Analyst Who Predicted Palantir Rally Picks Best AI Software Stocks
Market Volatility Amid Tariff Uncertainty
It has been a challenging week for financial markets, with both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 trending downward. The pervasive uncertainty—particularly tied to former President Donald Trump’s tariff policies—continues to put pressure on the global economy. Despite the current climate, some analysts are focusing on potential long-term opportunities that could yield significant returns.
According to TheStreet’s Silin Chen, the S&P 500 surged nearly 50% in the two years leading up to the 2018 tariffs, suggesting that volatility can sometimes set the stage for promising growth opportunities.
AI Stocks: A Focus for 2025
Even amid short-term market fluctuations, many industry experts remain optimistic about the long-term impact of AI-driven investments. The Q4 2024 earnings season prompted some analysts to reassess their views on leading tech stocks, yet others retained a bullish outlook. One prominent analyst on Wall Street has identified AI software stocks as some of the best investment opportunities for the year 2025.
Palantir and Salesforce: AI Breakout Stocks for 2025
According to Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities, a highly regarded 5-star sell-side analyst, the U.S. market has officially entered its AI software era. His top stock picks to gain exposure to this burgeoning trend include:
In December 2024, Ives highlighted Palantir as a potential standout for 2025, suggesting that Wall Street has consistently underestimated its growth potential. The stock has experienced an impressive surge of over 360% in the past year, driven by increasing enterprise AI spending.
Following a robust Q4 earnings report, Palantir reported:
- 45% growth in government revenue
- 64% growth in U.S. commercial revenue
- Earnings-per-share and revenue exceeding analyst expectations
In the weeks leading up to the report, Ives commended Palantir’s technology and leadership, particularly praising CEO Alex Karp and the company’s Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) as critical drivers of future success. “Palantir has been a major focus during the AI Revolution, with expanding use cases for its marquee products, leading to a larger partner ecosystem and rapidly rising demand for enterprise-scale generative AI,” Ives stated.
The AI Revolution and Agentic AI in 2025
Experts are forecasting that 2025 will be a transformational year for agentic AI—a type of artificial intelligence that can make decisions and act independently. As noted by Barchart, Palantir is strategically positioned to capitalize on this change: “Unlike conventional large language models, Palantir aims to create autonomous systems capable of enhancing human decision-making at scale.”
Additional AI Stocks to Watch in 2025
Beyond Palantir and Salesforce, Ives’ research team emphasizes the broader implications of increasing AI infrastructure spending. Nvidia (NVDA) remains a dominant player, but the economic multiplier effect suggests that for every dollar spent on Nvidia, between $8-$10 is injected into the broader tech ecosystem. Some of Ives’ other AI software stock picks include:
The Bottom Line
With AI enterprise spending projected to significantly reshape the industry, Ives contends that Palantir and Salesforce stand out as the top AI software stocks to buy now. As the market continues to navigate through uncertainty, investors may want to keep a close eye on these tech leaders as potential opportunities for remarkable growth.
