Getting ahead in the investment game can be based on various strategies, one being to study the moves of the top-performing money managers. And you could do a lot worse than taking a leaf out of Coatue founder Philippe Laffont’s playbook.
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With a net worth of ~$6.5 billion, Laffont has built his reputation on identifying transformational technologies early. After starting out as a management consultant and then cutting his teeth at Tiger Management in 1996, he launched Coatue in 1999. Today, the firm oversees roughly $55 billion in assets, with a focus on spotting breakthrough innovations and backing the leaders that drive them forward. Right now, that clearly means artificial intelligence.
And unlike some on Wall Street who are beginning to sound the alarm on a potential AI bubble, Laffont is leaning into the opportunity. He argues we’re only in the opening stages of what he calls the “AI supercycle,” which began just three years ago. As he explained in a recent interview, every decade brings a defining technological shift – from personal computers to mobile internet to cloud computing – and AI is the next in line. “Fundamentally,” he said, “as a tech investor, you look for these big waves. We’re pretty excited about AI.”
Backing those words with capital, Laffont has been aggressively building positions in some of the sector’s most prominent names. His shopping list includes Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), the undisputed heavyweight of AI, and CoreWeave (NASDAQ:CRWV), a newer player quickly making waves in the space. Let’s take a closer look
Nvidia
In a recent discussion on AI, Laffont posed to CEOs the question, “what are you going to do in the face of AI?” For the billionaire investor, the answer is rather simple: scoop up more shares of the biggest AI name of them all – Nvidia.
During Q2, Laffont bought 2,942,694 NVDA shares, upping his stake by 35%, a purchase that brought his total holdings above the $2 billion threshold. That’s a massive bet, but Laffont is hardly alone. A growing wave of investors has been leaning into the AI opportunity afforded by Nvidia, one that has made the Jensen Huang-led chipmaker the world’s most valuable company.
Long before AI became a household acronym, the company was already a force in the GPU space, best known for dominating the gaming industry. But crucially, Nvidia realized its GPUs were perfectly suited for far more than gaming. Their ability to handle complex computations made them the hardware of choice for tech giants building large-scale data centers. That pivot set the stage for Nvidia’s total domination of the AI chip market, where it now controls more than 80%.
That dominance has resulted in a series of epic quarterly results, a trend that has continued this year even in the face of headwinds such as the temporary ban on sales of AI chips to China. In its fiscal first quarter (April quarter), Nvidia reported revenue of $44.1 billion, up 69.2% year-over-year and $700 million ahead of consensus. The Data Center division – home to its AI chips – pulled in $39.1 billion, marking a 10% sequential gain and a 73% annual jump. At the bottom line, adjusted EPS came in at $0.81, topping expectations by $0.06.
Now, all eyes are on the company’s upcoming FQ2 results this Wednesday (Aug 27). Evercore’s Mark Lipacis, an analyst ranked amongst the top 1% of Street stock experts, believes the momentum is intact.
“We think the set-up for NVDA on a sentiment and demand basis is positive, Street estimates are too low, and at current valuation, the risk/reward ratio is positive,” the 5-star analyst said. “NVDA remains our top pick, we are buyers in front of its July-Q earnings call… On a relative basis, NVDA is trading at 25% discount to its 9-yr median (vs S&P 500). We forecast NVDA’s YY revenue growth to bottom in the July-25Q, which we think will attract momentum investors and put an upward bias on NVDA’s P/E multiple.”
Conveying his confidence, Lipacis rates NVDA shares as Outperform (i.e., Buy), while his $214 price target factors in a one-year gain of 19%. (To watch Lipacis’ track record, click here)
That’s hardly a controversial take on Wall Street. 35 other analysts join Lipacis in the NVDA bull camp, overpowering 3 Holds and 1 Sell. At $199.81, the average price target makes room for 12-month returns of 11%. (See NVDA stock forecast)
CoreWeave
From the undisputed AI leader to a rather smaller name, one that has nonetheless been turning heads recently. CoreWeave was founded in 2017 in New Jersey (originally as Atlantic Crypto), getting its start as a GPU-based cryptocurrency miner. However, it soon pivoted to serving the AI and high-performance computing markets.
Today, it is a leading AI infrastructure provider, offering GPU-optimized cloud services that are reportedly up to 35× faster and 80% less expensive than legacy cloud providers. With a data-center footprint across the U.S. and Europe, CoreWeave has attracted major clients like Microsoft, OpenAI, Meta, IBM, and, as well as strategic investment from Nvidia.
The company is new to the public markets. This past March, CoreWeave launched its IPO, pricing 37.5 million Class A shares at $40 each, raising about $1.5 billion and listing on the Nasdaq. Although the IPO was priced below expectations, the stock has delivered impressive returns and is up by 130% since the IPO.
That surge has not gone unnoticed by Laffont, who in Q2 boosted his CoreWeave holdings by 3,394,574 shares, bringing his total stake to nearly 17.8 million shares worth ~$1.64 billion.
However, the shares were on the backfoot recently following the release of the company’s Q2’s results, which were something of a mixed affair. On the one hand, revenue climbed by an impressive 210% year-over-year, reaching $1.21 billion while beating the Street’s forecast by $130 million. Yet, at the other end of the spectrum, EPS of -$0.60 missed analyst expectations by $0.11.
Citi analyst Tyler Radke sees various reasons for investors’ downbeat reaction to the readout, although he believes the stock will soon be riding high again.
“We believe expectations for the print were set a bit higher, with investor groups we spoke with expecting a mid-teens DD beat and more incremental Backlog,” Radke opined. “We note that the Q4 exit rate looks good relative to consensus, and may bode well for increased demand in FY26 as new hyperscaler and F500 customers continue to ramp and more on-demand/spot priced options garner higher price points. Overall, we expect the stock to be volatile in the short term due to more elevated expectations and expiring lockup, but expect weakness to be bought.”
Bottom line, Radke assigns CRWV with a Buy rating, backed by a $160 price target. If met, the figure could yield returns of 73% over the one-year timeframe. (To watch Radke’s track record, click here)
Elsewhere on the Street, CRWV claims an additional 7 Buys, 13 Holds and 2 Sells, for a Moderate Buy consensus rating. At $120.73, the average price target implies the stock will gain ~31% in the months ahead. (See CRWV stock forecast)
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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.