Wall Street's chief techno-optimist Dan Ives named two key AI stocks for 2026

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, popular with retail investors and one of the most prominent tech optimists on Wall Street, has named his two key AI bets for 2026. They are Palantir, which develops big data analytics platforms and AI solutions, including for military customers, and CrowdStrike, which specializes in cybersecurity and infrastructure protection using artificial intelligence, writes TipRanks.

Shares of these companies, according to Ives, are able to bring investors a steady yield. Quotes of Palantir at the auction on January 15 added 0.6%, securities CrowdStrike rose by 1.1%.

Ives recommends buying Palantir stock with a $230 target price, suggesting a potential upside of 29% over the next 12 months.

The rally in these securities - up more than 2,400% over the past three years and 171% over 12 months - has raised investor concerns about overvaluation. However, Ives takes an optimistic view. In his view, the key driver remains strong demand for the services the company offers.

"Palantir continues to record unprecedented demand for its AIP Artificial Intelligence Platform for enterprise and government customers (Artificial Intelligence Platform) in both segments. The company offers AI products that solve meaningful problems at the large enterprise level, helping to attract new customers and expand existing contracts," the analyst said.

He believes Palantir has a "golden path" to a capitalization of $1 trillion. That's about 2.3 times its current market value, which is $427 billion. Ives believes the company will be able to justify its high valuation over time as it remains one of the biggest players in the AI revolution.

Wall Street's overall view on Palantir's prospects is more cautious, MarketWatch data shows . 18 of 29 analysts covering the company's securities advise holding them in a portfolio. Palantir also has eight buy recommendations and three sell recommendations. The average target price implies an upside of about 8% over a one-year horizon.

Ives also advises buying CrowdStrike securities, and his target is $600, up 30% from the last closing price. The company's capitalization is up 28% over the past 12 months and 366% over three years.

"CrowdStrike remains one of our favorite technology players. We see deal momentum picking up, with AI acting as an obvious tailwind to growth for the company. It is building both market share and customer recognition, and will continue to expand its product line in the enterprise segment over the next 12-18 months. We believe the market is underestimating CrowdStrike's growth potential, while cybersecurity remains a secondary or tertiary beneficiary of the AI revolution, which explains our optimism," Ives said.

Wall Street is also generally bullish on CrowdStrike, with 35 of the 55 analysts tracking the company's stock recommending a "buy" and 20 recommending a "hold." The average target indicates a potential upside of about 20.6% from the last close.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor