Many tech stocks are up substantially this year and the overall market sentiment continues to be bullish. The excitement in artificial intelligence companies has spilled into most tech companies that are directly or indirectly linked to AI. This has led to substantial appreciation in the semiconductor and VR companies.
Using this momentum is a great idea, but a better idea is to snap up some tech stocks that haven’t rallied too much this year. Many top stocks are priced for perfection and seeking value elsewhere will likely result in much better gains in the long run.
In light of the recent AI fascination, letting AI pick some tech stocks that it thinks can deliver triple-digit gains this year is an interesting idea. Bard has been promising, consistently outperforming its peers in stock-picking experiments. However, AI is not a crystal ball – I suggest using it only as a tool. That’s why I will include my own opinions about these picks. Let’s start!
Me: “Hi Bard, I am writing an article about “3 Tech Stocks That AI Predicts Will Deliver Triple-Digit Returns in 2023? Can you give me some picks that qualify?”
Lovesac (LOVE)
Bard: “Lovesac (NASDAQ:LOVE) is a furniture company that is known for its modular sofas. The company has a unique business model that allows customers to customize their sofas, and it is also expanding into new areas, such as home decor. AI predicts that LOVE could deliver triple-digit returns in 2023 as the company continues to grow its business.”
Lovesac is a solid pick, but I wouldn’t exactly regard it as a tech stock. Nonetheless, its products are sold through multiple tech-related channels, including showrooms, e-commerce, pop-up shops and third-party retailers. Lovesac’s growth story is very attractive, as it trades almost 71% below its peak.
Analysts believe sales will continue accelerating from 9.15% YOY growth this year to 16.3% through the company’s FY2026. That metric is expected to grow by around 125% from 2.09 in FY2024 to 4.74 in FY2026EPS, making it even more compelling. The forward price-to-earnings ratio is only 12.8 times.
Accordingly, analysts share Bard’s view and have a consensus price target of $62, implying a 132% upside.
Atlassian (TEAM)
Bard: “Atlassian (NASDAQ:TEAM) is a software company that provides a variety of products for software development teams. The company’s products are well-suited for businesses that are developing and deploying software applications.”
Despite remaining at a depressed level, this stock will likely need much more patience before it delivers triple-digit returns. It is a promising stock, trading 65% below its late 2021 price. Analysts believe the company will grow its sales above 20% YOY for the next two years, which would explain the high premium of 91.6 times forward earnings.
However, I would personally rate this a “Hold” at this level. Atlassian also faces some challenges that could hamper its growth prospects, such as a highly competitive market with strong vendors who offer similar solutions. The company’s dependency on the continued adoption of cloud-based services by customers is an additional risk, as the cloud-based market isn’t very well-established.
Cloudflare (NET)
Bard: “Cloudflare (NYSE:NET) is a cloud computing company that provides a variety of services, including content delivery networks (CDNs), cybersecurity and DNS. The company is well-positioned to benefit from the growing demand for cloud computing services.”
Cloudflare, like Atlassian, will need some patience before it doubles and is currently a “Hold”. The cloud-computing market continues to experience numerous tailwinds, particularly in the realm of cybersecurity. Unlike its competitors, who have expanded their sales through the data center business, Cloudflare achieves this growth through cloud-based cybersecurity.
Because small and mid-sized websites can’t set up their own infrastructure, Cloudflare dominates the very promising market and market share.
YOY top-line growth has been falling but remains steady on a linear scale. Even though Analysts believe YOY sales growth will remain stable at 30% through 2025, there are better opportunities in the market that aren’t trading at a massive 189 times forward earnings. Indeed, not all AI picks are winners.
On the date of publication, Omor Ibne Ehsan 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.
