Recently we took a detailed look at the Top 10 Trending Stocks and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was one of the stocks that were highlighted in that article.

The volatile tariff policies of the new US administration and a slowdown in AI-related enthusiasm took a toll on the market over the past few weeks. However, some analysts believe a rebound is due.

Fundstrat’s Tom Lee said in a latest program on CNBC that he believes the US stock market will begin to recover starting April 2. Here is how Lee explained the reasons behind his positive outlook:

"When markets fall this quickly from a 52-week high, just remember less than a month ago we were at all-time highs. That is a market pricing in a crisis. I'd say almost 50% pricing in a recession, and we're assuming there's no Fed put now. The Fed is in a position to cut rates that really should mitigate the downside. I do think two other things that investors have to keep in mind, because many people just want to get out until April 2nd, is number one, I do think there's a very high probability that a tariff solution happens before the next three weeks happens. It's simple to see because China, Europe, Canada, Mexico since April 18th—all of those countries have outperformed the US. I don't think that markets are that blind to say if Canada and Mexico are about to have a recession, they should outperform the US. The second thing people should keep in mind is that when you have a global crisis brewing—and we highlighted like the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis—that was a 12-day crisis, but the markets bottomed seven days into the crisis, five days before that crisis ended, the market had already recovered two-thirds of the losses."

READ ALSO: 7 Best Stocks to Buy For Long-Term and 8 Cheap Jim Cramer Stocks to Invest In

For this article, we picked 10 stocks notable Wall Street analysts were discussing recently. With each stock we have mentioned its latest hedge fund sentiment. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).

An Apple store displaying the latest in consumer electronics, from smartphones to wearables.

3. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Number of Hedge Funds Investors: 158

In December, Dan Niles of Niles Investment Management said in a program on Schwab Network that he wasn’t much bullish on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) amid a slow progress on AI features.

“Apple's sort of caught up in that. I think, relative to three months ago, the data, if you actually take a look at it, has been somewhat disappointing. The rollout has been much slower. In other words, you're going to get another update to Apple Intelligence, which is their AI features, in December, but you won’t see a rollout in Europe until next year, hopefully in Q1. In China, we still don’t know when they’re going to roll out AI features. So, with the stock now having a multiple in the low 30s PE range, and by the way, the S&P is about 22 times, it's looking pretty expensive. For me, Apple is not one that I would really be that bullish on right here. It’s just going up with the tape, but I think as we get closer to them having to report and guide, you may have an issue.”

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares are down about 12% so far this year.

Tsai Capital stated the following regarding Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:

“We initiated our investment in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in 2016 and elevated it to a core holding in 2018, the same year the company introduced its redesigned 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pro models. Under Tim Cook’s visionary leadership, Apple has consistently redefined innovation in hardware and software.

The September 2024 launch of the iPhone 16, with its groundbreaking AI capabilities, including enhanced image generation tools, marks another inflection point. We believe this transformative device is the foundation for an AI-driven supercycle and could entice approximately 100 million consumers to upgrade, reinforcing Apple’s leadership in the industry.

Today, Apple’s ecosystem spans over two billion active devices, supported by a rapidly-growing base of subscription services. This strategy has helped to turbocharge customer engagement and spending. In the most recent fiscal year, which ended in September 2024, Apple’s high-margin services division accounted for 39.3% of total gross profits, up from 32.8% just two years ago.

Apple’s financial footing remains exceptional, with approximately $50 billion in net cash and marketable securities. Looking ahead, we expect earnings-per-share growth to outpace revenue growth, driven by margin expansion and continued share buybacks.”

AAPL ranks 3rd among our list of the top 10 trending stocks. While we acknowledge the potential of AAPL, our conviction lies in the belief that under the radar AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than AAPL but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.

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