Dan Ives Thinks AI Buildout Still In Early Stages, With NVDA, MSFT, PLTR, AAPL And CRWD As Top AI Picks Shashank Nayar Wed, October 7, 2026 at 3:00 PM EDT 3 min read NVDA -0.74% MSFT +0.09% PLTR +1.07% AAPL +0.91% CRWD -4.81% Explore stocks on Coinbase Trading disclosure Trading disclosure The above button links to Coinbase. Yahoo Finance is not a broker-dealer or investment adviser and does not offer securities or cryptocurrencies for sale or facilitate trading. Coinbase pays us for certain activity generated through this link. Prices displayed are informational.
The AI expansion is moving beyond major cloud providers into enterprise, sovereign AI programs, and specialized infrastructure, entering what Ives describes as the "third inning" of growth.
The rapid expansion of autonomous "agentic AI" is accelerating security risks, which is expected to double corporate cybersecurity budget allocations.
Investment focus centers on key hardware and software leaders like Nvidia, Microsoft, Palantir, Apple, and CrowdStrike, alongside emerging specialized tech firms with significant upside potential.
The global shift toward artificial intelligence is still in its infancy, and market investors continue to underestimate the magnitude of an impending multi-trillion-dollar expenditure cycle, tech industry analyst Dan Ives told CNBC.
Initiating coverage across nearly 50 technology firms, Ives outlined an extremely optimistic outlook for the sector. Ives emphasized that despite geopolitical tensions, macroeconomic headwinds, and ongoing regulatory debates, the market is misjudging the scale of an incoming $4 trillion spending wave.
See what 10M+ investors are talking about. Get the Stocktwits Daily Rip for what retail is watching right now, free to your inbox
"We believe this is the 3rd inning of a 9-inning game, and the scale of what is now committed is the evidence," Ives said in an interview with CNBC, noting that secondary and tertiary market opportunities from AI adoption are only beginning to unfold across the corporate landscape.
Ives identified chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA) and Microsoft (MSFT) as primary infrastructure beneficiaries. He assigned an "outperform" rating and a $300 price target to Nvidia—implying 25% upside—noting that chip demand is rapidly expanding beyond traditional hyperscalers into sovereign AI initiatives, enterprise networks, and specialized cloud developers.
Microsoft received a $615 price target, a 16% gain from Tuesday's closing price. Ives pointed to the firm's expanding commercial remaining performance obligations—which reached $678 billion—as proof of broadening enterprise adoption outside of foundational frontier-model developers.
Ives noted that AI systems expand security vulnerabilities faster than existing corporate IT budgets can address. Consequently, cybersecurity expenditures are projected to double, climbing from approximately 5% of overall enterprise IT spending to 10% within the next three years.
As frontier labs push deeper into security architecture, cybersecurity companies are entering a prolonged growth cycle. Within this segment, Ives highlighted Palantir Technologies (PLTR) with a $250 price target (30% upside) and CrowdStrike (CRWD) with a $335 price target (20% upside).
Beyond mega-cap technology stalwarts and Apple, Ives spotlights smaller, specialized players positioned for significant potential gains.
Cloud hardware vendor Boost Run (BRUN) received a $24 price target, representing an estimated 58% upside following strong quarterly results that show it is converting contract backlogs into top-line scale. Additionally, sidewalk robotics firm Serve Robotics (SERV) was given an $8 target (67% upside), with Ives identifying the company as an early frontrunner in autonomous last-mile delivery services.
Retail sentiment on Stocktwits was 'neutral' with 'normal' message volumes across all three stocks.
NVDA stock has gained 26%, MSFT has risen 9%, and CRWD stock has added 124% year-to-date.
For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.
Shashank Nayar has no position in any of the stocks mentioned in this article. StockTwits' news team content is for informational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. For more, see our editorial policy. This article was originally published on StockTwits.
AMD's Lisa Su Visits South Korea, Reportedly Discusses AI Collaboration With Samsung, SK Hynix
SEDG Stock Slides After Deutsche Bank Tags It A Short-Term Sell
SpaceX Could Help Create 'Millions' Of Jobs, Morgan Stanley Says – Here's What Its Next Chapter Looks Like
