It seems like you can’t get very far these days without hearing or seeing the word AI. Artificial Intelligence, or AI, has seen explosive growth as of late. Its evolution has currently brought up many concerns about its speed of expansion and the potential elimination of much of the world’s labor force. Although many have called it the AI bubble for stocks, there is good reason to believe that this technology will truly change the world forever.
Many of the world’s smartest minds have called AI the next big technology and a moment akin to the introduction of the internet. So as investors, how can we take advantage of this technological revolution? Hey, we might all be doomed anyway once the machine uprising takes place. Until then, here are three AI stocks to own in every growth portfolio.
Tesla (TSLA)
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is an American multinational electric vehicle maker and energy company. TSLA is easily one of the most polarizing stocks on the market. This is evident in the wide range of analyst price targets which range from $24.00 to $320.00 per share. The average price target is $190.34, about 15% higher than the current price.
If you believe that Tesla is a tech company, then you will be excited by its AI prospects. Tesla is preparing to release its Optimius humanoid robot sometime around 2026. The company also continues to release new versions of its FSD technology for self-driving cars. Finally, CEO Elon Musk announced that its robo-taxis will be unveiled later this year in August. Tesla could be an AI leader when all is said and done.
Tesla often gets criticized for its high price multiples. Even after losing 33% in 2024, the stock still trades at 54x forward earnings. Nonetheless, on a brighter note, TSLA is now trading at just below six times its sales. If you’re bullish, you’ll like that Tesla is trading at close to its cheapest valuations ever, even without the realization of its AI products yet.
Microsoft (MSFT)
After overtaking Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) earlier this year, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) now sits as the largest company in the world by market capitalization. Yet, even after hitting a market cap of nearly $3.2 trillion, the stock is still trading relatively fairly compared to its analyst high price target of about $507.
Early on in the AI race, Microsoft made the biggest splash by taking a 10% stake in GPT creator OpenAI. This stake can be as high as 49% depending on how OpenAI performs. Microsoft was quick to integrate OpenAI capabilities into many of Microsoft’s products and services. With more than 72% of the world’s computers using Windows, Microsoft has taken a clear lead in the AI software sector.
Compared to other Magnificient 7 stocks, Microsoft trades at quite a premium. MSFT currently trades at nearly 32x forward earnings and nearly 14x sales. Given how wide of a moat Microsoft has and how large its market share of operating systems is, these premiums shouldn’t bother any Microsoft bulls who hold the stock for the long term.
Lemonade (LMND)
Lemonade (NYSE:LMND) is an American insurance technology company that was founded in 2015. Its average price target sits at $19.25, about 14% higher than the current price.
This innovative company caught on during the pandemic when in-person services were widely reduced. Lemonade allowed customers to shop around and apply for insurance applicable to renters, homeowners, pets, auto and life. The company processes more than half its insurance claims by using AI via complex algorithms. By keeping much of the manual labor and human emotion out of the process, Lemonade’s AI advancements have allowed it to offer cheaper rates and a higher approval rate.
While Lemonade is not yet a profitable company, it has consistently grown its revenue. Over the past five years, revenue has grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 50%. Even still, the stock only trades at 2.7x sales which likely means the stock price has some catching up to do if revenue continues to grow at its recent pace.
On the date of publication, Ian Hartana and Vayun Chugh 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.