Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) stock has been heating up for July. The top rival of Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) recently announced its intent to acquire Silo AI in an all-cash deal worth around $665 million. The deal beefs up AMD’s enterprise AI business and may help renew enthusiasm for the name after trailing NVDA stock in recent quarters.
Whether such a deal and a new lineup of AI chips can help AMD outpace NVDA for the rest of the year remains to be seen. Either way, AMD has impressive catalysts and has proved it can keep up in the fast-moving world of AI hardware. In any case, AMD stock looks quite rich. It seems priced even more prosperous than its bigger brother, Nvidia.
While AMD’s one-month chart looks more enticing than Nvidia or almost any other AI stock that’s in the process of correcting, I do see better value options elsewhere. And in this piece, we’ll look at three growth stocks that could be better deals than AMD.
Novo Nordisk (NVO)
Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) is the European biotech behind the GLP-1 drug that started it all: Ozempic. Following a recent comparative study that showed Eli Lilly‘s (NASDAQ:LLY) rival drug, Mounjaro had a slight edge over Ozempic for weight loss, questions linger as to whether NVO stock is still the best way to play the rise of weight-loss drugs.
Following the report, NVO stock took a modest hit to the chin. Though discouraging, dip-buyers may wish to punch their ticket if they seek GLP-1 exposure at a slight single-digit percentage discount. Ozempic may no longer be the heavyweight champ (forgive the pun), but it can still pack a punch as demand stays elevated.
Additionally, the company is actively working on a successor to Ozempic. CagriSema is just one intriguing Phase III candidate that could be better than Ozempic and other first-generation GLP-1 drugs.
Of course, only time will tell if it’s a Novo candidate that captures the weight-loss market of the future. In any case, I’d say that Novo is down but certainly not out after the latest study that saw Ozempic fall short.
Palantir (PLTR)
Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR) is a secretive big-data analytics company that could be one of the bigger enterprise software winners of the AI race. After the latest 20% past-month surge, PLTR stock seems to be in breakout mode. Whether the current leg pushes the name to new all-time highs not seen since 2021 remains to be seen.
Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives recently praised PLTR stock alongside some Magnificent Seven companies as tech stocks that could be “standouts” in the second quarter. Undoubtedly, Palantir has already put up a handful of strong quarters. As the company looks to ride even higher on the AI wave, I certainly wouldn’t want to bet against Ives or PLTR stock.
The company’s been winning some notable contracts lately (it won a deal with Voyager Space a few weeks ago) that can help support its impressive growth profile. Should Palantir be able to deliver in Q2, there’s no telling how much higher the AI juggernaut could fly from here.
Vertiv (VRT)
Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) is a data center play that ran into some turbulence in June. Though the negative momentum has slowed, VRT stock is still down more than 16% from its highs. Amid the turbulence, Hedgeye analyst Felix Wang stepped forward with a note referring to VRT stock as a short idea.
Wang highlighted that it was “liquid cooling demand” behind the latest meteoric rise in the stock. Additionally, he viewed sales and backlog expectations as “too high at the moment,”
For a growth stock that’s risen close to 900% in the past two years (even with the recent correction considered), it’s only wise to be cautious, even in the face of profound generational demand in the data center. However, shorting the name could prove dangerous as VRT stock could easily spike higher if the firm can smash past its next quarterly earnings due next week.
On the date of publication, Joey Frenette did not hold (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.
On the date of publication, the responsible editor did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
