Marjorie Taylor Greene Loves AI Stocks. Here Are 5 She Bought in the First Half of 2024.
It's not only their politicking that draws interest these days. With politicians demonstrating a remarkable ability to outperform the market, investors are increasingly interested in the stock picks of senators and representatives. Take the Peach State representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, for instance, who has been an avid buyer of stocks so far in 2024.
But it's artificial intelligence (AI) stocks in particular that seem to be the focus of Greene's interest in the first half of 2024. In addition to Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD), Greene also picked up shares of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), and Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM).
Greene gained broad exposure to the AI industry
Starting her 2024 stock purchases in April, Greene bought shares of both Qualcomm and Microsoft. Although the exact value of the transactions isn't known, Greene reported in regulatory filings that each transaction was valued between $1,001 and $15,000. Both buys provided Greene with notable -- yet diverse -- exposure to the rapidly burgeoning AI industry.
A leading semiconductor manufacturer, Qualcomm is targeting generative AI applications for mobile devices with its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Mobile platform. In addition, its providing AI functionality to personal computers with its Snapdragon X Elite Platform and automobiles with Snapdragon Digital Chassis. Focused on software, Microsoft's commitment to offering sophisticated AI solutions is demonstrated with Copilot -- an AI tool that is available across Microsoft's suite of products from Word and Excel to Designer, where users can create unique images with DALL-E 3.
The following month, Greene broadened her AI exposure with positions in Apple and Advanced Micro Devices in two transactions that were each valued between $1,001 and $15,000. Making a concerted effort to offer more AI capability, Apple has been working on its own large language model (LLM), dubbed Ajax. In early June, moreover, Apple revealed Apple Intelligence. Available on its various devices, Apple states that Apple Intelligence "combines the power of generative models with personal context to deliver intelligence that's incredibly useful and relevant."
Like Qualcomm, AMD also produces the hardware that's powering AI. In addition to its MI300 accelerators (specialized microprocessors) that are designed for generative AI and large language models, AMD manufactures Ryzen PRO 8000 processors, which the company characterizes as "the first processors with dedicated, on-chip AI accelerators for commercial desktop [personal computers]."
In late June, Greene clicked the "buy" button on cybersecurity specialist CrowdStrike. Powered with AI, CrowdStrike helps clients protect a variety of devices including laptops, mobile devices, and those connected on the Internet of Things. In addition, CrowdStrike has developed a generative AI security tool, Charlotte AI, that integrates with various aspects of the company's Falcon platform.
You may be green with envy over Greene's picks, but that doesn't mean you should buy these AI stocks too
While following politicians' stock picks is a smart strategy, blindly mimicking their buys is foolhardy at best. It's important for individual investors to do their due diligence and evaluate whether the stocks in question are smart choices for them. That being said, Qualcomm, Microsoft, Apple, and AMD are all industry leaders that are trading at premiums to their historical valuations.
Therefore, value investors may want to keep these names on their watch lists instead of rushing to add them to their portfolios. Of course valuation isn't the only factor that investors should consider, so long-term investors may not want to investigate these tickers further before deciding to watch them from the side of the road.
CrowdStrike, however, is in a different boat since it caused a global outage last week. With the sell-off that followed news of the global outage, CrowdStrike's stock is a lot less expensive today, giving back most of its 2024 gains. Inauspicious as the news may be for CrowdStrike, it's critical for investors to remember that this event, in and of itself, doesn't spell doom for the company.
Computer code is complicated, and the flaw that was in the company's update is unfortunate but not an indication that there's something fundamentally wrong with the company. For those with the resolve to weather some near-term volatility, CrowdStrike may be a great addition for investors looking for a leading cybersecurity stock.
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Scott Levine has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Apple, CrowdStrike, Microsoft, and Qualcomm. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
