Let’s talk about artificial intelligence. AI is a growing segment of the tech sector, finding uses in almost every industry, especially those featuring autonomous systems. Self-driving cars, industrial robots, call center chatbots, even the smartphones in our pockets – all of them have some connection with AI and machine learning tech. It has already changed the face of the digital world, and its revolution is far from over.
A tech with such a profound and wide-ranging impact will also make itself felt in the stock markets – that much is certain. Companies will move in, to make use of AI or to produce AI, or both, and their actions will open up plenty of opportunities for investors. AI isn’t just an important new tech, it’s also a driver for new investment capital and returns.
Top analysts from investment firm Truist have found a couple of AI stocks that they believe are primed for further growth. According the TipRanks data, these are Strong Buys, with over 40% upside potential for the months ahead. Let’s take a closer look.
Five9 (FIVN)
We’ll start with Five9, a tech company offering AI software on the cloud, tailored for use in the contact center niche. Five9 offers a series of AI-powered cloud software solutions for call centers in a wide range of industries, including telemarketing, financial services, customer service, healthcare, retail, and outsourcing. The company’s AI products include intelligent virtual agents, workflow automation, and interactive voice response, and reporting and analytics. Five9 boasts over 2,000 global enterprise customers, and more than 7 billion interactions annually.
In the last reported quarter, for 4Q21, Five9 reported $173.6 million at the top line, up 36% year-over-year to a company record. On a non-GAAP basis, EPS rose from 34 cents one year ago to the currently reported 42 cents, for a gain of 23%. Looking at the full year, Five9 had over $609 million in total revenues for 2021, again a company record, compared to the $434 reported in 2020. However, for 1Q22, the company said it expects to report non-GAAP profit…
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