Bill Ackman Stocks: Bill Ackman, a billionaire, has a significant stake of $1.8 billion in this AI stock. Moreover, an impressive number of 38 Wall Street analysts highly recommend purchasing it at this very moment

Bill Ackman Stocks: It can be beneficial to explore stocks that are highly regarded by industry experts. These experts include accomplished investors who have achieved remarkable success and analysts who dedicate a significant amount of time to researching stocks.

A prime example of a tremendously successful investor is Bill Ackman. Through astute maneuvers with his hedge fund, Pershing Square Capital Management, he has amassed a substantial fortune of nearly $4 billion.

Ackman is quite selective when it comes to stocks, and many of his choices are not favored by the financial community on Wall Street. However, there is one notable exception. Ackman currently holds $1.8 billion worth of this particular stock, and it is highly recommended for purchase by 38 Wall Street analysts.

The top pick in Ackman’s portfolio

Ackman’s primary stock holding is Alphabet, the parent company of Google. Unlike many investors who prefer a diversified portfolio, Ackman focuses on a concentrated portfolio and currently owns only eight stocks. Interestingly, two of these stocks are for Alphabet, with one being Alphabet Class A (NASDAQ: GOOGL) shares and the other being Alphabet Class C (NASDAQ: GOOG) shares.

When combined, Ackman’s stake in Alphabet makes it his top holding. The value of Pershing Square Capital Management’s investment in this technology giant is currently slightly above $1.8 billion.

It is worth noting that Ackman’s position in Alphabet is relatively recent. He initiated his investment in early 2023. At the time of his purchase, the stock was facing challenges due to the mishandling of the launch of the generative artificial intelligence (AI) app called Bard. Many investors were concerned that Alphabet was falling behind OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

However, Ackman saw this as an opportunity and believed in the long-term potential of Alphabet. In an interview with CNBC in September 2023, he expressed his confidence in Alphabet’s ability to become a dominant player in the field of AI for many years to come.

There is a significant number of Alphabet enthusiasts among the investors on Wall Street

Wall Street is in consensus with Ackman’s opinion on Alphabet, according to a survey conducted by financial information company LSEG. Out of the 43 analysts covering the stock, thirteen rated it as a strong buy, while another 25 recommended it as a buy.

As for the remaining five analysts, they all suggested holding Alphabet stock and none of them believed it should be sold.

Despite Alphabet’s impressive 58% gain in 2023, many experts on Wall Street are not anticipating a significant surge in its shares this year. The average 12-month price target indicates a modest upside potential of approximately 9%.

Argus analyst Joseph Bonner’s perspective on Alphabet likely resonates with several others on Wall Street. In a recent communication to investors, Bonner stated, “Alphabet remains at minimum competitive if not a leader in the development of generative AI, perhaps the new computing paradigm.” He further expressed Argus’s positive outlook on Alphabet’s underlying businesses and their belief that GOOGL shares are attractively valued.

Is Ackman’s and the analysts’ assessment of Alphabet accurate?

Even the purported experts can make mistakes. However, in this particular instance, I believe that both Ackman and Wall Street analysts are absolutely correct in their assessment of Alphabet.

Undoubtedly, Alphabet stands as one of the frontrunners in the field of AI development. With the imminent launch of Gemini Ultra, I anticipate a significant boost for Google Cloud.

In December 2023, Alphabet unveiled that Gemini Ultra had surpassed the current state-of-the-art AI models, including OpenAI’s GPT-4, in an impressive 30 out of 32 benchmarks. Moreover, this groundbreaking AI model has also achieved a remarkable feat by outperforming human experts in the MMLU (massive multitask language understanding) test, encompassing 57 subjects.

Contrary to any existential threat posed by AI, I firmly believe that Google Search can actually benefit from its integration. A prime example of this is Google’s recent introduction of Circle to Search for Android phones, enabling users to swiftly search for anything with a simple gesture, without the need to switch between applications.

While challenges may arise for the company and its stock, such as antitrust investigations, I am confident that Alphabet will emerge as a major victor in the long run, just as it has proven since its initial public offering (IPO) in 2004.