Dan Ives, formerly a tech analyst at Wedbush, released his top picks for the technology sector in 2027 on Wednesday, listing NVIDIA (NVDA.US), Microsoft (MSFT.US), Palantir (PLTR.US), Apple (AAPL.US), and CrowdStrike (CRWD.US) as his five major tech favorites.

Ives stated on social media: "Tonight we officially launch coverage of the tech sector. In our view, investors are underestimating the scale and scope of this $4 trillion spending wave over the coming years." He also named Tesla (TSLA.US) as his most favored disruptive technology pick, initiating coverage with an "Outperform" rating, calling it the market's most important AI and robotics platform.

Ives gave all five of his top picks an initial "Outperform" rating. On specific price targets: NVIDIA at $300, which he called "the foundational compute platform of the AI economy"; Apple at $400, with expectations that AI will support device upgrades and services growth; Microsoft at $650; Palantir at $250, as enterprises increasingly deploy AI into business operations; and CrowdStrike at $335, driven by rising cybersecurity demand as companies deploy AI agents.

Year-to-date stock performance: NVIDIA up about 27%, Microsoft up about 12%, Apple up about 23%, Palantir up about 14%, CrowdStrike up nearly 146%, and Tesla down about 14%.

The core of Ives' bullish thesis lies in the persistently strong outlook for AI infrastructure spending. Goldman Sachs estimates that AI-related capital investment could reach $4 trillion to $8 trillion over the next five years. He added: "At this stage of the AI revolution cycle, supply rather than demand is the deciding factor. We believe this AI buildout is still in its early stages and remain firmly bullish on the prospects of tech winners in the years ahead."