According to LSEG data, tech giants including Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta are poised to report revenue rising at a swift pace in the July-September quarter. These companies will also likely announce further investments in AI, as per a Reuters report, due to the promise that AI holds in the long run.
A day before its earnings release, Microsoft reached a deal that allows OpenAI to restructure as a public benefit corporation, while providing Microsoft with a 27% stake in the company.
Meanwhile, Apple stock briefly surpassed the $4 trillion mark before closing the day on Tuesday, mostly unchanged. This was driven by strong demand for the newest iPhones, easing concerns that Apple is falling behind in the AI race.
With Big Tech scheduled to report results later in the week, investors will be on the lookout for any AI-related updates to justify high valuations and substantial investments.
“It’s been pretty impressive from our view that we continue to hit all-time highs. Tech and AI and the Big Seven have been driving performance as of late, but earnings have been good as well.”
-Jack Herr, primary investment analyst at Guidestone.
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 427.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 264 percentage points (see more details here).
11. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 77
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) is one of the 11 Must-Watch AI Stocks on Wall Street. On October 27, Citizens JMP analyst Trevor Walsh raised the firm’s price target on the stock to $250 from $212 and kept an Outperform rating on the shares.
Walsh believes that PANW is a key name to watch ahead of earnings, particularly because of the under-recognized positive reaction it has received to its CyberArk acquisition.
The new price target represents a modest premium to the peer group mean of 33.2x. This premium valuation, the firm believes, is justified given PANW’s “ambitious platform strategy and intelligent product expansion efforts.”
These efforts are designed to capture a larger portion of the total addressable cybersecurity market.
“Palo Alto Networks currently trades at 32.9x CY26E EV/FCF multiple, while our revised $250 price target implies 38.0x CY26E EV/FCF (our prior $212 price target assumed a 32.1x CY26E EV/FCF multiple). This represents a modest premium to the mean multiple of 33.2x CY26E EV/FCF for the peer group. We believe this valuation is warranted given the company’s ambitious platform strategy and intelligent product expansion efforts to consolidate a wide swath of the total addressable cyber security market.”
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) is a leader in AI-powered cybersecurity.
10. Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 78
Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) is one of the 11 Must-Watch AI Stocks on Wall Street. On October 28, Citi reiterated the stock as “Neutral” and raised its price target ahead of earnings week to $190 per share from $177. The analyst has flagged valuation risk ahead of Q3 earnings.
The firm anticipates that Palantir will report robust Q3 results after positive channel checks across Palantir’s government and commercial businesses.
“Our intra-Q checks from partners and customers were positive, including checks from Oracle and Snowflake conferences intra-Q, where partners reported uptick in collaborative deals.”
Despite this, it believes it will be tough for the company to match last quarter’s upside.
“We maintain our Underperform rating and $45 price target on Palantir ahead of Q3 earnings scheduled for November 3th after market close. We see unfavorable risk/reward. Shares of PLTR are up ~20% over the past three months (vs. ~4% for IGV). Heading into Q3 earnings, among our RBC All-SaaS constituents, Palantir is one of three names we track trading >20x EV/CY26E revenue (see here). We cannot rationalize why Palantir is the most expensive name in our software coverage. Absent a substantial beat-and-raise quarter elevating the NT growth trajectory, valuation seems unsustainable.”
Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) is a leading provider of artificial intelligence systems.
9. Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 94
Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) is one of the 11 Must-Watch AI Stocks on Wall Street. On October 27, Citi analyst Christopher Danely raised the firm’s price target on the stock to $275 from $240 and kept a “Buy” rating on the shares. According to the firm, there is a rising AI demand for the stock.
In particular, Citi believes that DRAM pricing will be up 25% Q4 relative to Q3. This is the highest quarter-over-quarter increase since the 1990s.
In an investor note, the analysts elaborated that artificial intelligence demand and limited supply have caused DRAM spot prices to rise almost 50% in the last two weeks. This higher pricing is driving Micron’s earnings up 20% quarter-over-quarter.
“We raise our already above-Consensus estimates and price target from $240.00 to $275.00 and maintain our Buy rating on MU.”
Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) develops and sells memory and storage products for data centers, mobile devices, and various industries worldwide.
8. Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE:VRT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 104
Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE:VRT) is one of the 11 Must-Watch AI Stocks on Wall Street. On October 22, Evercore ISI raised its price target on the stock to $210 from $200 while maintaining an Outperform rating. The rating affirmation follows Vertiv’s robust quarterly results.
