3 Stocks the Smart Money Is Buying While No One Is Watching
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The Magnificent Seven stocks dominate AI headlines, but the most interesting institutional positioning is happening one rung down the supply chain. The companies actually building, wiring, and connecting the AI factories trade at a fraction of the attention, despite reporting revenue growth that puts the mega caps to shame.
Three names stand out in June: a contract manufacturer, an enterprise server giant and a connectivity silicon designer. All three have raised guidance, beaten estimates and quietly compounded while retail flow chased flashier tickers.
Here is the case for each.
Celestica (CLS)
Celestica (NYSE:CLS) is a Toronto-headquartered, US-listed electronics manufacturing services firm that has quietly become a pure-play AI data center infrastructure name. The market cap sits near $44.58 billion, and the stock is up 222% over the past year and 36% year to date.
The Q1 FY26 report on April 27, 2026 delivered revenue of $4.05 billion, up 53% year over year, with adjusted EPS of $2.16 versus the $2.08 estimate, the fourth consecutive EPS beat. The Connectivity & Cloud Solutions segment grew 76% year over year to $3.24 billion. Management raised the 2026 outlook to $19.0 billion in revenue and $10.15 in adjusted EPS, with CEO Rob Mionis stating, “Our outlook for 2027 also continues to strengthen.”
The bull case is simple. Celestica won a co-packaged optics Ethernet switch program with a hyperscaler customer on 1.6T silicon, ramping in 2027. Sentiment scoring across news and social channels reads bullish at 65.29 with medium confidence.
The caveat: customer concentration is extreme. The top three customers represented 36%, 15%, and 12% of Q4 revenue. A single hyperscaler order cut would hit hard.
Dell Technologies (DELL)
Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) is the under-the-radar AI play hiding in plain sight. Market cap sits near $132.85 billion, the stock trades around $408.84, and it carries a P/E of roughly 22 with a dividend yield near 1%. The shares are up 279% over the past year and 227% year to date.
The Q1 FY27 report on May 28, 2026 was a blowout. Revenue of $43.84 billion grew 88% year over year, beating the $35.77 billion estimate. Non-GAAP EPS of $4.86 crushed the $2.96 consensus. AI-optimized server revenue hit $16.13 billion, up 757% year over year, with $24.4 billion in AI orders booked in the quarter. Dell raised its FY27 outlook to $165 billion to $169 billion in revenue, AI server revenue near $60 billion, and non-GAAP EPS of $17.90 at the midpoint.
The thesis: Dell is the largest enterprise AI server vendor by scale, sitting on a $43 billion AI server backlog entering FY27 after booking $64 billion in FY26 AI orders. Management returned $2.1 billion to shareholders in Q1 on the back of a 20% dividend increase and a $10 billion buyback authorization. At a forward earnings multiple in the low 20s on triple-digit AI growth, the valuation looks restrained.
The risk: gross margin compressed to 18% from 21% as the mix shifted toward lower-margin AI servers. Dell is converting revenue at thinner profitability than legacy ISG.
Astera Labs (ALAB)
Astera Labs (NASDAQ:ALAB) is the connectivity silicon designer most retail investors still cannot place. Market cap sits near $63.61 billion, with analyst coverage skewing constructive: seven Strong Buy ratings, 11 Buy ratings, eight Hold ratings and zero Sell ratings. The stock is up 334% over the past year.
The Q1 FY26 report on May 5, 2026 showed revenue of $308.36 million, up 93% year over year and 14% sequentially, with non-GAAP EPS of $0.61 versus the $0.54 estimate. That marks four consecutive EPS beats. GAAP gross margin expanded to 76%. Q2 guidance calls for $355 million to $365 million in revenue and $0.68 to $0.70 in EPS.
CEO Jitendra Mohan framed the runway: “We believe the opportunity ahead is significant, and we are investing to be a leader for rack-scale AI technologies in close partnership with our customers.” The newly launched Scorpio X-Series 320-lane Smart Fabric Switch targets a merchant scale-up market projected at $20 billion by 2030, with production ramping in the second half of 2026.
The caveat: Q2 gross margin guides to roughly 73% as new switch products ramp, and the stock trades at a forward earnings multiple of 132. Beta of 3.963 means any AI capex wobble gets amplified violently in the share price.
What to watch next
The common thread across all three is hyperscaler CapEx. PineBridge estimates datacenter equipment growth is essentially locked in for the next four to five years at around 25% annually, constrained more by electrical infrastructure than demand. If that holds, Celestica, Dell, and Astera Labs are positioned where the capital actually lands. The next catalysts: Dell’s Q2 FY27 report, Celestica’s CPO program ramp commentary, and Astera Labs’ Scorpio X-Series production milestones in the second half of 2026.
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The post 3 Stocks the Smart Money Is Buying While No One Is Watching appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..
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