We recently published a list of the 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Coherent Corp. (NYSE:COHR) stands against other hidden AI stocks.
David Grain, Founder & CEO of Grain Management, joined CNBC on May 1 to discuss the AI-driven demand for data centers and tariff uncertainty. The main concerns regarding tariffs are the potential impact on costs, the resilience of supply chains, and the overall effect on business operations and their expansion. He also shared his perspective on why investors are still confident in the broadband and digital infrastructure sector. He characterized broadband as universally essential and emphasised that the demand for faster connectivity has not slowed, which is why the regulatory support for broadband expansion is globally robust. Grain noted that the administration has also met expectations for lighter regulation in the infrastructure sector, which makes it easier to advance projects and close deals. He described the admin’s stance as pro-growth and supportive of secure and competitive networks. Grain also observed that infrastructure, especially broadband, is an area where there is bipartisan support, given its positive impact on economic growth at both the state and local levels.
DeepSeek’s announcement was also followed by reports that suggested that some companies might be pulling back on data center spending. However, the latest earnings reports appeared to settle at least this debate and confirmed that the investments in this sector were still ongoing. David Grain elaborated on the current trends in data center investments and also stated that the demand for data centers is rising due to the increasing expansion of AI, as it requires vast amounts of computing power. He explained that while the demand here is not slowing, the feasibility of building new data centers is still influenced by the availability of reliable and high-capacity electricity.
Our Methodology
We sifted through financial media reports to compile a list of the top hidden AI stocks with AI-related operations and opportunities. We then selected the 11 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.
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).
A row of precision industrial lasers in action, cutting the most intricate of shapes.
Coherent Corp. (NYSE:COHR)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 71
Coherent Corp. (NYSE:COHR) develops, manufactures, and markets engineered materials, optoelectronic components & devices, and optical & laser systems & subsystems. These are used in industrial, communications, electronics, and instrumentation markets worldwide. The company benefits from the demand for AI-related components like optical transceivers, which are required by data centers.
The company made record datacom revenue in FQ2 2025, particularly fueled by the strong adoption of Coherent’s 800G transceivers. This revenue showed an improvement of 79% year-over-year. To further support this growth, indium phosphide production tripled year-over-year. Indium phosphide is a binary semiconductor composed of indium and phosphorus. It’s used in lasers and other optoelectronic devices, used for high-speed data transmission in applications like AI-driven data centers.
On March 24, Raymond James revised its datacom optical model and forecasted $22.2 billion in AI backend transceiver sales by 2030, with a ~30% annual growth rate. Its 2027 estimate for AI backend revenue increased to $7.5 billion from $7.1 billion. Raymond James analyst Simon Leopold also upgraded the stock from Outperform to Strong Buy but lowered the price target to $91 from $110.
Diamond Hill Select Strategy stated the following regarding Coherent Corp. (NYSE:COHR) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“Among our other top Q4 contributors were Amazon, WESCO and Coherent Corp. (NYSE:COHR). Coherent is a global leader in materials, networking and lasers for the industrial, communications, electronics and instrumentation markets. Demand for optical transceivers used in AI datacenter buildouts has been robust, benefiting Coherent and resulting in higher earnings and new orders which suggest momentum is likely to continue.”
Overall, COHR ranks 3rd on our list of the hidden AI stocks to buy right now. While we acknowledge the growth potential of COHR as an investment, 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 COHR 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 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