The company reported third-quarter revenue of $2.67 billion and earnings per share of $1.24, beating analyst expectations of $2.58 billion and $0.98, respectively.
It also experienced an impressive organic revenue growth of an estimated 28% year-over-year, driven by strength in North America (+43%) and APAC (+21%), and partially offset by weakness in EMEA (-4%).
Strong AI data center engagements totaling approximately $3.75 billion led to orders surging in the third quarter.
Looking ahead, the company guided for approximately 20% organic growth to $2.85 billion and earnings per share of $1.26 in the December quarter. This softer EBIT margin guidance is due to headwinds from higher tariff costs and increased fixed costs, as VRT had capital expenditure additions from early 2026 to December 2025.
“Worth noting that orders were up an impressive 60% in Q3 driven by strong AI DC engagements (~$3.75B) and resulted in a book-to-bill of 1.4x and a backlog of $9.5B. Worth noting that the backlog/orders for VRT consists of FIRM PURCHASE ORDERS – implying that the multiple of sizable engagements we have seen recently (OpenAI/NVDA, ORCL RPO, etc.) are likely all upside levers over the next several years. While EMEA was weaker vs. expectations, VRT expects to see an acceleration in H2-26, supported by the deployment of AI inferencing infrastructure that must reside in-region and in-country to meet sovereignty and latency requirements. For the Dec-qtr, VRT guided for ~20% organic growth to $2.85B and EPS of $1.26, implying EBIT margin of 22.4% (flat on a q/q basis). The softer EBIT margin guide of -100bps lower reflects headwinds equally from higher tariff costs vs. expected and some uptick in fixed costs as VRT pulled in capex additions from early CY26 to Dec25. NetNet: We think VRT structurally remains positioned to show revenue acceleration in CY26/27 vs street models calling for sizable deceleration. Sticking with our OP rating but adjusting our target to $210 (prior $200) to reflect higher FTM EP.”
Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE:VRT) is a global provider of digital infrastructure technology and services for data centers, communication networks, and commercial and industrial facilities.
7. Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 111
Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) is one of the 11 Must-Watch AI Stocks on Wall Street. On October 28, Wells Fargo initiated the stock as “Overweight” with a $238 price target. The firm stated that the utility and energy company is well-positioned.
The firm believes that Vistra is a strong pick within IPPs, with a similar story to Constellation Energy (CEG).
“We are initiating coverage of VST with an Overweight rating, as it fits within the absolute call on IPPs [independent power producer]—similar story to our Best Idea CEG, but with slightly longer dated catalyst path.”
Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) operates as an integrated retail electricity and power generation company.
6. Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 115
Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) is one of the 11 Must-Watch AI Stocks on Wall Street. On October 27, Morgan Stanley reiterated the stock as “Overweight,” stating that Tesla’s recent earnings report had several “show-stoppers.”
“I’m callin’ it. Autonomous cars are solved. When I say solved, do I mean six or seven 9’s to the right of the decimal? No. Perfection? Never. But enough to pull the safety driver at scale in major metros. It’s a James Watt moment that changes transportation forever. Tesla’s 3Q results included 3 ‘show-stoppers’ that seemed to go largely under the radar…”
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. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 156
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is one of the 11 Must-Watch AI Stocks on Wall Street. On October 27, JPMorgan reiterated the stock as “Overweight” and raised its price target on the stock to $290 per share from $280. The rating affirmation comes ahead of the earnings print on October 30.
“AAPL shares are heading into the upcoming earnings print with a greater halo of positivity than any time in the past year with the discussion around the investment thesis narrowing down to outcomes on iPhone sales for the iPhone 17 series, and following it, the iPhone 18 series to be launched next year.”
Apple is a technology company known for its consumer electronics, software, and services.
4. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 219
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is one of the 11 Must-Watch AI Stocks on Wall Street. On October 27, JPMorgan reiterated the stock as “Overweight” and raised its price target on the stock to $300 per share from $260. The firm believes that Alphabet is the second-best performing “Mag 7” name year-to-date, up 37% and 80% from April lows.
“Google is the 2nd best performing Mag 7 name YTD—up 37% YTD and 80% from the April lows (compared to the SPX +15% and +36%)—and our recent discussions with investors frequently focus on what’s next following the big run.”
A major overhang was removed when the company received a favorable outcome in the DOJ Search Commercial Agreement trial. Google also demonstrates strong financial performance and AI innovation, the firm noted.
