We recently published a list of 10 Trending AI Stocks to Watch in September. Since Astera Labs Inc (NASDAQ:ALAB) ranks 10th on the list, it deserves a deeper look.
Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research, said while talking to CNBC in a latest program that since 1990, the market on average gains about 18% between the last rate hike and the first rate cut. However, during the 30 days after the first rate cut, the market historically “tread water,” gaining less than “one half of one percent.”
“Most of the action is below surface however, in the sectors, areas where a lot of the leaders be in the defensive areas but I have to add technology in there because investors don’t want to be giving up on the growth,” Stovall said.
Stovall pointed to another important historical data point regarding election years. He said that usually August and September are slow months in the stock market, but during election years the trend shifts to September and October, with markets historically rebounding in November and December once the uncertainty around the election subsides. The analyst recommended investors to position for a post-election rally which he believes buoys growth stocks.
For this article, we chose the top 10 AI stocks currently on investors’ radar following important news, earnings and analyst ratings. With each stock, we have mentioned the number of hedge fund investors. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
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Astera Labs Inc (NASDAQ:ALAB)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 19
Astera Labs Inc (NASDAQ:ALAB) is a connectivity platform company for AI infrastructure. Morgan Stanley recently upgraded the stock to Overweight from Equal-weight amid strong demand for its AI connectivity solutions. The firm believes Astera Labs’ lower prices give it an edge in the market.
“Following the recent pullback on GB200 content concerns, the stock is trading +50% below post-IPO peaks, and we now see a compelling entry point,” said Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore, in a note. “We continue to believe that their growth trajectory is strong, and trust the management team’s ability to execute.
Astera Labs Inc (NASDAQ:ALAB) Intelligent Connectivity Platform is a high-speed, mixed-signal suite that includes complementary software. These solutions are for hyperscalers, which need robust and fast connectivity to support increasing compute power demands.
Astera Labs Inc (NASDAQ:ALAB) has quickly become a favored partner for many original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and hyperscalers, with numerous design wins. Customers appreciate the company’s efficient connectivity, fast deployment, and real-time monitoring capabilities.
Astera Labs Inc (NASDAQ:ALAB) has experienced rapid growth, with revenue rising 45% from $80 million in 2022 to $116 million in 2023. At the same time, operating losses were reduced by more than half to $30 million.
Baron Discovery Fund stated the following regarding Astera Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALAB) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:
“AI models are rapidly moving from objects of curiosity to levels of functionality that just a couple of years ago were believed to exist only in the realm of science fiction. We obviously do not invest in large-cap companies that produce AI hardware, which is where significant market attention is focused right now. Yet we continue to look for exciting small-cap ideas in AI hardware. For example, we owned a small-cap AI-oriented semiconductor company in the second quarter called Astera Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALAB). Astera Labs manufactures analog semiconductors that facilitate improved communications within a motherboard (for example between graphics processing units like what NVIDIA makes and central processing units which are made by companies like Intel), and between servers. We bought shares when the company went public, but due to the incredible hype surrounding hardware-based AI companies, the stock quickly doubled and exceeded what we believed was a reasonable long-term valuation (particularly given new competitive offerings on the horizon). Therefore, we sold our investment but continue to monitor its valuation closely for a potential re-entry point.”
Overall, Astera Labs Inc (NASDAQ:ALAB) ranks 10th on Insider Monkey’s list titled 10 Trending AI Stocks to Watch in September. While we acknowledge the potential of Astera Labs Inc (NASDAQ:ALAB), our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than ALAB but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.