The artificial intelligence startup that sparked the AI arms race is nearing its third birthday, and it doesn’t seem that its hype is going to die down any time soon. No longer just a tool for mere conversation, the AI chatbot is finding new uses.
Reports indicate that at least one in 10 retail investors are now using it to pick stocks, reshaping how investors once approached the markets. This is in turn sparking a robo-advisory market boom, even though many still consider it to be a high-risk strategy.
Data analysis firm Research and Markets has revealed how the robo-advisory market is forecast to grow to $470.91 billion in revenues in 2029 from $61.75 billion last year, an estimated 600% increase.
“AI models can be brilliant. The risk comes when people treat generic models like ChatGPT or Gemini as crystal balls.”
-Dan Moczulski, UK managing director at eToro.
Moczulski, however, advises against the use of generic chatbots.
“General AI models can misquote figures and dates, lean too hard on a pre-established narrative, and overly rely on past price action to attempt to predict the future”.
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).
Francisco Amaral Leitao / shutterstock.com
10. CoreWeave, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWV)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 29
CoreWeave, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWV) is one of the 10 Buzzing AI Stocks on Wall Street. On September 26, Wells Fargo reiterated the stock as “Overweight” stating that the stock remains well positioned. The firm holds a $170 price target on the stock.
“While the future state of AI remains uncertain, we believe CRWV is set to benefit in the near term as the leading ‘pick-and-shovel’ infrastructure play, while demand continues to outpace supply.”
Previously, analysts led by Michael Turrin noted that even though the rest of software is still waiting for AI monetization to surface, CRWV is benefiting from the elevated build cycle today & persistent industry shortages into 2026.
CoreWeave, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWV) is a cloud platform provider that provides equipment for AI and other computing purposes.
9. Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 57
Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) is one of the 10 Buzzing AI Stocks on Wall Street. On September 26, Rosenblatt upgrades Ciena to “Buy” from Neutral stating that the data networking company is “exceptionally good.” It holds a price target of $175, up from $127.50.
“We are upgrading CIEN to Buy on the Scale Across opportunity to network multiple AI Data Centers into clusters.”
The firm stated that CIEN has an opportunity to network multiple artificial intelligence data centers into clusters. It has won a similar deal with a hyperscaler with an estimated $200M revenue opportunity and is just getting started.
The firm also pointed to potential upside from the company’s expansion into data center infrastructure and components.
“We are upgrading CIEN to Buy on the Scale Across opportunity to network multiple AI Data Centers into clusters. So far, Ciena has won one such deal with a Hyper Scaler to connect two 100,000 GPU Data Centers 100km apart using WaveLogic 6 Nano 800G ZR pluggables. This customer is installing 20 petabytes of capacity, and is driving Ciena’s development of multi-rail amplifiers that dramatically reduce the space (-98%) and power (-30%) of amplifier huts when hundreds of fiber pairs are simultaneously lit. We estimate the revenues for this deal to be ~$200mn including 800G ZR and ZR+ pluggables and common equipment like amplifiers. We believe the scale across opportunity is just getting started, and Ciena is likely to win many more deals to interconnect Data Centers into clusters using pluggables or embedded DWDM depending on distance and performance requirements.”
Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) is a leading provider of networking systems and software.
8. CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 66
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) is one of the 10 Buzzing AI Stocks on Wall Street. On September 23, Citizens JMP analyst Trevor Walsh raised the price target on the stock to $550.00 (from $500.00) while maintaining a Market Outperform rating.
The rating affirmation, which follows Crowdstrike’s Fal.Con event from last week, highlights how the record attendance at its user conference and sizable leap from last year doesn’t fully capture the scope of the event. It resembles a high-profile cybersecurity gathering on par with Blackhat or similar industry events.
The firm added how the event and new product announcements were all about artificial intelligence, a clear sign on where the cyber industry is headed and the company’s intent to be a leader.
