5 AI Stocks You May Have Missed

As the world continues its relentless march towards the era of artificial intelligence (AI), the debate around this transformative technology remains as lively as ever.

While a few AI giants are in the spotlight, a whole universe of lesser-known AI companies are quietly making waves in the industry. For investors seeking exposure to this cutting-edge sector, exploring small-cap AI stocks could offer an attractive opportunity, albeit with greater risk.

Here’s a new look at five under-the-radar AI stocks that could pique the interest of savvy investors with a greater appetite for risk in 2024.

BigBear.ai operates at the intersection of artificial intelligence and decision support, targeting the cybersecurity and analytics industries. With an incredible year-to-date growth of 61%, trading at $3.46 per share, this company shows the potential of artificial intelligence in driving real-time decision-making capabilities.

While analysts are bullish on BBAI, with a Moderate Buy rating based on four ratings, the consensus price target calls for over 13 downsides. As the stock has recently experienced significant volatility and upside, short interest has grown significantly. As of February 15, nearly 20% of the float had been sold short, an increase of 6.41% from the previous month.

Guardforce AI, once primarily known for its comprehensive cash solutions and management services in Thailand, has pivoted towards adopting artificial intelligence and robotics. Leveraging its strong foundation in secure logistics, the company aims to improve operational efficiency through innovative AI technologies.

Despite strong volatility, with shares down more than 60% from the previous year, shares are slightly in the green year to date, up 0.6%. Over the past month, the stock has risen nearly 30% as the sector has gained traction.

With a market cap of just $21 million and average volume of 637,747 shares, GFAI stock could continue to experience significant swings and volatility in the months and years ahead.

SoundHound AI, a pioneer in voice recognition technology, has carved out a niche in the market for AI solutions for voice-enabled devices and mobile applications. While the stock boasts an impressive 184% year-to-date gain, sentiment remains relatively bearish, with 12.93% of the float sold short and recent insider selling recorded.

Although the company’s revenues, reported on February 29, increased 80% from the same period a year earlier, earnings slightly missed analysts’ estimates and revenues fell short of consensus estimates.

Analysts remain firm on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus rating and a price target of nearly 4% upside. That’s still an impressive price target, considering the stock has already appreciated 255% over the previous month.

Bullfrog AI is a digital biopharmaceutical company that leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyze medical and healthcare data. With its AI/ML platform, bfLEAP, the company is at the forefront of leveraging technology to revolutionize the healthcare industry.

With a micro-cap of just $27 million and significant short interest of 11%, Bullfrog AI remains an intriguing speculative play, as the stock has an average volume of just 398,802 and a low float of just 1.43 million of shares. Notably, shares of the microcap AI company are up more than 36% year-to-date and just over 25% year-over-year.

C3.ai, perhaps the best-known stock on this list, is a company focused on enterprise AI software solutions. With a suite of offerings spanning predictive maintenance, fraud detection and supply chain optimization, C3.ai caters to various industries.

Although it trades at a significantly larger market capitalization than the others mentioned above, $4.3 billion, C3.ai deserves attention for its robust growth potential and recent substantial directional movement following its earnings report. Compared to the previous year, the stock is up nearly 70% and nearly 25% year-to-date following the latest earnings release.

C3.ai’s latest quarter, which ended Jan. 31, saw sales increase 18% to $78.4 million, marking four consecutive quarters of revenue growth. Government revenue has doubled year on year. Despite continued losses, the company is nearing profitability, with a loss of 13 cents per share in the latest quarter. Analysts expect losses to decline from 69 cents in fiscal 2024 to 34 cents in fiscal 2025.

Before you consider BigBear.ai, you’ll want to hear this.

MarketBeat tracks daily Wall Street’s highest-rated and best-performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients. MarketBeat identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market takes hold… and BigBear.ai wasn’t on the list.

While BigBear.ai currently has a “Moderate Buy” rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.

View the five stocks here