covering, but there’s no analyst covering them, and nobody knows anything about them. Wall Street ignores them entirely. Now that the IPO window’s open again, I believe we’ll see dozens of these companies come public, and they’ll continue to go uncovered because they have no pedigree and no sponsorship. It’s amazing how irrelevant they are to the older folks, even as younger investors can’t get enough of Hut 8… Now, do you think any analyst on Wall Street cares about… Hut 8 or quantum this, quantum that? But you know what? No one, if they report a number, no one’s going to be disappointed…”
Hut 8 (NASDAQ:HUT) is an integrated provider of energy infrastructure and Bitcoin mining services. The company provides solutions in site development, automation, and energy optimization. It also offers data center services such as colocation, cloud hosting, equipment management, and repair.
2. Nebius Group N.V. (NASDAQ:NBIS)
Average Upside Potential: 39.69%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 51
Nebius Group N.V. (NASDAQ:NBIS) is one of the 10 AI stocks that Jim Cramer and analysts are watching. On June 16, DA Davidson raised its price target on NBIS shares to $55 from $50 and maintained a Buy rating. The firm noted that Meta’s $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI is shifting the competitive landscape by reducing Scale AI’s availability to other clients. In this context, DA Davidson stated it has increased confidence in Toloka’s ability to gain market share.
On June 10, BWS Financial increased its price target on NBIS stock to $80 from $60 and reiterated a Buy rating. The analyst stated that the company plans to establish a data center presence in the United Kingdom, one week after securing $1 billion through a convertible debt offering. The firm noted that with the market shifting focus to 2026, it expects the stock’s valuation to start reflecting projections for the following year.
Additionally, when Cramer was asked about the company on June 10, he remarked:
“Okay, I went to their booth when I was out at the conference, the Nvidia GTC conference. I was very impressed. I think they do good things. I didn’t, wasn’t prepared to be impressed frankly, because I like CoreWeave. But let me just tell you how I feel about this Nebius, this stock has… it has an allure. People like it so much. It doesn’t have a lot of people writing about it. It’s very hard for it to disappoint. I’m actually going to say that I think Nebius is going higher. There we go.”
Nebius (NASDAQ:NBIS) develops full-stack infrastructure for AI as it provides GPU clusters, cloud platforms, and developer tools. The company’s operations include AI data services, autonomous driving systems, and education platforms focused on technology careers.
1. GitLab Inc. (NASDAQ:GTLB)
Average Upside Potential: 42.72%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 52
GitLab Inc. (NASDAQ:GTLB) is one of the 10 AI stocks that Jim Cramer and analysts are watching. On June 11, Macquarie reduced its price target on GTLB from $90 to $75 while maintaining an Outperform rating. The analyst described the company’s Q1 results as underwhelming, citing a modest $1.5 million revenue beat and no revision to full-year revenue guidance.
The firm attributed the weaker performance to a higher proportion of SaaS revenue and back-end linearity. Despite these factors, Macquarie pointed to stable RPO metrics as evidence of continued momentum, although deal composition and timing remain inconsistent. The firm also stated that it continues to view GitLab’s DevOps platform as compatible with the increasing use of AI-driven coding tools.
The company also received a comment from Cramer on June 11 when he said:
“Yeah, I thought that GitLab, frankly, I was prepared for disappointment, and I got it. This kind of collaborative software, enterprise software stock, I don’t want right now… You know, I like an Oracle, which is going up, but that’s data center. I don’t want, I just do not want enterprise software. I think they’re all too expensive.”
GitLab (NASDAQ:GTLB) provides a unified platform that supports every stage of the software development lifecycle. The platform allows teams to plan, build, secure, and deploy applications across different cloud environments. It also delivers professional services and training.
While we acknowledge the potential of GitLab Inc. (NASDAQ:GTLB) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than GTLB and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
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