We recently published a list of 13 Best NASDAQ Stocks to Buy So Far in 2025. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) stands against other NASDAQ stocks to buy in 2025.

On April 4, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives appeared on CNBC to discuss the potential impact of current tariffs and compared the situation to an economic armageddon. If the current tariffs remain in place, Ives thinks it would lead to a 15% to 20% demand reduction across the board. He thinks that investor anxiety is much higher considering how things were in the March 2020 COVID-19 crash earlier. The analyst thinks that investors should now focus on the likelihood of tariff adjustments from comments about negotiations, the impact on consumer-focused companies, and the potential for demand destruction. He even thinks that companies may refuse to provide guidance in the first-quarter earnings calls due to the persistent tariff uncertainty.

Ives thinks that a lot of tech companies will not be able to absorb high tariff increases and rather this cost will be passed on to the consumers which will lead to significant margin erosion and even potential sales declines. He indicated that tech stocks are currently pricing in a 10% to 15% cut to numbers. He suggests that investors should now look at companies with strong long-term potential as he believes earnings may normalize in 2025 and 2026. The analyst also addressed the defensive performance of defense contractors. While acknowledging the relative stability here, Ives cautioned that even these even such sectors are not immune to tariffs. He noted the significant foreign component, specifically 40% to 50% in some instances, in hardware and other sectors.

Our Methodology

We sifted through the financial media reports to compile a list of the top NASDAQ stocks to buy for 2025. We then selected the 13 stocks that were the most popular among elite hedge funds and that analysts were bullish on. The stocks are ranked in ascending order of the number of hedge funds that have stakes in them, as of Q4 2024. The hedge fund data was sourced from Insider Monkey’s database which tracks the moves of over 900 elite money managers.

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 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 339

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) retails consumer products and also engages in advertising, and subscriptions service through online and physical stores internationally. The company operates through three segments, which include North America, International, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). It also has its membership program under the name of Amazon Prime.

As March concluded, the company unveiled its new AI model under the name of Nova Act. This is Amazon.com’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) software development kit that takes actions in a web browser on the user’s behalf. This is done to automate tasks like filling forms, extracting data, or performing other similar multi-step tasks without the constant need for human intervention. As many companies advance their AI capabilities, Nova Act also helps Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) become an AI leader.

Citi recently recommended buying Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) on weakness as the firm believes in the company’s potential to benefit from its TikTok takeover bid.  The firm maintained its Buy rating on the company with a $270 price target. While certain involved parties are not taking this seriously, Citi believes this bid to be a big win for the company’s ads and sales. TikTok’s over 170 million monthly active users in America could increase Amazon.com, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) ad business.

Harding Loevner Global Developed Markets Equity Strategy stated the following regarding Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:

“During the quarter, we benefited from strong stocks within the Communication Services and Consumer Discretionary sectors. In Consumer Discretionary, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) reported strong third-quarter results. Revenue increased by double digits, led by growth in advertising and Al products, while the company’s operating margins also hit an all-time high of 11%. The key reasons for the higher margins were that its international e-commerce operations turned profitable, and there was faster growth in its high-margin cloud-computing business.”

Overall, AMZN ranks 1st on our list of the best NASDAQ stocks to buy so far in 2025. While we acknowledge the growth potential of AMZN, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold great promise for delivering high returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than AMZN but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.

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