AI Stock Picks Today: CRM, TSLA, NET trade ideas August 24, 2026

Today's AI stock trade ideas: August 24, 2026

The S&P 500 closed Friday at 7,674 (+0.43%) and the Nasdaq at 26,180 (+0.43%), holding firm even as the semiconductor ETF SOXX dropped -0.44% on the session and -5.5% on the week. The big story this week: Nvidia reports earnings, and the Fed gathers for its annual conference, giving the tape two macro catalysts that could set direction for the entire AI sector. Below are today's short-term AI stock trade ideas, scored and sorted by conviction. Conviction = how clean the setup is (1-10); Risk = how much can go wrong (10 = very risky). The weekly and monthly likelihoods are probability estimates, not promises.

1. Salesforce (NYSE: CRM): Long

Salesforce reports Q2 earnings on August 26, and the setup is as clean as it gets ahead of an AI-driven quarter. Agentforce ARR crossed $1 billion in Q1 and the combined Agentforce plus Data Cloud ARR is up over 200% year over year, according to the company's own disclosures. BMO Capital raised its price target to $230 from $215 in August. Polymarket put the probability of an earnings beat at 91% based on Salesforce beating EPS in six of its last seven quarters. The stock has climbed 33% over the past month but is only 8.6% above its 20-day moving average, not yet stretched. A close below $199 would break the rising trend and is the stop. Confirmation comes on the earnings print: revenue growth above 20% with Agentforce ARR continuing to accelerate would justify the $230 target.

2. Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA): Long

Tesla jumped 5.14% on Friday after Nevada approved a 5,000-vehicle commercial robotaxi fleet, per Reuters coverage of the state regulatory ruling. The stock has recovered 13.5% over the past month and now trades just below its 50-day moving average at $365. Broader deployment news or a positive update on the Semi truck rollout in Europe would confirm the trend. Stop is $340, which is the prior consolidation low. A close above the 50-day on volume would signal the next leg up toward the $392 target. This is one of the best ai stocks to watch today given the real regulatory tailwind behind it.

3. Cloudflare (NYSE: NET): Long

Cloudflare delivered a strong Q2 on August 6, beating revenue estimates by nearly 5% with 36% year-over-year growth to $696 million, according to the company's SEC filing. Management attributed the surge to rapid adoption of its Workers platform by AI agents, and guided Q3 revenue of $736-737 million. The stock bounced 5.1% on Friday and is sitting right at its 20-day moving average at $293, a natural re-entry point after the pullback from post-earnings highs near $330. Stop is $278. If the AI-agent platform narrative continues to attract enterprise customers, $315 is achievable within weeks. One of the best ai stocks to buy now for traders who want AI infrastructure exposure with a recent fundamental beat behind it.

4. Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA): $225 calls expiring Aug 29

Nvidia earnings this week are the single biggest catalyst for the entire AI sector. The stock closed Friday at $214.72, sitting just above its 20-day moving average at $213, which has acted as short-term support. CNBC noted that Nvidia results could give the stock market the positive catalyst it needs after a rough week for chips. Weekly $225 calls (exp Aug 29) priced near $3-5 per contract offer a defined-risk way to play an earnings beat. This is a high-risk options trade: if earnings disappoint or guidance is light, the calls expire worthless. Size accordingly. Confirmation: a gap open above $220 on the print with raised full-year guidance.

5. CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD): Long

CrowdStrike also reports on August 26. Analysts expect 23% revenue growth to $1.44 billion, and Wall Street carries a Strong Buy consensus with an average price target of $211.92, per TipRanks. The stock has pulled back 11.5% over the past five days to $191.95, setting up a cleaner entry than the recent $213 high. Stop is $180, below the prior June base. Risk is binary: a weak print or soft guidance would pressure the name. But the cybersecurity AI narrative has been consistent, and the pre-earnings pullback reduces some downside if the company delivers in line with expectations.

More on the radar

$MSFT - Long ($479-485, stop $465, target $508, conviction 6/10): Microsoft is up 27% over the past month on continued AI integration momentum, trading above both moving averages. Low volatility, steady compounder. A lower-risk way to play ai stocks to buy now without a near-term binary event.

$ARM - Short ($245-250, stop $262, target $225, conviction 6/10): Arm Holdings has broken down 14% over the past month and sits 19.5% below its 50-day moving average with no clear near-term catalyst to reverse the slide. Semiconductor sector rotation toward direct compute names continues to weigh on licensing-model chip stocks. Stop is the 20-day MA at $260.

$PLTR - Long ($177-182, stop $168, target $195, conviction 5/10): Palantir is up 46% in one month after its Q2 earnings beat on August 4, with 93% revenue growth driven by AIP deployment, per CNBC. The setup is real but the stock is very extended. This is a momentum trade only, sized small, for traders comfortable with high-volatility names.

How we score these

Conviction (1-10): How strong is the setup? An 8 means a clean catalyst, positive trend, and defined risk level. A 5 means the idea exists but has meaningful headwinds or uncertainty.

Risk (1-10): How much can go wrong? A 9 means a binary outcome, high implied volatility, or a thin name. A 5 means a large-cap with normal volatility and no imminent binary event.

Weekly and monthly likelihoods: Rough probability that the trade works in the time frame, based on setup quality, catalyst timing, and recent realized volatility. These are estimates. A 60% weekly hit rate still means the trade fails 40% of the time.

These are short-term trade ideas for informational purposes only, not investment advice. Trading stocks and options carries substantial risk of loss, including the total loss of capital. Probabilities and scores are estimates, not guarantees. Do your own research and size positions to your own risk tolerance.