Wall Street research looks to be shifting from endorsing the classic AI trade to AI adopters.
Instead of the chipmakers and hyperscalers in the megacap sectors (XLK) (XLC) (XLY) that are making AI possible, strategists are looking to those companies that benefit from using AI.
Strategist Michael Hartnett said in a note that bond vigilantes are now the “new regulators of AI capex” and they are saying “slow the growth.” So, he likes AI adopters rather than spenders as credit spreads rein in capex.
Rich Privorotsky, head of European One Delta trading at Goldman Sachs, says AI is a “blur.”
He notes that DeepSeek’s (DEEPSEEK) new models are being touted as GPT-5 equivalents at a fraction of the cost — reportedly 25x cheaper than GPT-5 and 30x cheaper than Gemini 3 Pro, though those figures are unverified posts from X.
Leadership shifts almost daily — “Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) one day, Kimi K2 the next, then Anthropic (ANTHRO)” — as TPUs challenge GPUs in a “rolling cycle of creative destruction.” With disruption moving this quickly, he says it’s hard to know where long-term value will settle.
He also says the real winners may be AI adopters, not model builders — a “margin-creep story” that could come partly at labor’s expense, with banks among the potential beneficiaries. Broadly, he sees the gains flowing to corporate margins and likes equal-weight S&P (RSP) and emerging markets (EEM).
The biggest AI adoption sectors include Financials (XLF), Industrials (XLI), Healthcare (XLV) and Retail (XRT). Here are the top 20 stock in those sectors by Quant Rating:
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Nutex Health Inc. (NUTX) – Sector: Health Care Facilities, Quant Rating: 4.99
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GRAIL, Inc. (GRAL) – Sector: Biotechnology, Quant Rating: 4.98
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Ponce Financial Group, Inc. (PDLB) – Sector: Regional Banks, Quant Rating: 4.98
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Indivior PLC (INDV) – Sector: Pharmaceuticals, Quant Rating: 4.98
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Nuvation Bio Inc. (NUVB) – Sector: Pharmaceuticals, Quant Rating: 4.98
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Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FMCC) – Sector: Commercial & Residential Mortgage Finance, Quant Rating: 4.97
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Owlet, Inc. (OWLT) – Sector: Health Care Equipment, Quant Rating: 4.97
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Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) – Sector: Pharmaceuticals, Quant Rating: 4.96
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Nephros, Inc. (NEPH) – Sector: Industrial Machinery & Supplies & Components, Quant Rating: 4.96
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Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) – Sector: Broadline Retail, Quant Rating: 4.95
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Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B) – Sector: Multi-Sector Holdings, Quant Rating: 4.95
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Bank of America Corporation (BAC) – Sector: Diversified Banks, Quant Rating: 4.95
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Fluence Energy, Inc. (FLNC) – Sector: Electrical Components and Equipment, Quant Rating: 4.94
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Apyx Medical Corporation (APYX) – Sector: Health Care Equipment, Quant Rating: 4.94
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Orion Energy Systems, Inc. (OESX) – Sector: Electrical Components and Equipment, Quant Rating: 4.93
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Community Health Systems, Inc. (CYH) – Sector: Health Care Facilities, Quant Rating: 4.93
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Sight Sciences, Inc. (SGHT) – Sector: Health Care Equipment, Quant Rating: 4.93
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Siemens Energy AG (SMNEY) – Sector: Heavy Electrical Equipment, Quant Rating: 4.93
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Guardant Health, Inc. (GH) – Sector: Health Care Services, Quant Rating: 4.92
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Capital One Financial Corporation (COF) – Sector: Consumer Finance, Quant Rating: 4.92