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Anticipating what the stock market will do in any given year is impossible, but investors can lean into long-term trends. For instance, the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC 0.09%) soared 875% in the last 20 years, compounding at 12% annually, due to strength in technology stocks. That period encompasses such a broad range of market and economic conditions that similar returns are quite plausible in the future.

Indeed, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) should be a tailwind for the technology sector, and most Wall Street analysts anticipate substantial gains in these Nasdaq stocks:

• Among 31 analysts who follow AppLovin (APP -1.86%), the median target price of $470 per share implies 40% upside from the current share price of $335.
• Among 39 analysts that follow MongoDB (MDB -3.48%), the median target price of $275 per share implies 34% upside from the current share price of $205.

Here’s what investors should know about AppLovin and MongoDB.

AppLovin: 40% upside implied by the median target price

AppLovin builds adtech software that helps developers market and monetize applications across mobile and connected TV campaigns. The company is also piloting ad tech tools for e-commerce brands. Importantly, its platform leans on a sophisticated AI engine called Axon to optimize campaign results by matching advertiser demand with the best publisher inventory.

AppLovin has put a great deal of effort into building its Axon recommendation engine. The company started acquiring video game studios several years ago to train the underlying machine learning models that optimize targeting, and subsequent upgrades have encouraged media buyers to spend more on the platform over time.

Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak recently called AppLovin the “best executor” in the adtech industry. In particular, he called attention to superior ad targeting capabilities driven by its “best-in-class” machine learning engine, which has led to outperformance versus the broader in-app advertising market since 2023.

AppLovin reported strong first-quarter financial results. Revenue increased 40% to $1.4 billion, as strong sales growth in the advertising segment offset a decline in sales in the mobile games segment. Generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) net income increased 149% to $1.67 per diluted share. And management guided for 69% advertising sales growth in the second quarter.

Wall Street estimates AppLovin’s earnings will increase at 53% annually through 2026. That makes the current valuation of 61 times earnings look rather inexpensive. Investors should pounce on the opportunity to buy this stock today. Personally, I would start with a small position and add shares periodically.

MongoDB: 34% upside implied by the median target price

MongoDB is the most popular document database. Whereas traditional relational databases (also called SQL databases) store information in structured rows and columns, the document model is more scalable and flexible. It supports structured data, but also unstructured data like emails, social media posts, images, videos, and websites.

Every application requires a database. It is where information can be stored, modified, and retrieved when needed. But the document model is particularly well suited to analytics, content management, e-commerce, payments, and artificial intelligence applications due to its superior scalability and flexibility. MongoDB is leaning into demand for AI.

Last year, the company introduced MAAP (MongoDB AI Application Program), a collection of resources and reference architectures that help programmers build applications with AI capabilities. Additionally, MongoDB recently acquired Voyage AI, a company that develops embedding and reranking models that make AI applications more accurate and reliable.

CEO Dev Ittycheria told analysts: “MongoDB now brings together three things that modern AI-powered applications need: real-time data, powerful search, and smart retrieval. By combining these into one platform, we make it dramatically easier for developers to build intelligent, responsive apps without stitching together multiple systems.”

MongoDB reported encouraging first-quarter financial results, exceeding estimates on the top and bottom lines. Customers climbed 16% to 57,100, the highest net additions in six years. Revenue increased 22% to $549 million, a sequential acceleration, and non-GAAP earnings jumped 96% to $1.00 per diluted share.

Going forward, Grand View Research estimates the database management system market will increase at 13% annually through 2030. MongoDB should grow faster as it continues to gain market share. That makes the present valuation of 7.8 times sales look reasonable, especially when the three-year average is 13.2 times sales. Patient investors should feel comfortable buying a small position today.

Red River College Polytechnic is offering crash courses in generative artificial intelligence to help classroom teachers get more comfortable with the technology.

Foundations of Generative AI in Education, a microcredential that takes 15 hours to complete, gives participants guidance to explore AI tools and encourage ethical and effective use of them in schools.

Tyler Steiner was tasked with creating the program in 2023, shortly after the release of ChatGPT — a chatbot that generates human-like replies to prompts within seconds — and numerous copycat programs that have come online since.

“There’s no putting that genie back in the bottle,” said Steiner, a curriculum developer at the post-secondary institute in Winnipeg.

While noting teachers can “lock and block” via pen-and-paper tests and essays, the reality is students are using GenAI outside school and authentic experiential learning should reflect the real world, he said.

Steiner’s advice?

Introduce it with the caveat students should withhold personal information from prompts to protect their privacy, analyze answers for bias and “hallucinations” (false or misleading information) and be wary of over-reliance on technology.

RRC Polytech piloted its first GenAI microcredential little more than a year ago. A total of 109 completion badges have been issued to date.

The majority of early participants in the training program are faculty members at RRC Polytech. The Winnipeg School Division has also covered the tab for about 20 teachers who’ve expressed interest in upskilling.

“There was a lot of fear when GenAI first launched, but we also saw that it had a ton of power and possibility in education,” said Lauren Phillips, associate dean of RRC Polytech’s school of education, arts and sciences.

Phillips called a microcredential “the perfect tool” to familiarize teachers with GenAI in short order, as it is already rapidly changing the kindergarten to Grade 12 and post-secondary education sectors.

Manitoba teachers have told the Free Press they are using chatbots to plan lessons and brainstorm report card comments, among other tasks.

Students are using them to help with everything from breaking down a complex math equation to creating schedules to manage their time. Others have been caught cutting corners.

Submitted assignments should always disclose when an author has used ChatGPT, Copilot or another tool “as a partner,” Phillips said.

She and Steiner said in separate interviews the key to success is providing students with clear instructions about when they can and cannot use this type of technology.

Business administration instructor Nora Sobel plans to spend much of the summer refreshing course content to incorporate their tips; Sobel recently completed all three GenAI microcredentials available on her campus.

Two new ones — Application of Generative AI in Education and Integration of Generative AI in Education — were added to the roster this spring.

Sobel said it is “overwhelming” to navigate this transformative technology, but it’s important to do so because employers will expect graduates to have the know-how to use them properly.

It’s often obvious when a student has used GenAI because their answers are abstract and generic, she said, adding her goal is to release rubrics in 2025-26 with explicit direction surrounding the active rather than passive use of these tools.

“The main idea is not to use the AI tool alone, standalone. You want to complement it with AI literacy training,” the instructor said.

She noted her favourite programs are conversational AI assistant Microsoft Copilot, Perplexity AI (an AI-powered search engine that generates answers with links to references) and Google NotebookLM.

Whereas Copilot and Perplexity AI primarily draw from external sources, Google NotebookLM can analyze trends in original items uploaded by a user.

Registration for RRC Polytech’s next introductory microcredential, running Oct. 6 through Nov. 2, is open. Tuition is $313 per student.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Maggie Macintosh
Education reporter

Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., she first reported for the Free Press in 2017. Read more about Maggie.

Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative.

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