AI demand drives analyst upgrades for CRWD, AVGO, ASTS
Wall Street analysts are pointing to artificial intelligence as a catalyst for upgrading CrowdStrike, Broadcom and AST SpaceMobile, arguing their specific market positions offer resilience amid broader market volatility.
Artificial intelligence is driving a wave of targeted analyst upgrades across the technology sector, with Wall Street singling out CrowdStrike, Broadcom and AST SpaceMobile as prime vehicles for long-term growth. Despite macroeconomic volatility and geopolitical tensions, analysts at Stifel, Morgan Stanley and Piper Sandler argue that structural shifts in cybersecurity, custom silicon and satellite connectivity present clear opportunities.
In cybersecurity, AI is simultaneously creating new vulnerabilities and driving demand for advanced defense mechanisms. Following investor meetings in Europe, Stifel analyst Adam Borg raised his price target on CrowdStrike to $230 from $220. Borg noted that AI is lowering the barrier to entry for hackers, forcing enterprises to prioritize platforms like CrowdStrike's Falcon, which recently expanded into Europe via a partnership with Schwarz Digits.
The AI narrative is providing a floor for custom chipmakers despite lagging market sentiment. Morgan Stanley's Joseph Moore reiterated a $502 price target for Broadcom, pushing back against investor fears that MediaTek is eroding its share of Google's tensor processing unit business. "AVGO should retain majority share, sustain strong AI growth, and remain a core compute winner, close behind NVDA," Moore said, expecting Broadcom to hold roughly 80% of the TPU market.
Beyond traditional tech infrastructure, advanced AI applications rely on ubiquitous connectivity. Piper Sandler analyst Alexander Potter initiated coverage of AST SpaceMobile with a $100 price target, favoring it over rocket manufacturers due to its clearer path to EBITDA. Potter highlighted the company's strategy of partnering with major carriers like AT&T, Vodafone and Verizon, giving it access to over 3 billion subscribers for its space-based cellular broadband network.
For market participants, these recommendations underscore a pivot away from broad tech sector bets toward companies with specific, AI-driven use cases. The analysts argue these three firms are positioned to capture durable revenue growth independent of near-term market noise.
