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BofA Downgrades STMicroelectronics N.V. (STM) on Weak Q1 Outlook

We recently compiled a list of the 11 AI News and Ratings You Shouldn’t Miss. In this article, we are going to take a look at where STMicroelectronics N.V. (NYSE:STM) stands against the other AI stocks.

DeepSeek has quickly gained attention in AI with its R1 model, which delivers high performance at a lower cost. The company has introduced innovations to improve efficiency and accessibility in AI development. DeepSeek’s fast growth, despite having a small team, shows the increasing trend of AI-driven businesses scaling with minimal human resources. Its success also shows the broader shift toward open-source AI models, especially in China, where competition is driving faster innovation and more cost-effective solutions.

UBS’s Insights on DeepSeek R1 and AI Investment Strategies

In a report posted by UBS on January 31, the UBS CIO analyzed the impact of DeepSeek’s R1 model on financial markets and AI investment strategies. The firm expects continued capital spending by hyperscalers, benefiting semiconductor companies, and recommended diversified exposure across AI’s value chain. The declining cost of training large language models is driven by algorithmic advancements and hardware improvements, with R1 increasing AI adoption. Hardware scaling also remains important alongside algorithmic progress to support AI infrastructure investments.

In addition, China continues to play a significant role in AI innovation, with companies like Alibaba developing competitive models. UBS maintained a positive view of Chinese internet firms due to their ability to offer customizable, cost-effective AI solutions. The firm also highlighted the rise of AI-driven startups, emphasizing investment in firms with proprietary data or strong customer retention.

Furthermore, the rapid development of AI software suggests prioritizing physical infrastructure investments over traditional software. AI’s ability to self-improve introduces unpredictability, leading UBS to recommend structured products for volatility exposure while avoiding non-physical assets lacking a competitive advantage.

UBS believes that despite fluctuations, AI investment remains solid, with major tech firms expected to increase capital spending in 2025. AI adoption is also rising, supporting cloud growth and monetization. While volatility may be there due to economic and regulatory factors, AI’s long-term outlook remains positive, with both high-cost and low-cost models expected to coexist.

For this article, we selected AI stocks by reviewing news articles, stock analysis, and press releases. We listed the stocks in ascending order of their hedge fund sentiment taken from Insider Monkey’s database of 900 hedge funds.

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 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).

A worker assembling the inner circuitry of a semiconductor product.

STMicroelectronics N.V. (NYSE:STM)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 18

STMicroelectronics N.V. (NYSE:STM) designs, develops and sells semiconductor products for automotive, industrial, and consumer applications worldwide.

On February 6, Bank of America downgraded STMicroelectronics to Neutral from Buy with a €23 price target, down from €29, favoring Infineon Technologies due to its strengths in AI server power management and automotive MCUs. The company’s management attributed weaker Q1 2025 revenue guidance to inventory corrections at major customers, Tesla’s market share adjustments, and lower capacity reservation fees. However, the company expects benefits from premium smartphone demand and MCU inventory stabilization later in the year. Cost reductions and manufacturing transitions are expected to improve margins from 2026 onward.

Overall STM ranks 9th on our list of AI stocks in news that investors shouldn’t miss. While we acknowledge the potential of STM as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than STM but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and Complete List of 59 AI Companies Under $2 Billion in Market Cap.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.

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When Jeff Bezos said that one breakthrough technology would shape Amazon’s destiny, even Wall Street’s biggest analysts were caught off guard.

Fast forward a year and Amazon’s new CEO Andy Jassy described generative AI as a “once-in-a-lifetime” technology that is already being used across Amazon to reinvent customer experiences.

At the 8th Future Investment Initiative conference, Elon Musk predicted that by 2040 there would be at least 10 billion humanoid robots, with each priced between $20,000 and $25,000.

Do the math. According to Musk, this technology could be worth $250 trillion by 2040.

Put another way, that’s roughly equal to:

  • 175 Teslas
  • 107 Amazons
  • 140 Metas
  • 84 Googles
  • 65 Microsofts
  • And 55 Nvidias

And here’s the wild part — this $250 trillion wave isn’t tied to one company, but to an entire ecosystem of AI innovators set to reshape the global economy.

It’s a leap so massive, it could reshape how businesses, governments, and consumers operate worldwide.

Even if that $250 trillion figure sounds ambitious, major firms like PwC and McKinsey still see AI unlocking multi-trillion-dollar potential.

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  • Bill Gates sees artificial intelligence as the “biggest technological advance in my lifetime,” more transformative than the internet or personal computer, capable of improving healthcare, education, and addressing climate change.
  • Larry Ellison — through Oracle, is spending billions on Nvidia chips and partnering with Cohere to embed generative AI across Oracle’s cloud and apps.
  • Warren Buffett — not known for tech hype — says this breakthrough could have a ‘hugely beneficial social impact.

When billionaires from Silicon Valley to Wall Street line up behind the same idea — you know it’s worth paying attention to.

Even as we admire what Tesla, Nvidia, Alphabet, and Microsoft have built, we believe an even greater opportunity lies elsewhere…

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