Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives is a big champion of game-changing tech and with the AI revolution moving ahead at full steam, the top analyst has now added two AI-flavored names to his AI 30 List. South Korean memory giant SK Hynix (HXSCL) and AI observability specialist Datadog (NASDAQ:DDOG) get the Ives nod of approval, taking the places of Shopify and Alibaba. Ives sees the pair as “core winners in the next phase of this AI Revolution.”
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Outlining the case for SK Hynix, Ives’ recent field checks along with the Q1 earnings season have shown that we are in the midst of an “unprecedented memory super-cycle,” driven by surging AI infrastructure demand for HBM, DRAM, and NAND at levels “never seen before.” As hyperscalers aggressively expand capacity and AI workloads require far more memory than traditional cloud computing, pricing power across memory suppliers has strengthened to its highest level in over a decade, with DRAM and NAND prices expected to move “meaningfully higher” into the second half of 2026.
SK Hynix is a leading global supplier of HBM (high-bandwidth memory) chips used in AI processors and stands out as a key beneficiary of the new paradigm. Ives believes it represents “one of the most important AI plays in the market today as the Street still significantly underestimates the duration and magnitude of this cycle.”
The company is seeking a US listing this year for its American Depositary Receipts (ADRs). It has confidentially filed with the SEC, with analysts believing the offering could raise between $10 billion and $14 billion. Investors can currently get exposure via the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY).
Meanwhile, after months of “SaaSpocalypse” fears that pushed established software companies to depressed valuations, the sector is starting to recover as investors increasingly see the AI revolution as a catalyst rather than a threat to enterprise software. Strong results across the industry, more positive CIO commentary from field checks, and the realization that enterprises still need trusted software providers to implement AI at scale have all driven a notable rotation back into previously out-of-favor names. “Within this software bounce-back,” says the 5-star analyst, “Datadog stands out as a clear 2nd derivative AI play as enterprises will need to monitor, secure, and optimize the AI workloads being deployed at scale across their organizations.” (To watch Ives’ track record, click here)
Datadog gets plenty of love elsewhere on the Street right now. The stock is rated a Strong Buy by the analyst consensus, based on 31 Buys vs. 1 Hold and Sell, each. (See DDOG stock forecast)
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analyst. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.