There’s plenty of momentum behind the stock market at this time, which makes it an ideal time to consider investing in momentum stocks—no pun intended.

Momentum stocks are shares of companies that are growing at an above-average pace of late and are poised to continue their rally in the short term. With AI tailwinds in place, we can find momentum stocks in abundance, but many of these continue rallying purely on hype. The burgeoning influence of AI has essentially created a scenario where a rising tide lifts all boats. Therefore, it’s imperative to separate the wheat from the chaff and focus on high-quality stocks enjoying strong momentum at this time. Investing in momentum stocks can be risky, but the prospects of outsized gains could tempt any investor at this time.

Momentum Stocks to Buy: Amazon (AMZN)

It’s dumbfounding how Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) has evolved from a humble bookstore into a tech juggernaut. It operates one of the most diversified tech businesses, evolving into a global powerhouse. Consequently, AMZN stock has been an incredible money-spinner, generating roughly a 100% return over the past five years and a mind-boggling 842% in the past decade. Moreover, it posted a robust 78% gain last year on the back of AI tailwinds and its solid operating results. Additionally, its cloud computing arm in Amazon Web Services (AWS) continues to impress with integrating AI features.

Furthermore, last year, Amazon’s belt-tightening efforts were pivotal in its stellar quarterly results. In each of the four quarters last year, its EPS came ahead of analyst estimates by sizeable margins. Moreover, at the end of last year, its net income stood at $30.4 billion, improving from a net loss of $2.7 billion in 2022.

AWS and AI are a match made in heaven. AWS’s generative AI platform, Amazon Bedrock, provides developers the tools to efficiently build, train, and scale generative AI models. Moreover, the company’s investments in AI-powered chips, including Tranium and Inferentia, position it to meet the growing demand for AI computing power.

Microsoft (MSFT)

Shares of tech behemoth Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) have been on a monumental run since it announced its groundbreaking deal with OpenAI early last year. MSFT stock is up 28% in the past six months, gaining more than 50% in 2023.

Following the OpenAI deal, Microsoft has positioned itself as a bellwether in the AI space, cascading the transformative technology across its software stack. AI is key in everything from its Teams teleconference platform to the Office software suite. Consequently, its quarterly results have been off the charts, with it beating top-line estimates by $1.35 billion on average in the past four quarters. Additionally, it has also beaten bottom-line estimates by double-digit margins, with more growth expected in the upcoming quarters. It’s still early in the piece regarding AI, with analyst projections forecasting billions in incremental sales and earnings over the next several years. Therefore, despite its rich valuation, MSFT remains an excellent long-term AI pick with a robust upside.

Netflix (NFLX)

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) shocked the world a couple of years ago, reporting a loss of 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2022. It was the first time in over a decade that the company witnessed a drop in subscribers, raising questions about its long-term outlook. However, Netflix has been its resurgent best since then, with its stock gaining over 80% in value. Its business overhaul did the trick by adding paid advertisements, password-sharing crackdowns, and investments in live sports programming.

Netflix’s most recent earnings report showed a sizeable revenue beat by $120.4 million to $8.83 billion. Moreover, its fourth-quarter report showed a 300-basis-point improvement in operating margins to 21%. More importantly, Netflix ended the quarter adding a hefty 13.1 million new subscribers, crushing estimates calling for nine million additions at best. These stellar results are a testament to the streaming giant’s lasting appeal despite operating in a conducive market for consumer cyclicals.

On the date of publication, Muslim Farooque did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines