In this article, we will take a detailed look at the Top 10 Trending Stocks to Watch Ahead of Nvidia Earnings.
Investors are bracing for Nvidia earnings scheduled to be out later this week for clues on AI demand. Wall Street analysts continue to be bullish on the long-term strength of the AI trade. Jim Tierney, CIO of U.S. Concentrated Growth at AllianceBernstein, recently said in a program on CNBC that the stock market remains concentrated around AI. While the analyst believes this concentration is “scary,” he said the strong performance of AI companies is the reason behind this trend.
“When we think about portfolio construction, we want to make sure that we have a diversified portfolio with the top two or the top 10, which are both at all-time records,” Tierney said. “The concentration is scary and it’s all around AI. That said, those are the companies that have the earnings growth and you came out of second quarter earnings and every one of those companies beat substantially. So, as long as the earnings are there, we’re going to keep having a concentrated market.”
READ ALSO 7 Best Stocks to Buy For Long-Term and 8 Cheap Jim Cramer Stocks to Invest In
For this article, we picked 10 stocks analysts are currently talking about. For each stock, we have mentioned the number of hedge fund investors. 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).
10. International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 57
Stephanie Link, CIO at Hightower, said in a recent program on CNBC that she’s buying International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) shares as she believes in the company’s AI story. She praised the company’s latest quarterly results and said the dip in the stock price was a “gift.”
“Arvind (IBM CEO) did deliver on the growth on the turnaround because he had total revenue growth of 18%, earnings growth of 15%, operating margins of 320 basis points, gross margins of 230 basis points, free cash flow grew 9%. Consulting was fine and better than Accenture and I’ve said that I think they’re taking share. I absolutely think that’s the case. Infrastructure helped by mainframe. I know people don’t pay for that as much because it’s a very cyclical business, but still up 12% in infrastructure. It was software that decelerated that people were nervous about. But I look at Red Hat and I look at the double-digit bookings that they have and the fact that it accelerated to 12% growth. I’m not alarmed at all at the software slowing down from 6 to 3 and a half%. I think down 10% was a gift. I think this is going to be much higher a year from now.”
9. Palantir Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:PLTR)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 77
Brent Bracelin, Piper Sandler senior research analyst, said in a CNBC program last month that Palantir is more than just a meme stock. The analyst has a $170 price target on the stock.
“What we’ve learned, let’s say, over the last couple months that we’ve been doing more due diligence on the company is this is more than a meme. This is a real business. When you go to a SAP Sapphire event, see meetings around SAP and and and data bricks and the role that Palantir Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:PLTR) has there and standing room only sessions. When you go to data bricks AI summit and you see standing room only sessions of large enterprises that’s not even their main market, right, their target market is government and so a lot of our due diligence and bullishness is really looking at a longer term picture, how big can this company be, what’s the art of the possible, and if you think of the art of the possible here, two trillion dollar TAMs that they’re going after, government, there’s a massive secular shift from big machines, proprietary software to small machines, drones, AI. We are in the early innings.”
Alger Mid Cap Focus Fund stated the following regarding Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) in its second quarter 2025 investor letter:
Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) is a leading provider of data analytics software designed to integrate and analyze large, complex datasets for government agencies and commercial enterprises globally. Its platforms, such as Gotham and Foundry, enable users to rapidly visualize and interpret critical data to inform high-impact decisions across defense, intelligence, and corporate sectors. The company has benefitted from its ability to consistently expand revenues in both its Government and Commercial segments, driven by growing adoption of AI solutions and increasing government spending on defense and intelligence capabilities. During the quarter, Palantir shares rose significantly supported by strong fiscal first-quarter results featuring 39% year over-year revenue growth, driven by robust increases in U.S. commercial and government contracts. Management also raised full-year revenue guidance, citing increased demand for AI-driven solutions and the positive impact of rising defense expenditures.
8. Gilead Sciences Inc (NASDAQ:GILD)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 79
Rob Sechan from NewEdge Capital Group said in a recent program on CNBC that he’s buying Gilead Sciences Inc (NASDAQ:GILD) and explained his bullish case thesis in the following words:
“It’s up a good bit year to date, up like 28%. Still trades cheap. Very high quality company with a reasonable valuation. I think that change is just further success in that platform in which they’re starting to dominate and so this is a great way to get quality exposure at a reasonable price.”
