Palantir Technologies has been one of the most dynamic -- and controversial -- stocks in the market for the last couple of years. Palantir's extraordinary run includes a 2,130% gain over the last three years. Had you invested $10,000 into Palantir stock then, you'd be sitting on a nest egg of $223,000 (at the time of this writing).
While the data mining company's growth is impressive and it has its bulls -- including me -- the stock's valuation is admittedly out of hand. Palantir stock has a trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of an eyewatering 623, and a forward P/E of 217. The price-to-sales (P/S) ratio is hard to stomach as well, coming in at 137.
I'm a believer in the Palantir growth story, and I've long said that the market doesn't yet recognize the stock's true potential. But Palantir's not for everyone. If you're looking for some outstanding artificial intelligence (AI) stocks that don't carry the baggage that Palantir sports, here are two to consider right now.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. Advanced Micro Devices
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD -7.78%) is seen as second fiddle to the biggest chipmaker in the bunch, Nvidia. But it's quietly having a better year. AMD stock is up 90% so far this year, compared to Nvidia's 43% gain.
A huge percentage of that gain has been this month, after AMD and OpenAI announced a deal that would see the maker of ChatGPT purchase 6 gigawatts of AMD's Instinct MI450 graphics processing units (GPUs) to power several generations of OpenAI infrastructure. AMD issued a warrant that allows OpenAI to buy up to 160 million shares of stock, which could mean a 10% stake in the company.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, who is one of the most well-known analysts covering the AI and tech space, called the deal a "huge vote of confidence" for AMD.
"With a 10% stake in AMD, this quickly brings ... [AMD CEO] Lisa Su and AMD right into the core of the AI chip spending cycle and is a huge vote of confidence from OpenAI and ... [OpenAI CEO Sam] Altman. Any lingering fears around AMD should now be thrown out the window," he wrote in a social media post. "Major validation moment for AMD."
He's right. OpenAI is a huge player in the AI space, and its partnership with AMD is an endorsement of the company's GPUs. Even though Nvidia has the lion's share of the market, AMD now has an opportunity. And it's cheap, compared to Palantir, with a trailing P/E of 101 and a forward P/E of 28.5.
2. CoreWeave
However, GPUs are only half the story. Companies also need the horsepower to run AI applications, delivered at scale. And that's where CoreWeave (CRWV -3.32%) comes in.
CoreWeave is a cloud computing company that rents its Nvidia-supplied GPUs and cloud infrastructure to companies and developers who are working on AI and machine learning projects. Microsoft has been CoreWeave's biggest client, accounting for 62% of its revenue in 2024. Nvidia is also a key partner, holding 24.3 million shares, and CoreWeave also has $22.4 billion in deals with OpenAI.
The fast-growing company has 33 data centers across the country, with a revenue backlog of $30.1 billion, up 86% from a year ago. The company's revenue in the second quarter was $1.21 billion, up from $395.3 million a year ago. "We are scaling rapidly as we look to meet the unprecedented demand for AI," CEO Michael Intrator said.
CoreWeave isn't making a profit yet, but the company's growth is impressive. The stock is up 250% so far this year, and its forward price-to-sales ratio of 13 is much more palatable than Palantir's 104.4.
The bottom line
I still like Palantir and am holding my position. But not every AI stock investor is OK with a nosebleed premium, so AMD and CoreWeave are compelling alternatives. AMD has been validated as a key AI player, and CoreWeave is building infrastructure and making high-quality AI capacity widely available. Together, they are a great way to invest in AI.