“We reiterate our Market Outperform rating and raise our price target to $550 (from $500). CrowdStrike currently trades at a CY26E EV/revenue multiple of 21.0x and a CY26E EV/FCF multiple of 70.1x, while our revised $550 price target implies a 23.5x CY26E EV/revenue multiple (our prior $500 price target assumed 21.3x), a premium to the mean multiple of 11.4x for our peer group and a 12% above the current stock price. We believe the premium is justified based on CRWD’s strong leadership in the endpoint protection market and a growing total addressable market led by intelligent product development/acquisition choices within cloud security, next-gen SIEM, DSPM, and other critical categories within cybersecurity.”
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) is a leader in AI-driven endpoint and cloud workload protection.
7. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 82
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) is one of the 10 Buzzing AI Stocks on Wall Street. On September 25, Seaport upgraded the stock to “Neutral” from Sell without a price target. The firm stated that it remains cautious over the long term but sees some near term positives.
“We think Intel is on the wrong path with a shrinking window to save their fabs. That being said, in the near term, the stock is likely to be driven by follow-on investments and the potential for a stop-gap solution for the fabs.”
The firm cited near-term factors for the upgrade but at the same time it remains cautious on the company’s longer-term fundamentals.
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) designs, manufactures, and sells computer products and technologies, delivering data storage, computer, networking, and communications platforms.
6. Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 115
Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) is one of the 10 Buzzing AI Stocks on Wall Street. On September 25, Baird reiterated the stock as “Outperform” stating that investors should buy the dip in Tesla shares.
“We recently upgraded shares to Outperform (note here) and see a string of catalysts ahead beginning with the shareholder meeting on November 6.”
Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) is an automotive and clean energy company that leverages advanced artificial intelligence in its autonomous driving technology and robotics initiatives.
5. Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 124
Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) is one of the 10 Buzzing AI Stocks on Wall Street. On September 25, Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated the stock at “Sell” stating that it sees too many negative catalysts for Oracle. The firm holds a $175 price target on the stock.
According to the firm, the market is materially overestimating the value of Oracle’s contracted cloud revenues. In big, single-tenant, large-scale deployments, the company acts more like a financier than a cloud provider, “with economics far removed from the model investors prize.”
Oracle’s five-year cloud revenue guidance is equal to $60B in value. This reflects that the market is already pricing in a “risky blue-sky scenario that is unlikely to materialize.”
“While the market currently fixates on headline figures, we expect attention to shift toward the underlying economics. Combined with subdued non-IaaS [infrastructure as a service] growth— which the market appears willing to overlook for now—this sets up meaningful downside risk. Consequently, we launch coverage with a Sell rating and a $175 target price.”
Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) is a database management and cloud service provider.
4. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 156
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is one of the 10 Buzzing AI Stocks on Wall Street. On September 25, KeyBanc reiterated the stock as “Sector Weight” stating that its iPhone 17 survey checks show mixed demand.
“We think AAPL stock is getting slightly ahead of what we think of as modestly better-than-anticipated iPhone demand. We are early cycle; we think most data points are positive, but with the stock’s recent outperformance, we think it’s hard to say it’s justified by a material shift in expectations.
Apple is a technology company known for its consumer electronics, software, and services.
3. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 219
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is one of the 10 Buzzing AI Stocks on Wall Street. On September 25, MoffettNathanson reiterated the stock as “Buy” stating that Alphabet is emerging as an AI winner. According to the firm, Alphabet may become the largest company in the world as it overtakes rivals in artificial intelligence, driven by growth and profits from its generative AI initiatives.
“We reiterate our Buy rating on Alphabet and raise our target price by $65 to $295, based on a 24.4x multiple of our 2027E EPS estimate.”
In the firm’s report headlined, “Alphabet: World’s Most Valuable Company,” MoffettNathanson acknowledged how the title is not a statement of the present, but “of what we believe should be.”
A “combination of market leadership, diversification and scale positions Alphabet not only as a winner in the GenAI era but as a company that should rightly be considered for the title of most valuable company in the world,” analyst Michael Nathanson wrote. Since early July, “the landscape has decidedly shifted further in Alphabet’s favor,” Nathanson wrote Thursday. “Alphabet emerges as one of the net winners in the AI race and remains the best positioned company to monetize and scale GenAI opportunities.”
