In this article, we will look at some of the worst artificial intelligence stocks trading under $30 with high short interest.
On June 20, Kate Rooney from CNBC reported that the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence is increasing spending across the technology sector, particularly in data centers and computing infrastructure. As companies continue to invest heavily in long-term growth projects, investors are paying closer attention to the Federal Reserve policies.
Rooney highlighted how large tech companies had been immune to a restrictive monetary policy stance for a while, given their strong financial positions. Mostly, it was the smaller tech businesses that were more susceptible to the rate increases. However, those megacap technology names are now also becoming sensitive towards the interest rate trends, since they have been depleting their reserves to finance their ambitious spending on data centers.
Rooney highlighted comments from One Point BFG Wealth Partners’ CIO, Peter Boockvar, who believes that such large-scale capital spending has had an impact on investors with a significant portfolio tilt towards the broader technology segment. Boockvar stated:
“Tech investors are not as used to looking at rates. All of a sudden tech investors need to listen to what Kevin Warsh has to say, they need to start paying attention to what the inflation stats are and how the U.S. Treasury market responds to it.”
Rooney noted that major companies, including Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, and Alphabet, are increasing AI infrastructure spending as competition within the sector intensifies. These four entities are projected to increase their cumulative spending by almost 80% during 2026, which amounts to $750 billion.
With that background, let’s explore our 10 Worst Artificial Intelligence Stocks Under $30 According to Short Sellers.
Our Methodology
To identify relevant stocks for this article, we screened U.S.-listed artificial intelligence companies with market capitalizations above $2 billion and share prices below $30. Following that, we narrowed the list further to include names with at least 10% short interest as of the June 23 close. Finally, we selected 10 stocks with the highest short interest and ranked them in ascending order.
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10. Zeta Global Holdings Corp. (NYSE:ZETA)
Zeta Global Holdings Corp. (NYSE:ZETA) is one of the 10 worst artificial intelligence stocks under $30 according to short sellers.
On June 23, Zeta Global Holdings Corp. (NYSE:ZETA) revealed that the company has formed a strategic alliance with Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR). The aim is to develop an AI infrastructure layer that integrates customer and operational intelligence and marketing execution across enterprises.
Both companies are collaborating towards new benchmarks for agentic marketing by linking up AI infrastructure to Zeta’s data and intelligent decision-making capabilities.
Earlier on June 18, Zeta Global Holdings Corp. (NYSE:ZETA) announced the expansion of Athena to agencies, prior to the Cannes Lions 2026 Festival. The company noted that, as agencies continue to develop and adopt new technologies and partnerships, converting those investments into real-time intelligence continues to be a challenge.
Development of Athena is based on the company’s proprietary identity graph, SuperGraph, which offers customer insights by evaluating signals from around 245 million individuals. The company also highlighted that Athena is able to identify opportunities and make optimal recommendations by combining agency data with the SuperGraph. Moreover, it also enhances performance over the entire customer lifecycle.
Zeta Global Holdings Corp. (NYSE:ZETA) provides enterprises with consumer intelligence and marketing automation software worldwide. The company operates the Zeta Marketing platform and Consumer Data Platform (CDP+) for unified customer profiles. It also offers Zeta Messaging, integrated data management, enterprise-scale delivery, and consumer data support.
9. Braze Inc. (NASDAQ:BRZE)
Braze Inc. (NASDAQ:BRZE) is one of the 10 worst artificial intelligence stocks under $30 according to short sellers.
The broader consensus sentiment around the stock remained strongly bullish as of the close of June 23. The stock currently offers more than 75% upside potential, based on a median 1-year price target of $35.07, amid heightened interest from short sellers.
Back on May 29, Tyler Radke from Citi decreased the target price on Braze Inc. (NASDAQ:BRZE) from $49 to $48 while maintaining his Buy rating on the stock. The revised target price still represents an upside potential of almost 150% at the prevailing level.
Radke noted that with the ongoing AI-linked developments, the company appears to have resilient fundamentals. He also acknowledged its recent earnings announcements as encouraging.
Earlier on May 28, Mizuho also decreased the target price on Braze Inc. (NASDAQ:BRZE) from $40 to $32, while reiterating an Outperform rating on the stock. The firm attributed its price target cut to several contractions recently.
However, it also acknowledged the company’s first-quarter results as strong. Mizuho highlighted that Braze’s AI offerings are gaining traction, with strong customer adoption easing concerns around AI-related risks.
