15 Best Performing AI Stocks Heading into 2026

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12. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Year-to-Date Performance: 68.90%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 243

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is one of the best-performing AI stocks heading into 2026. On November 26, Citi reiterated its Buy rating on Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) with a price target of $343.

Previously, on November 18, Loop Capital upgraded its rating on Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) from Hold to Buy and increased the price target from $260 to $320. The research firm said that worries about AI disrupting Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) search business have mostly disappeared.

Rob Sanderson, Loop Capital‘s Managing Director, said that the firm’s earlier concerns about “the sustainability of search revenue growth under AI cannibalization and transition risk is no longer a concern shared by investors.” He noted that Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) search business “remains as healthy as ever.” It is helped by AI Overviews and AI Mode. He also pointed out that the traffic to Gemini has doubled compared to last year.

Loop Capital also highlighted growing recognition of Google Cloud’s positioning and the increasing commercial opportunity for the company’s own AI chips. The firm noted that “the size of opportunity for its proprietary AI processors (TPUs) is becoming better appreciated.”

In other news, TipRanks reported on November 21 that Mizuho is very optimistic about Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and it said that the company has “already won the AI game.”

This view is based on feedback from 15 portfolio managers, which was gathered by Mizuho’s TMT specialist Jordan Klein. He wrote that investors are very confident and bullish on Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and it is by far the “most liked and owned name.”

Klein also wrote that Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) “has all the best qualities and technology to dominate AI into next year.”

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is an American multinational technology company and the parent company of Google. The company’s products include Search, Ads, Chrome, Cloud, YouTube, and Android. It also specializes in areas like AI, cloud computing, and hardware.

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