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is an American multinational technology conglomerate holding company wholly owning the internet giant Google, amongst other businesses.
2. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 294
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is one of the 10 Buzzing AI Stocks on Wall Street. On September 26, Morgan Stanley named the stock as a “Top Pick” and raised its price target to $625 per share from $582.
“Confidence in a path to shedding those weights and a broadening set of growth drivers elevates MSFT to Top Pick.”
The firm noted that even though the pace of adoption and monetization is slow, Microsoft stands to benefit from the AI boom. Its robust ties to the industry and its enterprise solutions have had the firm bullish on the stock.
Morgan Stanley particularly pointed out to Azure cloud computing platform’s growth amid an enterprise spending boom. One of the surveys conducted by the firm revealed how 49% of CIOs quoted Azure to be the likely top IT budget share gainer over the next three years.
The company’s cloud is also likely to benefit from AI-industry tailwinds.
“With its integration of the OpenAI model family, Microsoft has already gained a large group of new commercial applications. With AI workloads set to become a larger portion of cloud spend and driving an increase in the percentage of workloads in the cloud higher, Azure is well positioned to benefit.”
The firm believes that Microsoft has “the clearest and highest probability positive risk/reward in the space.”
“The strong positioning of Microsoft for multiple secular growth drivers – GenAI (polls #1 as the biggest wallet share gainer), migration of Enterprise workloads to the Public Cloud (polls #1 as the biggest wallet share gainer), Cyber-security (the largest vendor in the space with >$40 billion in revenues) and across all these an ongoing push towards consolidation of spend with fewer vendors – enables an under-appreciated durability of high-teens total return profile, currently under-priced at a <26x GAAP CY27 EPS multiple compared to the >$50Bn large-cap software average at 32x non-GAAP EPS. Sustained momentum on the top-line, better appreciation of the breadth of growth drivers and resolution of uncertainty around the OpenAI relationship should drive shares toward our upwardly revised $625 price target. Reiterate Overweight, making Microsoft our Top Pick in large-cap software given the clearest and highest probability positive risk/reward in the space.”
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) provides AI-powered cloud, productivity, and business solutions, focusing on efficiency, security, and AI advancements.
1. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 235
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is one of the 10 Buzzing AI Stocks on Wall Street. On September 25, Barclays reiterated the stock as “Overweight” and raised its price target to $240 per share from $200. The firm believes Nvidia is the ‘the most attractive name in our space.’
Analyst Tom O’Malley believes more than $2 trillion in announced AI infrastructure spending will eventually filter into the company’s results.
“When tracking AI capacity additions over the [last twelve months], AI [total addressable markets] don’t seem so outlandish anymore and NVDA looks like the most interesting name in our group.”
In the beginning, analysts were skeptical when Jensen Huang predicted that the AI industry would be worth $1 trillion by the end of the decade. However, now it is so much bigger and analysts view over $2 trillion of planned AI spend.
Of that, an estimated 65-70% of it will be on computing power and networking spend and more deals expected soon.
The firm contends that even though some of the investment will go to custom silicon, Nvidia remains the clear AI winner. Analysts have launched an AI capacity tracker to monitor deployments and call nvidia the most attractive name in the space with revenues likely to climb significantly over the years.
“Given the variation of data available for each project, we used both the conversion of 1GW=$50-60B of total spend and used the more recent 1M GPU per 2GW associated with the OpenAI deal announced last week. When summed, this equates to $1.5T of compute & networking spend and 19M GPUs, which we acknowledge isn’t perfectly pro-forma. We also acknowledge that some of these dollars will go towards custom silicon but in the tracked announcements thus far there is little reference to any specific programs. We introduce an AI capacity tracker that aggregates announced compute deployments, power, and chips that we will update real time and offer to clients. We see this as a positive for all accelerator names (AVGO + AMD) but we see this largely flowing into the NVDA P&L over the next 5+ years, moving numbers materially higher and making this the most attractive name in our space. We move our price target to $240.”
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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