Billionaire David Tepper Just Bought These 2 AI Stocks That Wall Street Thinks Could Soar by 50% or More

 Billionaire David Tepper Just Bought These 2 AI Stocks That Wall Street Thinks Could Soar by 50% or More

When David Tepper moves, Wall Street pays attention. The founder of Appaloosa Management, who oversees more than **$7.7 billion** in assets, has a reputation for making bold, contrarian bets that often pay off handsomely. His fund posted a **32% return** in the first half of 2026, and his latest 13F filing reveals a major reshuffling of his AI portfolio.

While most of the investing world was chasing the same red-hot AI stocks, Tepper was quietly **selling the winners and buying the next wave of AI infrastructure**. He completely exited SanDisk — a stock that had rallied more than **3,000%** over the trailing year — and slashed his Micron stake by 41%.

So where did he put that money? Two new positions stand out: **CoreWeave (CRWV)** and **Broadcom (AVGO)**. And Wall Street analysts think both could soar by **50% or more** from current levels.

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## Stock #1: CoreWeave (CRWV) — The AI Cloud Infrastructure Play

### What Tepper Did

In the second quarter of 2026, Tepper initiated a new position in **CoreWeave worth approximately $107.3 million**. This wasn't a small bet — it represented a strategic expansion of his AI portfolio beyond chip designers into the companies that actually **run the infrastructure** powering the AI revolution.

### What CoreWeave Does

CoreWeave is one of the largest providers of **GPU cloud infrastructure** for AI workloads. Think of it as the "plumbing" of the AI economy. While companies like Nvidia design the chips, CoreWeave operates the massive data centers packed with those chips, renting them out to AI developers who need serious computing power to train and run their models.

The company runs a full-stack AI cloud platform with Nvidia GPU clusters for training and deploying AI models globally. As enterprises move from AI experiments to **production-scale deployments**, the demand for this kind of infrastructure is exploding.

### Why Tepper Bought It

Tepper's move into CoreWeave signals a broader thesis: **the AI trade is evolving**. The first wave was about chipmakers. The next wave is about the companies that actually **use** those chips to deliver AI services at scale. CoreWeave sits at the center of that transition.

The 13F filing shows Tepper consolidating his portfolio from 31 positions down to just 27, while the total value grew from **$5.9 billion to roughly $7.7 billion**. He's betting big on a concentrated group of AI infrastructure leaders, and CoreWeave is now part of that inner circle.

### What Wall Street Thinks

The numbers are eye-popping. According to **38 analysts polled by S&P Global**, CoreWeave has a consensus "Buy" rating with an average price target of **$144.46** — implying **61.66% upside** from current levels.

Truist Securities is even more bullish. Analyst Arvind Ramnani raised his price target to **$165** from $155, implying nearly **88% upside**. He expects CoreWeave's pricing power to translate into expanding margins in the second half of 2026.

Goldman Sachs also weighed in, maintaining a Neutral rating but raising its price target to **$139** from $121, representing about **53% upside**.

| Metric | Value |

|--------|-------|

| **Consensus Rating** | Buy |

| **Average Price Target** | $144.46 |

| **Implied Upside** | ~62% |

| **Street-High Target (Truist)** | $165 |

| **Implied Upside (Truist)** | ~88% |

### The Risks

CoreWeave is not without risk. The company carries significant debt, and its business model depends on continued demand for AI compute capacity. If the AI spending boom slows or if major customers build their own infrastructure, CoreWeave's growth could stall. Additionally, the stock has been volatile — it's up 23% in 2026, but that's modest compared to some of the more explosive AI names.

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## Stock #2: Broadcom (AVGO) — The Custom AI Chip and Networking Giant

### What Tepper Did

Tepper established a new position of **150,000 Broadcom shares**, worth approximately **$56.7 million** as of June 30. While this is smaller than his CoreWeave stake, it represents a **clear strategic shift** away from memory chip price cycles and toward custom AI accelerators and high-speed networking.

### What Broadcom Does

Broadcom is the **leading supplier of high-speed networking chips and custom AI accelerators**. While Nvidia gets the headlines for its GPUs, Broadcom provides the **"glue"** that makes AI infrastructure work: the chips that connect thousands of GPUs together, the networking equipment that moves data between servers, and the custom silicon that hyperscalers like Google and Meta design for their specific AI workloads.

The company reported **$10.8 billion in AI semiconductor sales** for its fiscal second quarter, up **143% year-over-year**, and guided for **$16 billion** in the following quarter — an increase of more than **200%**.

### Why Tepper Bought It

Tepper's move into Broadcom is a **hedge against the memory chip cycle**. He sold SanDisk and trimmed Micron precisely because their profits were driven by rising memory prices — a dynamic that historically leads to oversupply and price crashes.

Broadcom represents a different kind of AI investment. Its products are **custom-designed** for specific customers, with long-term contracts and sticky relationships that are less vulnerable to commodity price swings. As Tepper's filing shows, he's rotating away from "boom-and-bust" memory plays and toward companies with **more durable AI revenue models**.

### What Wall Street Thinks

Broadcom is rated a **Strong Buy** with an expected **50% upside** to a **$587 fair value**, driven by its leadership in AI semiconductor and software markets.

Cantor Fitzgerald analyst C.J. Muse has the Street-high price target of **$525**, implying upside of **over 50%**. Another analyst at Seeking Alpha initiated coverage with a Strong Buy and a **$588 price target**, citing AI infrastructure demand.