Gilead Sciences Inc (NASDAQ:GILD) is up 24% so far this year.
Impax US Sustainable Economy Fund stated the following regarding Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:
“Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) (Health Care) the company is owned due to its role in solving evolving heath care challenges through the development of new medical treatments for conditions as chronic diseases are on the rise. The company also has one of the highest systematic ESG scores in the portfolio. Gilead reported better-than-expected quarterly results, largely driven by strong revenue from its HIV franchise. The company also provided an optimistic earnings guidance for the next fiscal year, helping provide defensiveness amid a flurry of volatility.”
7. Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 91
Intel shares are trending after the US government announced that it will buy a 10% stake in the company. Stacy Rasgon from Bernstein said in a program on CNBC last month that Intel’s revenue in the recent reported quarter was decent while its topline guidance was “quite good.” Asked what would be the next potential landmark catalyst for Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC) stock, Rasgon pointed to Intel’s upcoming processes and technologies.
“It really probably is around the next generation processes. And so again, 18A is supposed to be ramping and launching at the end of the year. Again, their margin guidance to me suggests that they’re doing more outsourcing. So we’ll see how that outsourcing versus internal manufacturing goes, but it clearly is the process road of 18A attracting foundry customers. I guess eventually like ramping 14A. There’s been a lot of question of whether or not those processes are viable. I would say at least in the slide deck, I think it’s on page five, they still have the logos for 18A and 18AP and 14A on the page at least. So, at this point, I guess those processes are still there, but investors are really going to want to know how successful those are going to be, like what does that volume look like as it ramps? And then can they attract any customers? Those are probably like the structural proof points above and beyond just is revenue good or is it bad? Because right now we don’t know how sustainable or not sustainable that would be.”
Invesco Growth and Income Fund stated the following regarding Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC): The chipmaker reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results as revenues declined and earnings were below expectations. Management also provided weaker guidance going forward; the stock fell on the news. We sold the position during the quarter.
The chipmaker’s quarterly earnings report was weaker than anticipated as revenues declined and earnings were below expectations. Management also provided weaker guidance going forward. Given that a potential recovery appears to be further in the future than we originally anticipated, we sold the position.”
6. Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 104
Daniel Newman, Futurum CEO, said in a program on CNBC last month that Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk is back in “founder mode,” but there’s a lot of uncertainty among the EV maker’s investors amid his political involvement and tweets. Newman said the company will see a “big fall” in earnings and revenue, but sees “exponential” alpha for the stock if Musk does the “right thing.”
“The valuation is eye-watering. It’s really hard to get behind and it’s so much higher than everything else in the Mag 7. But at the same time, if he’s back, if he’s fully committed, but the investors are so scared of another tweet about the America’s party or him deciding to go on the campaign trail again, and you can see that volatility. So, I’m just kind of looking at them out in their own space. You have to have that appetite for discomfort and uncertainty, but the alpha there, the potential, if he says the right thing, does the right thing, is exponential.”
Tesla’s EV sales are falling all over the world as the company faces challenges from competitors. Even if Elon Musk increases his focus to fix the company’s problems, it would take a lot of effort to come out of the demand crisis. For example, in California, the largest U.S. market for electric vehicle adoption and sales, Tesla sales fell about 12% year over year in 2024, causing its market share to drop from 60.1% in 2023 to 52.5% in 2024. Was it because Californians are buying fewer EVs? No. Californians purchased more than 2 million electric cars during the year, almost double when compared to the past two years.
Macquarie Large Cap Growth Fund stated the following regarding Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:
“At the individual stock level, the greatest contribution was attributable to not owning Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA), and our positions in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE) and Visa Inc. Tesla faced well-publicized headwinds last quarter that may bleed into future periods. This has remained a constant stock of debate among the investment community and is volatile as a result. The business has never met our quality standards and we are happy to sit on the sidelines of this battleground stock.”
5. GE Vernova Inc (NYSE:GEV)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 111
James Demmert from Main Street Research said in a program on Schwab Network last month that GE Vernova is one of the companies that are needed in the AI revolution.
“We are in the early stages of a very real AI tech revolution. We need more AI chips, where Nvidia comes in. Companies like Palantir are using those chips to build these robust platforms. So we want to make sure we’re going in that direction. And let’s all face it, there’s not enough energy to drive all this AI, the EVs, and the crypto. So we need companies like GE Vernova Inc (NYSE:GEV) to help us build the grid.”