JP Morgan also believes that Google is handling the transition to AI search well and is likely to sustain double-digit growth in Search. YouTube ad growth will also possibly accelerate on share gains, the firm noted. Moreover, Google Cloud growth is accelerating in its AI positioning and TPU infrastructure.
The upcoming Gemini 3 launch will further strengthen the Google ecosystem and catalyze shares. Despite intensifying competition with OpenAI, JP Morgan believes that Google has key advantages in data, distribution, and balance sheet strength.
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is an American multinational technology conglomerate holding company wholly owning the internet giant Google, amongst other businesses.
3. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 235
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is one of the 11 Must-Watch AI Stocks on Wall Street. On October 27, DA Davidson reiterated its “Buy” rating on the stock, maintaining its price target of $210.00 ahead of mega cap earnings week.
The firm believes that investors will be focused primarily on artificial intelligence (AI) compute demand growth during the upcoming earnings period. This growth, it believes, remains significant.
“Most of the focus during mega cap earnings week will remain on the growth of AI compute demand, which we believe is still significant. As typical, this will mostly impact the outlook of the one mega cap not reporting this week, NVDA (BUY-rated $210 target). We expect NVIDIA’s largest customers to continue their capex trajectory, which they are now enhancing with buildout by neoclouds such as NBIS (Buy-rated $125 target), ORCL (NEUTRAL-rated $300 target), and CRWV (UNDERPERFORM-rated $36 target).”
On the same day, Mizuho reiterated Nvidia and Broadcom as “Outperform,” stating that both stocks are “best positioned.”
“We believe NVDA and AVGO remain best-positioned with leadership in the AI Datacenter…”
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) specializes in AI-driven solutions, offering platforms for data centers, self-driving cars, robotics, and cloud services.
2. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 294
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is one of the 11 Must-Watch AI Stocks on Wall Street. On October 28, Evercore ISI reiterated the stock as “Outperform” and said it’s sticking with the stock heading into earnings on Wednesday.
“Capex growth should remain healthy and reflect tight capacity for AI infrastructure. Our sense is that Microsoft will note that capacity ‘remains tight’ and the company will continue to invest against AI demand signals.”
On the previous day, Guggenheim upgraded the stock to “Buy” from Neutral ahead of earnings later this week. The firm believes that Microsoft is well-positioned for AI.
“We are upgrading the shares of MSFT to Buy from Neutral and introducing a Price Target of $586, representing 12% upside from current levels.”
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) provides AI-powered cloud, productivity, and business solutions, focusing on efficiency, security, and AI advancements.
1. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 335
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is one of the 11 Must-Watch AI Stocks on Wall Street. On October 28, UBS reiterated the stock as “Buy” and raised its price target to $279.00 from $271.00 on the stock ahead of earnings on Thursday. The firm believes that Amazon is poised for another strong quarter.
“We raise our price target to $279 from $271 as we roll forward our valuation parameters by one quarter.”
According to the firm, there may be “some noise” in Amazon’s reported third-quarter operating income, and its headline guidance for OI may be below consensus.
The firm believes that focus will probably be on the reported AWS growth rate. Expectations are at 18% y-o-y with a likelihood for greater acceleration shifting into 4Q25 and 2026.
Moreover, analyst Stephen Ju sees the potential for upside for most of Amazon’s business segments.
“Overall, we continue to see the potential for upside across Amazon’s business segments including e-commerce, cloud, advertising, and Kuiper / low earth orbit satellites,” the analyst wrote. “And while we get greater visibility into when those benefits could arrive, particularly on Kuiper, the overall uplift has yet to materialize.”
According to Ju, Amazon’s relative underperformance this year has opened up a good buying opportunity.
“In our view, with AMZN shares otherwise having languished at +4% YTD (relative to its Internet megacap peers) and with much of the benefits of its investments / CapEx across all of e-commerce, AWS, content / advertising, and lastly Kuiper still to be realized, it remains a coiled spring. Therefore as revenue begins to show up more meaningfully, the subsequent upward revisions to operating profit and FCF dollars should arrive at a greater magnitude vs its peers.”
Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) is an American technology company offering e-commerce, cloud computing, and other services, including digital streaming and artificial intelligence solutions.
While we acknowledge the potential of AMZN 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 AMZN and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 10 AI Stocks in the Spotlight Today and 10 AI Stocks Analysts Are Tracking Closely.
Disclosure: None. Insider Monkey focuses on uncovering the best investment ideas of hedge funds and insiders. Please subscribe to our free daily e-newsletter to get the latest investment ideas from hedge funds’ investor letters by entering your email address below.