Braze Inc. (NASDAQ:BRZE) facilitates communication between brands and consumers worldwide through its customer engagement platform. Some of its services include data ingestion, online notifications, and interstitial messages. The company also helps brands sync and transform consumer data in a structured way.
8. IonQ Inc. (NYSE:IONQ)
IonQ Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) is one of the 10 worst artificial intelligence stocks under $30 according to short sellers.
On June 22, Northland Securities increased the target price on IonQ Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) from $55 to $70, resulting in an adjusted upside potential of more than 16%. The firm maintained an Outperform rating on the stock, based on its prediction that the September 8 Investor Day will provide a more compelling argument for IonQ’s position as the “Broad Quantum Advantage winner.”
Even the consensus sentiment was strongly bullish for the stock as of June 23’s closing. It received Buy ratings from 7 of the 9 analysts who covered it, while 2 analysts issued Hold calls. With no Sell rating, the stock carries a median 1-year target price of $69.31, resulting in an upside potential of over 28%.
Earlier on June 17, IonQ Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) revealed Clavis XG Multiplex, a new product in its Clavis XG Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) range that aims to further improve the practicality and implementation of quantum security over metropolitan fiber networks. The company highlighted that the Clavis XG product range clearly leads the industry in enterprise-grade system integration.
IonQ Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) is a developer of quantum computing systems. It provides access to quantum computers via its own cloud services, along with other cloud platforms like Microsoft’s Azure Quantum and AWS. Its service offerings also include quantum-safe communications, quantum detection systems, maintenance and support services, and co-developing algorithms consulting.
7. IREN Ltd. (NASDAQ:IREN)
IREN Ltd. (NASDAQ:IREN) is one of the 10 worst artificial intelligence stocks under $30 according to short sellers.
On June 18, Jonathan Petersen from Jefferies initiated his coverage of IREN Ltd. (NASDAQ:IREN). Peterson set the target price at $79 and assigned a Buy rating to the stock. He reported that Iren has successfully executed an interesting strategic shift, using its substantial land bank power on a long-term basis, along with a vertically integrated approach for its GPU cloud.
The analyst also pointed out that Iren has a great deal of flexibility, since it owns both the land and data centers. This enables it to satisfy client demands with products ranging from fully built GPU cloud solutions to powered shell facilities. These factors make the company stand out within the AI infrastructure space.
Back on June 4, Nick Giles from B. Riley increased the target price on IREN Ltd. (NASDAQ:IREN) from $88 to $96. The analyst maintained a Buy rating on the stock. As per Giles, Iren finalized an agreement involving a transmission connection for a data facility in South Australia, with 800 MW capacity.
Through this move, the company activated its pipeline within the Australian market in relation to its prior engagement with Nvidia. This enabled it to strengthen its alleged first-mover advantage in a market where demand for AI compute is surpassing infrastructure because of its capabilities in localized execution.
IREN Ltd. (NASDAQ:IREN) operates 100% renewable energy-based data centers across Australia and Canada. These data centers are vertically integrated and facilitate the company’s bitcoin mining operations. The company is now capitalizing on its mining assets and infrastructure for other functions such as AI cloud and high-density computing.
6. Figma Inc. (NYSE:FIG)
Figma Inc. (NYSE:FIG) is one of the 10 worst artificial intelligence stocks under $30 according to short sellers.
Back on May 15, Morgan Stanley reduced the target price on Figma Inc. (NYSE:FIG) from $44 to $38 while retaining an Equal Weight rating on the stock. The firm informed investors that paid customer conversion, seat expansion, and new credit monetization during the first quarter drove a second consecutive quarter of revenue growth, up 46% YoY.
Morgan Stanley highlighted that the first quarter’s numbers offered a solid case for Figma’s standing in Artificial Intelligence, despite the ongoing investor discussions about growing competition across design tools and its potential effect on gross margins. However, it pointed out that potential gains for the stock may be limited in the foreseeable future amid persistent worries about the competitive landscape and short-term margin pressures.
Later on June 17, Citi assigned a Buy rating to Figma Inc. (NYSE:FIG), along with a target price of $36. This leads to an upside potential of more than 85%. The firm reflected on broader consensus views, which indicate that the company’s ongoing AI momentum is expected to yield substantial upside potential.
Figma Inc. (NYSE:FIG) operates a browser-based platform that helps teams build products through UI/UX design. It covers multiple stages of product development, including idea generation, prototyping, and design systems. It also offers various other tools such as Dev Mode, FigJam, Figma Slides, Figma Buzz, Figma Draw, and more.
While we acknowledge the potential of FIG to grow, 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 FIG and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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