Parnassus Growth Equity Fund stated the following regarding GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE:GEV) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:
“GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE:GEV), an energy equipment manufacturer, was impacted by concerns around the durability of AI and semiconductor spending and the durability of AI supply chain power needs.
GE Vernova has exceeded market expectations since its spin-off from General Electric in April 2024. As a global leader in the gas turbine market, it stands to gain from rising power demand, decarbonization and grid modernization. The experienced management team has executed effectively, positioning the company for a multiyear turnaround through organizational simplification, focused product offerings and cost reduction measures.”
4. Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 159
Daniel Newman, Futurum CEO, said in a CNBC program last month that there’s a lot of uncertainty among investors about Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) future amid the company’s lack of progress when it comes to AI. Asked what the biggest risk for Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) is, Newman pointed to the company’s AI strategy:
“The biggest risk is that they truly do not get this pivot to AI correct. They haven’t gotten infrastructure. They don’t have their own, you know, stack in terms of their development. They don’t have a tool. You’ve heard a lot of people come out. I came out six months ago and said to buy Perplexity. And I want to be very clear, Perplexity does not solve all of Apple’s AI wo at all. It’s an intent thing. It’s just showing that Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) wants to build a product right now. You know, you try to use Siri and Siri’s a mess. I think we’ve talked about this before on the show and it wants to take you to OpenAI. What does it say when a company with Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) balance sheets that spent, what, 600 plus billion dollars on buybacks cannot make the investment, cannot lure in the type of researchers and build the kind of technology that has made it the company that it is today? I think it comes with real risk.”
Apple shares are up 6% over the past month. The company made headlines after the latest reports that it has decided to use Google Gemini to power Siri in the next upgrade. Apple’s quarterly results last month sparked new hope among investors. The iPhone maker’s revenue rose 9.6% year over year, with services revenue climbing 13.26% and product sales rising 8.20%. iPhone sales were up 13% year over year, rebounding sharply from 1.91% growth in the prior quarter, while Greater China sales improved to $15.369 billion, a 4.35% increase.
Sands Capital Technology Innovators Fund stated the following regarding Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in its second quarter 2025 investor letter:
“We exited Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) based on several factors that we view as threats to its ability to sustain above-average earnings growth. Technology Innovators initiated a position in Apple in June 2024 based on the view that the combination of Apple’s integrated hardware, voice-activated assistant, and consumer data positioned the business well to deliver artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled personalized assistant capabilities and to collect tolls on the expansion of AI enabled applications that we expected to scale alongside computing power. Since then, we see limited evidence that Apple has effectively leveraged AI to accelerate device replacement cycles or reignite Services growth by enhancing developer-facing AI functionality.
Apple’s execution challenges are paired with demand headwinds in China, margin pressures, and challenges around search monetization. The company’s outward position on privacy and security adds another layer of complexity as we move to a more agentic generative AI paradigm where software executes tasks on behalf of consumers. Altogether, it’s increasingly uncertain how Apple will embrace this next paradigm shift while maintaining its position on privacy, fighting internal bureaucracy, and likely needing another reorganization around its internal AI research and development efforts. Considering these factors, we chose to exit Apple in favor of higher-conviction, duration-growth businesses.”
3. Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 164
Daniel Newman, Futurum CEO, explained in a CNBC program last month why he is bullish on Alphabet stock.
“Now their generative AI stack looks great. They’re building their own infrastructure, their chips, they look really well positioned. And if I’m an investor, I’m looking at the whole situation, I’m saying look, you know, you’re seeing Teslas out, you know, 100 plus, you know, forward. Google actually has all the tech. Waymo, they’ve got YouTube. I mean, and I was going to say YouTube is dominating TV. You see the graphic in the Journal this weekend. Like YouTube is becoming TV. Yeah, same with Netflix. And yet, so here I am using ChatGPT, honestly more like Google than ever before. But it seems like the business not only can absorb that, but have other levers to pull on. Yeah, I really like that they’ve been able to be successful training their own models on their own infrastructure. I love Nvidia. There’s no secret there. But if I’m Google and I want to build a vertically integrated stack, I want to increase my margin. I want to diversify the business and have more control of my longevity. I’m really liking that. And like I said, at the price, even with the recent run-up, there’s just a lot to be optimistic about. So, Alphabet looks to be in really, really good shape. Like on the other side though, you know.”
