Nvidia stock remains sizzling hot despite a small pullback in recent days. Shares of the graphics processing unit (GPU) maker have skyrocketed more than 200% so far in 2023 and many analysts believe that the high-flying stock still has room to run, with the consensus one-year price target reflecting an upside potential of around 27%.
However, investors can definitely find other intriguing artificial intelligence (AI) opportunities. One AI stock, in particular, has risen nearly as much as Nvidia this year and Wall Street thinks it can soar nearly 70% higher over the next 12 months. That's based on an average estimate from 12 analysts tracked on Yahoo! Finance.
Bringing AI to the warehouse
What is this promising stock? Symbotic (SYM 3.60%). Its shares have jumped more than 175% year to date as of this writing and were up more than 430% at one point.
Symbotic uses its technology to bring AI to the warehouse. The company automates the processing of pallets and cases in distribution centers. It uses AI-enabled fully autonomous mobile robots as well as a full-blown automated warehouse platform that's, at a minimum, the size of a football field.
Supply chain management is becoming increasingly challenging as the number of SKUs (stock-keeping units) continues to explode higher. There's added complexity involved with handling in-store pickups and home delivery and finding and retaining skilled workers can also be difficult. Symbotic's technology addresses all of these issues.
Several major corporations have already jumped aboard. Symbotic's customer base includes Walmart, Target, privately held C&S Wholesale Grocers (the largest U.S. wholesale grocery distributor), and Albertsons (the third-largest supermarket chain in the world based on revenue).
What Wall Street likes
Of the 13 analysts who cover Symbotic that were surveyed by Refinitiv, 11 rate the stock as either a buy or strong buy. None recommend selling. As previously mentioned, the average price target for Symbotic is nearly 70% higher than the share price as of this writing. The most bullish analyst thinks the stock can more than double over the next 12 months.
Why does Wall Street like the AI stock so much? For one thing, Symbotic is targeting a massive market. The company currently focuses on the $144 billion U.S. apparel, general merchandise, and food and grocery market. Including other verticals and geographical regions, its total addressable market tops $430 billion.
But Symbotic's recently announced joint venture with SoftBank expands its addressable market by more than $500 billion. The two companies are working together to offer warehouse-as-a-service systems.
This deal gives Symbotic a contracted backlog of around $23 billion. That's huge for a company on track to generate revenue of around $1.1 billion in its current fiscal year and with a market cap of only $2.6 billion.
A slam-dunk buy?
With all of this in mind, is Symbotic stock worth buying right now? There are a few negatives to keep in mind.
First, Symbotic isn't profitable yet. The company posted a net loss of around $39 million in its latest quarter.
Second, revenue growth has slowed significantly. In Symbotic's fiscal 2023 Q2, which ended in late March, the company reported year-over-year revenue growth of 177%. In the following quarter, revenue increased by less than 17%. Symbotic's guidance for the current quarter projects year-over-year revenue growth of 23%.
The company also has a lot of eggs riding in one basket. In its last fiscal year, Walmart accounted for close to 94% of its total revenue. The giant retailer also makes up a big chunk of Symbotic's backlog.
However, the joint venture with SoftBank could alleviate these concerns going forward. Symbotic isn't a stock for more conservative investors, but aggressive investors looking for a way to profit from AI might want to put this one on their radar screens. It just might outperform Nvidia going forward.