The median analyst price target of **$472.50** also implies roughly **50% upside** from current levels. The average target of **$462.30** suggests about **33% upside**.

| Metric | Value |

|--------|-------|

| **Consensus Rating** | Strong Buy |

| **Street-High Target** | $588 |

| **Implied Upside (Street-High)** | ~50%+ |

| **Median Target** | $472.50 |

| **Implied Upside (Median)** | ~50% |

### The Risks

Broadcom faces intense competition in the custom chip space. Nvidia, AMD, and even some of Broadcom's own customers — like Google and Amazon — are designing their own AI chips. If these hyperscalers bring more of their silicon design in-house, Broadcom could lose market share. Additionally, the company's valuation has run up significantly, and any slowdown in AI spending could pressure the stock.

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## The Bigger Picture: Tepper's AI Evolution

Tepper's portfolio moves tell a compelling story about where the AI trade is heading.

**What he sold:**

- SanDisk (entire position) — too reliant on memory price cycles

- Micron (41% reduction) — taking profits after a massive run

- Microsoft (entire position) — rotating out of legacy tech

**What he bought:**

- CoreWeave — AI cloud infrastructure

- Broadcom — custom AI chips and networking

- Added to Amazon, Nvidia, TSMC, Alphabet, and Meta

The message is clear: **Tepper remains aggressively bullish on AI, but he's rotating from the "commodity" layer of the AI stack to the "infrastructure" layer**. Memory chips are cyclical. AI cloud platforms and custom silicon providers have more durable, recurring revenue models.

His top holdings as of June 30 tell the story:

| Holding | Value |

|---------|-------|

| **Amazon** | $1.19 billion |

| **Micron** | $1.13 billion |

| **TSMC** | $788 million |

| **Alphabet** | $654 million |

| **Meta** | $380 million |

| **Nvidia** | $305 million |

CoreWeave and Broadcom are smaller positions today, but they represent **where Tepper sees the next wave of AI growth**.

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## What This Means for Investors

### The AI Trade Is Maturing

The days of "buy any stock with AI in the name" are over. Tepper's moves show that the smart money is now **differentiating** within the AI sector. Memory chip makers had their moment, but the cycle is turning. The next phase belongs to companies that provide the **infrastructure** for AI — the cloud platforms, the custom silicon, the networking equipment.

### Follow the Infrastructure

If Tepper is right, the biggest winners in the next phase of the AI boom won't be the chipmakers everyone already knows. They'll be the companies that enable those chips to work together at scale. CoreWeave and Broadcom are two of the most important players in that ecosystem.

### Valuation Matters

Tepper sold SanDisk **despite** its extraordinary earnings — $8.97 billion in revenue, up 372% year-over-year, with 84.6% gross margins. Why? Because he recognized that price-driven profits are unsustainable in a cyclical industry. The lesson: even great numbers aren't enough if the business model is vulnerable to the next downturn.

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## Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

### 1. Who is David Tepper?

David Tepper is the billionaire founder of Appaloosa Management, a hedge fund that manages over $7.7 billion in assets. He's known for making bold, contrarian bets and has a long track record of outperforming the market.

### 2. Why did Tepper sell SanDisk and Micron?

Tepper sold SanDisk entirely and reduced Micron by 41% because he believes the memory chip cycle is turning. Both companies' profits have been driven by rising prices — a dynamic that historically leads to oversupply and price crashes.

### 3. What is CoreWeave and why did Tepper buy it?

CoreWeave is a GPU cloud infrastructure provider that rents out AI computing power. Tepper bought it because he believes the AI trade is evolving from chipmakers to the companies that actually run the infrastructure.

### 4. What is Broadcom and why did Tepper buy it?

Broadcom is the leading supplier of high-speed networking chips and custom AI accelerators. Tepper bought it because it represents a more durable AI investment than memory chips, with custom designs and long-term contracts.

### 5. What do analysts say about CoreWeave?

CoreWeave has a consensus "Buy" rating with an average price target of $144.46, implying about 62% upside. Truist Securities has a $165 target, implying nearly 88% upside.

### 6. What do analysts say about Broadcom?

Broadcom is rated a Strong Buy with a street-high price target of $588, implying over 50% upside. The median target of $472.50 also suggests about 50% upside.

### 7. Does Tepper still like AI stocks?

Yes. Tepper remains overwhelmingly bullish on AI. Over three-quarters of his portfolio is tied to AI stocks. His top holdings include Amazon, Micron, TSMC, Alphabet, Meta, and Nvidia. He's just rotating within the sector.

### 8. Should I buy CoreWeave and Broadcom?

This article does not constitute investment advice. Both stocks have significant upside potential according to Wall Street analysts, but they also carry risks. CoreWeave is highly leveraged and dependent on continued AI demand. Broadcom faces competition from hyperscalers designing their own chips. Always do your own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor.

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## The Bottom Line

David Tepper's latest portfolio moves offer a rare window into how one of Wall Street's smartest investors is positioning for the next phase of the AI boom. He's not abandoning AI — far from it. He's just rotating from the **commodity layer** to the **infrastructure layer**.

CoreWeave and Broadcom represent that shift. One provides the cloud infrastructure that powers AI workloads. The other provides the custom silicon and networking that makes AI infrastructure work. Both are bets on the **durability** of AI demand, not the volatility of memory prices.

Wall Street sees **50% to 88% upside** in these names. Tepper put his money where his mouth is. Whether you follow his lead is up to you — but understanding *why* he made these moves is the first step to making smarter AI investments of your own.

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## Disclaimer

*This article is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. All views expressed are based on publicly available information as of September 8, 2026. David Tepper's holdings are based on 13F filings as of June 30, 2026, and may have changed since then. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Before making any investment decisions, please consult with qualified professionals who can evaluate your specific situation.*