In this article, we are going to look at the 5 AI Stocks Analysts Are Watching: Microsoft, Nvidia, and More. For a longer list, you can go to 15 AI Stocks Analysts Are Watching: Microsoft, Nvidia, and More.
5. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 170
Recently, CEO Tim Cook confirmed that Apple Inc. is raising prices to offset rising memory costs. In response, on June 18, BofA Securities analyst Wamsi Mohan reiterated a Buy rating on the stock with a $380.00 price target. The firm believes that Apple may be able to protect its earnings this way even as memory costs rise.
The firm wrote in its investor note how a price raise was already anticipated, reflecting about $100 price increase in its prior estimates. However, CEO Cook confirming the cost pressure and due to the continued raise in memory costs, the firm believes Apple may further raise pricing by an additional $100 on the Pro and Pro-Max models.
The base iPhone model is expected to remain unchanged. The firm believes that the idea is that buyers’ of premium Apple products may be less sensitive to price changes.
Apple may also likely raise prices for iPads and Macs, the firm noted.
We think there could be an additional 100bps of gross margin headwinds in products but expect services margins to remain stable with some potential upside to be a potential offset. We also expect Apple to offset some of the component price increases by additional offsets in other areas of the bill of materials. We also see some potential offsets from recycled/recovered materials, lowering overhead and other supply chain efficiencies.
Apple is a technology company known for its consumer electronics, software, and services.
4. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 265
One of the leading AI stocks analysts are watching, analysts at Citizens have recently flagged Alphabet over renewed concerns related to the company’s ability to retain top AI talent. On June 22, Citizens analyst Andrew Boone reiterated a Market Outperform rating on the stock with a $515.00 price target.
Even though Citizens reiterated a positive rating, its commentary is solely focused on the risk associated with talent leaving for competitors. The firm noted how former Character.ai founder and current VP of Engineer at Google, Noam Shazeer, is leaving Alphabet to join OpenAI.
The firm particularly highlighted how Alphabet had paid $2.7 billion to license Character.ai’s technology, giving them access to both the technology and team. However, Shazeer’s reported switch to OpenAI reflects how even such arrangements don’t necessarily guarantee an important employee’s stay over the longer term.
Looking back, the bear case on Google from two to three years ago was that it would lose talent to OpenAI and Anthropic and would not be able to catch up in AI development. The analyst continues to monitor executive movement for that reason.
For this reason, the firm will continue to monitor executive movements, with further departure an implication that retaining AI talent is becoming a meaningful challenge for the company.
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: 275
On June 23, Bernstein reiterates Nvidia and Broadcom as outperform Bernstein says both stocks are a must-own.
Own both NVDA and AVGO. We get the desire to play the bottlenecks instead, but they won’t ultimately work if these don’t; in the meantime demand shows no signs of slowing, and both stocks screen unreasonably cheap.
Regardless, Nvidia, Micron, and AMD were among the most notable decliners in a tech sector sell-off on Tuesday, June 23, as investors moved away from riskier and high growth stocks following the Federal Reserve’s hawkish inflation message last week. Investors also reassessed AI-led valuations and debt-funded infrastructure spending.
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: 282
On June 23, Stifel analyst Brad Reback reiterated a Hold rating on the stock with a $415.00 price target. The rating affirmation follows Microsoft’s recent announcement of a 20-year power agreement with Chevron, Project Kilby.
While this long term power agreement with Chevron is a reflection of the growing need for electricity to support datacenter expansion, the firm has cautioned that the project remains years away from delivering power.
In the investor note, the firm noted how the project remains in the pre-construction phase and will remain that way until the Final Investment Decision is reached, sometime around year-end 2026.
As of now, the plan remains constrained to planning, environmental review, and permitting, with Chevron reportedly reserving manufacturing slots for major turbine equipment well in advance (according to a company press release in January 2025).
While Project Kilby is anticipated to provide first power delivery in year 2028, the investor firm cautioned that this should be considered the earliest possible timeline instead of a firm delivery date, or even longer. This, it added, depends on the regulatory environment and real economic value added.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a global technology company that develops and sells a wide range of software, cloud services, devices, and business solutions, serving both individual users and enterprise customers worldwide.
1. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 353
Despite shifts in Prime day expected to weigh on Q3 comparisons, one analyst firm expects Amazon to deliver a revenue beat in Q2. On June 18, BofA Securities analyst Justin Post reiterated a Buy rating on the stock with a $310.00 price target.
The firm noted how Prime Day is being held in June this year instead of July, which will be impacting year-over-year trends on a quarterly basis. This will shift a larger portion of sales into the second quarter. Amazon Prime Day 2026 kicked off on June 23 and will run as an extended four-day event through June 26.
Here are the firm’s estimates for the event:
On a like-for-like basis, we estimate 1P Prime Day GMV to grow 4.5% y/y to $11.6bn, while 3P GMV would grow 5.0% y/y to $10bn. In total, we project Prime Day GMV to grow approx. 5% to $21.6bn, slowing vs 55% in 2025 that was elevated from the shift to a 96hr window.
The firm believes that Prime Day is expected to generate an estimated $12.4 billion in incremental second-quarter merchandise volume and also about $8.5 billion in additional revenue as compared to normal sales during those days.
Overall, given strong retail sales data through May (see monthly BAC aggregated debit and credit card data), we think Amazon is on track to come in at or above the high end of 2Q rev guide of $199bn, though will have a material Prime Day comp headwind in 3Q.
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 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 AMZN and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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