Sands Capital Technology Innovators Fund stated the following regarding Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in its second quarter 2025 investor letter:
“We sold Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) based on concerns about the future of its internet search business amid the growing adoption of generative AI. While Alphabet has many components necessary to thrive in the world of AI, search queries have begun to decline as consumers increasingly turn to generative AI assistants. Even if the current search share loss is not having a meaningful impact on monetization, competitors are building out functionality that should shift monetization from Alphabet to the primary large language model providers. For this reason, our confidence in Alphabet’s ability to sustain above-average growth has declined and we chose to exit the position.”
2. NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 212
Nancy Tengler from Laffer Tengler said in a program last month that Nvidia valuation is not too high and recommended investors to buy the stock on the dip.
“I guess I would just say that the valuation is not as stretched as everyone would argue. I don’t know that you buy it here. We were adding during the April tariff tantrum. We picked some off at $108 a share. We added to the position while we’ve been trimming Broadcom, which has actually outperformed NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) over the last year. But if you look at fiscal year earnings growth, 2026 is supposed to be 45%, then 33% in 2027, 14% in 2028, and it’s currently trading at a forward PE of 40. So you’re actually paying less than one times on a price-earnings-to-growth basis. So unless you think the growth in this company is done, I don’t think you sell the stock here. I don’t think you necessarily buy more, but on dips you step in and add to the holdings.”
Investors are gearing up for Nvidia’s latest results on Wednesday. In its last reported quarter, Nvidia’s data center computer revenue rose 76% year over year, driven by Blackwell GB200. The company is finding new catalysts for growth. Saudi Arabia’s Humain plans to buy more than 200,000 AI GPUs from Nvidia, potentially generating $15 billion in sales. The UAE reportedly has an agreement for up to 500,000 GPUs. Even without China’s involvement for now, Nvidia said nearly 100 AI factories are under construction. These factories have hyperscalers deploying 1,000 GB200 NVL72 racks weekly, each with 72,000 Blackwell GPUs.
Sands Capital Technology Innovators Fund stated the following regarding NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) in its second quarter 2025 investor letter:
“NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is the market-leading provider of AI technology based on revenue. Its most recent results eased concerns about AI demand and the impact of export restrictions on China. Although the H20 ban created a $10.5 billion revenue headwind in the first half of 2025, demand remains strong. Excluding China, datacenter revenue grew 64 percent year-over-year and is expected to accelerate to 70 percent next quarter. Management also guided for gross margins to rise to the mid-70 percent range from 72 percent. Rack yield concerns were addressed, with major hyperscalers now deploying nearly 72,000 Blackwell GPUs per week. NVIDIA ended the quarter as the strategy’s largest position and remains a high-conviction business at Sands Capital.”
1. Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 328
Steven Dickens from HyperFrame Research said in a recent program on Schwab Network that he is “really bullish” on Amazon’s Cloud business amid new products and announcements. Here is what Dickens likes about the company:
“Some fantastic announcements coming out of Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN). They announced Kiro, which is their agentic IDE experience that puts them up against Windsurf and Cursor. They also announced Agent Core, which is their sort of curated experience for agents, announcements around Transform, some of their foundation models. So, I’m really bullish on where AWS is going in the AI space, but also then you look at the wider Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN). Prime Day 2025 is the biggest Prime Day ever. They’ve got 22% market share in streaming with Prime. They’ve now got somewhere between 220 and 240 million members for Prime membership. So, they’re also launching a satellite internet service with Kiper and just had their third successful launch. So, what I like about this company is just the sheer breadth and diversity of where it’s making its money.”
Cooper Investors Global Equities Fund stated the following regarding Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) in its second quarter 2025 investor letter:
“Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is a dominant, world-class company with powerful secular tailwinds in place including its e-commerce penetration, digital advertising growth, and the transition to the cloud. Amazon reported strong results during the f irst quarter. The company’s stock rebounded during the second quarter.”
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 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. Insider Monkey focuses on uncovering the best investment ideas of hedge funds and insiders. Please subscribe to our free daily e-newsletter to get the latest investment ideas from hedge funds’ investor letters by entering your email address below.
