Here are 3 top tech-stock picks that can outperform without help from the AI trade, according to a Wall Street analyst

Core Viewpoint - The AI trade has been a significant driver in the stock market, but recent volatility has led investors to explore alternative opportunities outside the core AI theme [1][7]. Group 1: Analyst Insights - DA Davidson analyst Gil Luria remains bullish on AI overall but highlights strong potential in smaller tech stocks that are often overlooked [2][6]. - Luria emphasizes the focus on infrastructure software stocks as they are clear beneficiaries of AI usage without the perceived risks associated with application software companies [3][6]. Group 2: Recommended Stocks - Luria identifies three tech stocks: Snowflake, Datadog, and JFrog, which operate in the AI infrastructure and software space [2][4]. - Year-to-date performance for these stocks includes Snowflake at +62%, Datadog at +11%, and JFrog at +113%, with JFrog outperforming its peers and the Magnificent Seven [3][4]. Group 3: Market Dynamics - Luria believes that regardless of how enterprise customers build AI tools, they will require more data lakehouse capacity (Snowflake), more applications and infrastructure for observation (Datadog), and more binary code management (JFrog) [5][6]. - The continued growth of AI will benefit these companies as larger enterprises will always need their services to scale AI tools effectively [6].