Wedbush Securities has a solid track record with many publicly traded companies it covers. Over the past few months, the investment firm hiked its price target on several intriguing companies, many of which may prove great buys after the recent wave of market volatility.
Of course, investors shouldn’t treat any analyst rating and price targets as gospel. There’s no excuse for not doing homework before purchasing shares of any investment. As a supplement, I think analyst upgrades, downgrades or price target shifts can act as food for thought, especially if an analyst’s view goes against yours. Indeed, some extra perspective can never hurt, especially if you’re looking closely at picking up a sizeable amount of shares in a firm.
Let’s examine three stocks on which Wedbush recently hiked its price target to see if they’re worth keeping on your radar this May.
Palantir (PLTR)
Dan Ives is my favorite analyst over at Wedbush these days. The man was notably bullish on many mega-cap tech titans when they were out of favor around a year ago. Ives is a bull on Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR). He remains upbeat despite the stock’s impressive past-year run, which sent shares up more than 182%. Recently, Ives hiked his price target on PLTR stock to $35 from $30 over the firm’s growth prospects.
Notably, Ives remarked on the company’s AI abilities, going as far as to call the firm a “launching pad of AI use cases” and the “[Lionel] Messi of AI.” For those unfamiliar with soccer, Messi is one of the greatest players of all time. It’s quite a statement to compare PLTR stock to such a great in the realm of AI.
The stock has been turbulent since news of a new U.S. army deal sent Palantir stock to a 52-week high just north of $26 per share. With shares now down 17% from such levels, investors seeking potentially underrated AI upside may have much to love in the name going into May.
Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL)
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG, GOOGL) blew away Wall Street expectations when it clocked in its quarterly earnings numbers last week. Shares rocketed by more than 10% before pulling back over 5% in the following turbulent trading sessions. Indeed, chasing the hot quarter proved a bad idea, at least for now.
A few months ahead of the quarter, Wedbush’s Scott Devitt and Dan Ives were incredibly upbeat GOOGL stock, raising their price target to $175 from $160 per share. More recently, Devitt increased his price target to $205 from $175.
Undoubtedly, the negative impact of AI on Google search was likely priced into shares for quite some time. Though it was tough to gauge the potential cannibalization of generative AI products like Gemini on Google search, Wedbush boldly noted its view that Alphabet would be “a net beneficiary of generative AI.”
With a wonderful quarter in the books and Gemini (Google’s language model) recently rolling into Android operating systems in Canada, I think Wedbush is being proven right. Alphabet is a winner in AI.
Apple (AAPL)
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is one of the coldest mega-cap technology titans in recent years. The stock popped over 2% on a Monday’s Bernstein upgrade, only to give back the day’s gains in the following session. Indeed, AAPL stock can’t seem to hold on to any of its gains this year.
Still, investors may not have to wait too long for a catalyst if Apple is ready to unveil its angle on generative AI in the back half of 2024, something CEO Tim Cook promised earlier this year.
Wedbush’s Dan Ives has been a huge bull (I guess you could call him an Apple perma-bull) for quite a while now. Most notably, he’s a fan of the company’s more than 2 billion installed base. In December, Ives hiked his price target to $250, up from an already high $240. Indeed, the upgrade wasn’t too recent, but it is still notable. It’s stayed elevated amid recent stock price turbulence and growing doubts within the analyst community.
That’s the highest AAPL stock price target I’ve seen yet. While only time will tell if Ives is viewing Apple through rose-colored glasses right here, I wouldn’t bet against AAPL stock as it looks to find its footing after going nowhere in the last two and a half years. I’m inclined to add to my position on further weakness.
On the date of publication, Joey Frenette held shares of Apple and Alphabet (Class C). The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
