Kepler Cheuvreux, a leading independent European financial services company, believes that investor sentiment on artificial intelligence is increasingly becoming “divided.”
Questioning whether AI is truly a boon for the industry or also a curse, it noted that the rise of AI has led to “record-breaking infrastructure investments, funding rounds, and re-prioritisation of R&D investments across the IT value chain.”
However, it pointed out that the financial payoff is still uncertain as “the market continues to search for compelling evidence that AI can be effectively monetised.”
Several software stocks have been underperforming in contrast to perceived AI winners, highlighting how AI represents a bigger disruption than the cloud shift.
Quoting Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s “SaaS is dead” remark, Kepler Cheuvreux explained that the remark is “a wake-up call to all players that it will be essential for every business model to adopt to the AI world fast and deliver a clear value-add to clients.”
Overall, the company noted that AI “reinforces the need for ongoing digitalisation,” resulting in both challenges and transformations depending on how quickly companies adapt.
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.
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10. CoreWeave, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWV)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 29
CoreWeave, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWV) is one of the 10 AI Stocks You Should Not Ignore. On September 15, Deutsche Bank Analyst Brad Zelnick placed a “Catalyst Call: Buy” on CoreWeave shares as a short-term investment idea.
It stated that it’s sticking with its long term hold rating on the stock but also sees a near-term buying opportunity driven by “insatiable” AI demand.
“We believe CoreWeave has meaningful powered shell capacity expected to come online over the next 12-18 months which it has yet to sign customer contracts against.”
The firm stated that “positive factors” are coming together to support upward revenue estimates for CoreWeave over the next quarter or two. AI infrastructure demand “appear almost insatiable” and this demand will meaningfully surpass supply in the near- to medium-term.
Deutsche believes CoreWeave holds sizable “powered shell capacity” set to come online over the next 12-18 months. However, it is yet to sign it against customer contracts. A few catalysts working in favor of the stock include the company’s Q3 report, potential new customer contracts, and incremental datacenter capacity.
CoreWeave, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWV) is a cloud platform provider that provides equipment for AI and other computing purposes.
9. Eaton Corporation plc (NYSE:ETN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 74
Eaton Corporation plc (NYSE:ETN) is one of the 10 AI Stocks You Should Not Ignore. On September 15, Melius upgraded the stock to “Buy” from Neutral with a price target of $495. The firm believes Eaton is a “secular winner.”
“We are upgrading Eaton to Buy from Hold and raising our price target to $495 from $412, implying 35% upside from the current price.”
According to the firm, previous concerns around valuation and slowing earnings momentum have now eased driven by renewed AI capital spending and a more reasonable valuation.
In an investor note, analysts at Melius stated that they believe demand will continue to outpace supply even after new capacity is added. Moreover, Eaton’s cyclical segments appear to be bottoming out, which implies another phase of growth for 2026 and beyond.
Eaton Corporation plc (NYSE:ETN) is a global power management company offering electrical, aerospace, vehicle, and eMobility solutions.
8. MongoDB, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDB)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 75
MongoDB, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDB) is one of the 10 AI Stocks You Should Not Ignore. On September 15, Wedbush reiterated the stock as “Outperform” and raised the firm’s price target to $400 from $300. The firm also added the cloud software company to its best ideas list.
“We maintain our OUTPERFORM rating and believe MongoDB is now starting to hit its next stride as the AI use cases expand significantly over the coming years. We are also adding MongoDB to the Wedbush Best Ideas List.”
The firm has shifted its focus on upmarket opportunities across enterprise channels, particularly within US Enterprise. It also sees stability in the mid-market pointing to the success that MongoDB is having in the artificial intelligence revolution.
“We believe MDB has barely scratched the surface of its growth potential given the benefits from AI are still in the early innings.”
It also believes that the company is entering its next phase of growth as AI use cases significantly expand over the coming years.
MongoDB, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDB) provides a general-purpose database platform worldwide that integrates operational, unstructured, and AI-related data to streamline building applications.
7. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 77
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) is one of the 10 AI Stocks You Should Not Ignore. On September 15, Wedbush added the stock to its “Best Ideas List” and stated that it’s bullish on the cybersecurity company for the rest of 2025 and into 2026.
“We are adding Palo Alto Networks (PANW) to the Wedbush Best Ideas’ List (already part of the IVES AI 30) as we have incremental confidence in the company’s platformization strategy heading into FY26 & beyond following its recent transformational acquisition of CYBR.”
With Palo Alto continuing to gain market share and grows its brand awareness, the firm believes it’s a golden buying opportunity.
“We view this as a golden buying opportunity as the company completes its platform approach while providing the most complete one-stop shop for cybersecurity within the enterprise.”
The firm is also positive on Palo Alto Networks’ $25 billion acquisition of CyberArk, highlighting how the purchase looks like the “right move at the right time.” It further stated that the deal will likely be a “game changer” for PANW.
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) is a leader in AI-powered cybersecurity.
6. Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 94
Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) is one of the 10 AI Stocks You Should Not Ignore. On September 15, Deutsche Bank reiterated the stock as “Buy” and raised its price target to $175 per share from $155 ahead of earnings later this month.
The firm believes there is a lot of reason to celebrate ahead of earnings scheduled for after market close on Sept. 23
“We are raising our estimates for the second time this quarter and reiterating our Buy rating on MU’s shares into earnings.”
The firm sees DRAM supply staying tight into 2026 driven by high HBM demand, which will support ASP growth and drive gross margins higher.
Moreover, in NAND, pricing momentum and rising content per device adds support. The firm further noted that concerns around 2026 HBM prices are overstated and that Micron is well-positioned to maintain its HBM market share at “still-attractive profitability levels.”
“We see DRAM supply remaining tight into 2026 driven by HBM absorbing a significant amount of bit capacity (3:1 trade ratio and growing). This supply tightness should result in healthy ASP growth, driving GMs higher (DB sees clear path to >50% GMs). In NAND, we are encouraged by recent pricing momentum, as well as instances of rising content per device (see recent phone launches, hyperscaler eSSDs, etc.) We believe recent fears around HBM pricing in 2026 to be overblown, and see MU as particularly well positioned to maintain its HBM market share at still-attractive profitability levels. We don’t expect the company to offer much incremental commentary on current HBM contract negotiations given the uncertainty on supply in 2026 + uncertainty of timing of new product launches by customers. Given the rising importance of HBM in AI applications as well as a vastly favorable supply/demand environment, we see room for upside not only for MU’s estimates, but also its multiple. On higher estimates (CY26 revs rise +3% to $54.3b; EPS rises +6% from $14.55 to $15.45), we raise our P/T to $175 based on a consistent ~11x P/E. Reiterate Buy rating.”
Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) develops and sells memory and storage products for data centers, mobile devices, and various industries worldwide.
5. GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE:GEV)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 106
GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE:GEV) is one of the 10 AI Stocks You Should Not Ignore. On September 15, Melius analyst Rob Wertheimer upgraded the stock to “Buy” from Neutral with a $740 price target. The research firm sees upside to estimates.
In an investor note, the analyst mentioned that the stock is up 5x from the spin, and there’s a lot significant potential for sell-side estimates to be revised upward moving towards 2027 and beyond underpinned by a durable expansion in power demand.
“What makes GE Vernova outperform from here? The stock is up 5x from spin, and obviously the world appreciates the AI story a bit more today.”
According to the firm, strengthening artificial intelligence sector is a key driver for the company’s growth prospects, and that “the news just keeps getting better” regarding power demand.
Pricing power, the firm believes, is a significant factor, highlighting how “some of the price increases that follow the demand shock we are experiencing are hard to internalize.”
GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE:GEV) is a global energy company and a soaring AI stock driven by the demand for energy to power artificial intelligence technology.
4. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 156
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is one of the 10 AI Stocks You Should Not Ignore. On September 15, JPMorgan reiterated the stock as “Overweight” stating that the demand for Apple’s iPhone 17 looks promising.
“In tracking delivery lead-times across key markets, including U.S., China, Germany and UK as an indicator of demand, while it is still very early days, lead-times for delivery are indicating that demand for all the new variants launched on Sep 9th is tracking modestly ahead of iPhone 16 Series during Week 1, with the higher demand particularly notable for Base version as well as Air.”
Analysts on Wall Street currently have a consensus “Buy” rating on the stock. The average price target of $245.00 implies a 3.5% upside; however, the Street-high target of $290 implies an upside of 22.5%.
Apple is a technology company known for its consumer electronics, software, and services.
3. Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 156
Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) is one of the 10 AI Stocks You Should Not Ignore. On September 15, Macquarie initiated the stock with an Outperform rating and $420 price target.
The firm believes that Broadcom is well positioned for artificial intelligence.
“We believe Broadcom should trade at a premium to industry peers with 1) strong growth outlook, 2) a strong ~34% dividend CAGR [compound annual growth rate] in recent years, and 3) long-term strategic planning supported by a unique management incentive plan”
According to the firm, the growth of ASICs, or application-specific integrated circuits, are outpacing GPUs, or graphics processing units. Moreover, Broadcom currently holds a near-monopoly in AI ASIC and cloud networking solutions, with leading positions in Ethernet switching, routing, and SerDes IP.
“Broadcom’s ASIC technology is growing faster than GPU. We expect surging demand for ASIC to outpace GPU growth, driven by adoption among hyperscalers and vertical AI markets (eg, auto, healthcare, financial services),” Lai said. “We estimate a 72% global AI ASIC market CAGR over 2025–28, with Broadcom capturing > 70% market share.”
Meanwhile, the company’s high-margin software expansion is another encouraging aspect for the stock. The firm noted how the chip maker’s operating profit margin increased to 66% from 62% after its VMware acquisition.
“Its software business enhances long-term margin stability, high-quality free cash flow, and re-rate.”
Broadcom is a technology company uniquely positioned in the AI revolution owing to its custom chip offerings and networking assets.
2. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 219
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is one of the 10 AI Stocks You Should Not Ignore. On September 15, Citi reiterated the stock as “Buy” and raised its price target on the stock to $280 per share from $225.
In an investor note, the firm stated that the company will introduce new products faster driven by greater regulatory clarity and that the online advertising market remains healthy.
The firm also anticipates Gemini adoption across Google’s advertising and cloud businesses to accelerate.
“Given our view that Google’s product velocity is ramping amid greater clarity around its legal and regulatory challenges in what we believe is a relatively healthy online advertising market (particularly for performance-based networks), we are raising our projections and TP on shares of Google to $280.”
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is an American multinational technology conglomerate holding company wholly owning the internet giant Google, amongst other businesses.
1. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 235
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is one of the 10 AI Stocks You Should Not Ignore. One of the biggest analyst calls on Monday, September 15, was for Nvidia. Oppenheimer reiterated the stock as “Outperform,” stating that the stock remains a top pick.
“We favor structural growth for long-term outperformance. Our top picks are AI-heavy NVDA, AVGO, MRVL, and MPWR.”
Analysts on Wall Street currently have a consensus “Buy” rating on the stock. The average price target of $212 implies a 19.87% upside; however, the Street-high target of $389.7 implies an upside of 119.8%.
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) specializes in AI-driven solutions, offering platforms for data centers, self-driving cars, robotics, and cloud services.
While we acknowledge the potential of NVDA as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some 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 NVDA and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
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