Dan Ives Flags 5 Beaten-Down Stocks Ready to Rebound

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•  06 Feb 2026
 

•   CRM  
   
  -0.59%
•   CRWD  
   
  +4.33%
•   MSFT  
   
  +1.50%
•   PLTR  
   
  +4.32%
•   SNOW  
   
  +7.99%

As fear spreads across the tech sector and investors question the future of software in the age of artificial intelligence, one of Wall Street’s most followed analysts is pushing back. Dan Ives of Wedbush has identified five beaten-down technology stocks he believes are being mispriced amid the AI-driven selloff: $MSFT $PLTR $CRWD $SNOW $CRM.

All five names have been hit hard during the recent market pullback, falling between 9% and 19% this week alone, and roughly 19% to 29% since the start of 2026. For traders watching high-multiple tech unwind, the speed of the correction has felt relentless. The narrative is clear: AI is disrupting everything, and traditional SaaS companies may be the next victims.

But Ives argues that this fear is oversimplified.

The common thread between Microsoft, Palantir, CrowdStrike, Snowflake, and Salesforce is not just that they are long-time Wedbush favorites. It is their deep enterprise integration. These companies are not offering plug-and-play tools that can be easily swapped out. They operate mission-critical systems embedded into corporate infrastructure, compliance frameworks, cybersecurity layers, and data workflows that have taken years and billions of dollars to implement.

The core fear driving the selloff is that AI agents and large language models will replace traditional software platforms. This concern intensified after Anthropic expanded the capabilities of its Claude AI agent into legal, financial, and product marketing workflows. To many investors, that expansion signaled that AI-native players are moving directly into SaaS territory.

That headline risk triggered a broader repricing across the sector.

However, the transition from legacy enterprise software to AI-first systems is not a simple technical switch. It is organizational, regulatory, operational, and deeply strategic. Large enterprises are unlikely to hand over vast amounts of sensitive data to new AI entrants without established security frameworks, global compliance systems, and proven scalability. This is where incumbents like Microsoft and Salesforce hold structural advantages. They already manage secure enterprise-grade ecosystems at scale.

From a market structure perspective, what we are seeing may be more about positioning and sentiment than fundamental collapse. Investors are extrapolating a worst-case scenario in which SaaS margins compress dramatically and AI commoditizes core products. But AI may ultimately become an enhancement layer rather than a replacement engine. Integration, not elimination, could define this cycle.

Ives acknowledges that AI is a near-term headwind. Companies must increase capital expenditures, accelerate product innovation, and adapt pricing models. That pressure is real. But he argues the market is pricing in an extreme “software Armageddon” scenario that assumes rapid disruption and permanent erosion of enterprise demand.

History suggests technology transitions are more gradual. Cloud adoption did not destroy software vendors overnight. It reshaped them. The same may apply here. Companies with large installed bases, strong customer retention, and the ability to embed AI into existing workflows could emerge stronger once volatility stabilizes.

For investors and traders, the key question is whether the recent declines represent structural deterioration or emotional overshooting. If the AI threat proves incremental rather than existential, the current drawdowns in $MSFT, $CRM, and $PLTR in particular may reflect fear-driven discounts rather than long-term impairment.

In markets, narratives move faster than infrastructure. Right now, AI disruption headlines are dominating price action. But enterprise transformation moves at a slower, more calculated pace.

If the worst-case scenario does not materialize, these high-quality tech stocks could see sharp recoveries as sentiment normalizes. The bet here is simple: the market may have overreacted to AI fear, creating opportunity in deeply embedded enterprise software leaders.

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