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The Nasdaq index, renowned for its tech-heavy constituent stocks, bulldozed through a commendable performance in 2023. The year 2024 presents a mirrored trajectory of triumph, with the index scaling approximately 7% in just six weeks – a spectacle resonated by the leading tech stocks. This amplifies the significance and reverence for the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) in the investment terrain.
In retrospect to 2023, where companies merely flaunted their affluence in AI, 2024 exposes the more hawk-eyed investors seeking to unearth the potential of AI in driving profits for these companies.
Despite the discerning lens, a ray of promise radiates from the tapestry of tech stocks. Here, we spotlight three prime contenders that have unfurled robust returns over the last 12 months. Crucially, each brandishes a compelling AI narrative, poised to catapult their shares into ascendancy throughout 2024.
Palantir Technologies (PLTR)
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Palantir (NYSE:PLTR) orchestrated a robust earnings performance at the dawn of February, reflected in a staggering 20% year-over-year revenue upswing and a string of profitable quarters. Beholding an ascension of 40% in 2024 and a staggering 160% over the last 12 months, PLTR hoists its head high, buoyed by its formidable prowess.
Although the technical outlook may portend a plausible retreat, the fundamentals bear a resilient visage. Underpinned by consecutive demonstrations, investors may temper their concerns, for lightning seldom strikes thrice. The keen metamorphosis of Palantir – from a forlorn lack of commercial patrons to the embrace of 20 major partners, including the stalwarts AWS and Google Cloud – bolsters its commercial revenue by a resounding 70% year-over-year, with a further 40% surge projected in 2024.
Notably, this transformation is galvanized by unwavering demand for its AI framework, a demand that will act as an elixir in justifying its bewildering valuation – the final frontier to be conquered by the company.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
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While Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) vies for a spot on the leaderboard, the spotlight veers towards Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) as the avant-garde choice for 2024, rooted in the bedrock of supply and demand. With Nvidia grappling to satiate the ravenous appetite for its AI chips, AMD strategically unleashes its MI100 AI chips, prognosticating sales of $2 billion, a figure promptly shadowed by CEO Lisa Su’s prognostication of $3.5 billion, evoking analysts’ suspicions of its conservatism.
Although hovering near its current consensus price target, AMD warrants unwavering attention. Propped by analysts foreshadowing augmented price targets and fortified market shares, the prospect of AMD breaching a $200 price target by year-end is palpable. Notably, AMD stock has evinced unwavering strength around the $168 echelon since the earning’s revelation.
CrowdStrike (CRWD)
The Battle for Cybersecurity Supremacy
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Cybersecurity remains a hot prospect in the tech market due to its symbiotic relationship with artificial intelligence. On one hand, AI is expanding the arsenal of potential breaches, while on the other, AI is leveraged as an augmented defense feature by companies like CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD). The critical query haunting investors lingers in valuation — is the innovative cybersecurity approach worth its weight in gold? The annual financial numbers paint a rosy picture, orchestrating a compelling narrative of soaring revenue and earnings. Notably, a substantial $3 billion chunk of the revenue is attributed to recurring sources, which is a melody to shareholders’ ears. Nevertheless, with the stock witnessing a meteoric ascent by 180% over the past year and a further 30% surge in 2024, one can’t help but wonder if this rapid growth is already factored into the stock price.
Nevertheless, March 5, 2024, marks the date when the company is slated to disclose its earnings. In the lead-up, market analysts are subtly elevating their price expectations for the cyber powerhouse CRWD.
On the publishing date, Chris Markoch revealed his LONG investment position in PLTR. The views expressed in this piece solely represent the writer’s opinions, subject to the regulations outlined in the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
