12 AI Stocks Every Investor Should Be Watching

9. Datadog, Inc. (NASDAQ:DDOG)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 84

Datadog, Inc. (NASDAQ:DDOG) is one of the 12 AI Stocks Every Investor is Watching. On June 16, Stifel analyst Brad Reback reiterated a “Hold” rating on the stock with a $120.00 price target. Holding mixed views regarding the company’s growth trajectory and investment strategy, the firm noted how Datadog did not provide an intra-quarter consumption update in its mid-quarter meeting last week. This is unlike its previous practices.

It discussed its newer products and how the management has indicated that these products represent future revenue opportunities. This usually take years to reach meaningful scale, and customers are currently focused on the existing product portfolio.

The company management also talked about its investment in expanding sales representative capacity, particularly in international and enterprise segments, and how it has been squeezing its gross and operating margins. According to the executives, using cost optimization measures could drive additional leverage.

As such, the firm believes that increasing contributions from sales and marketing investments and easier core growth comparisons could lead to stability within the company’s core business in late 2025. Despite this optimism, the firm is also concerned about the uncertainty associated with large generative AI customer behaviour, as it tends to impact future performance.

Datadog, Inc. (NASDAQ:DDOG) offers a cloud-based SaaS platform for monitoring and analytics, specializing in cloud computing and AI-powered cybersecurity products.