Dan Ives named Nvidia, Microsoft, Palantir, Apple, and CrowdStrike as his top 5 tech stock picks. He argued that investors still underestimate a $4 trillion AI spending wave.
The 5 stocks have taken very different paths this year. CrowdStrike has more than doubled since the start of 2026, while Microsoft and Palantir have each gained less than 10%.
Which of Ives’ Top Stock Picks Still Has the Most Room to Run?
Ives, a partner at Yorkville Ives, initiated coverage of nearly 50 tech companies. In an X post, he called the 5 stocks his top tech plays into 2027.
“We believe this is the 3rd inning of a 9-inning game, and the scale of what is now committed is the evidence,” he said.
Nvidia carries a $300 target, about 26% above its Wednesday close of $237.47. The stock has gained 27.33% since the start of the year.
Ives said demand for Nvidia’s chips now extends beyond the largest hyperscalers to sovereign AI programs and enterprises.
Microsoft’s $615 target sits roughly 16% above its Wednesday close of $529.76. Its shares are up 9.54% this year.
Ives highlighted $678 billion in commercial remaining performance obligations (RPO), meaning contracted revenue not yet booked. RPO grew 25% when OpenAI is excluded.
Palantir shows the widest gap to its target. Its $250 target is about 29% above Wednesday’s $194.12 close, after a 9.21% gain in 2026. Apple, up 23.84% this year, completes the list. Ives had previously outlined a $400 target for the stock.
Why Ives Thinks AI Agents Will Grow Security Budgets
Ives’ cybersecurity call centers on agentic AI, software that carries out tasks for businesses and consumers on its own. He argued these agents have widened the attack surface faster than security budgets.
He expects security spending to climb from roughly 5% of IT budgets toward 10% over the next 3 years.
His cybersecurity pick CrowdStrike carries a $335 target, about 26% above Wednesday’s $265.44 close. The stock fell 4.81% that day but remains up 126.50% this year.
Ives added that Anthropic and OpenAI now pitch themselves as cybersecurity players. He said that threatens incumbents but also lifts demand for their products.
“The frontier labs have essentially created a golden age for cybersecurity companies by doing this,” he noted.
Ives expects the gains from AI spending to spread more widely across the economy. He also set targets on 2 lesser-known names.
His $24 target on cloud equipment provider Boost Run sits about 75% above its Wednesday close of $13.75. Serve Robotics, which runs sidewalk delivery robots, carries an $8 target, roughly 72% above its $4.66 close.
Temasek’s investment chief, however, warned on Wednesday that an AI trade unwind is the biggest threat to global markets.
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