Jefferies names seven beaten-down stocks it likes amid AI sell-off

Jefferies says the recent AI panic trade has pushed a number of otherwise solid stocks into a “discount bin.” The firm argues that fears about tech-driven disruption have prompted broad selling, even though AI will only upend parts of the economy and some companies remain good long-term buys.

On the financial side, Jefferies highlights Sallie Mae (SLM, YTD -30%) noting risks to recent grads and student-loan performance but upside from shifts in education offerings and fee income. Insurance names include Lincoln National (LNC, YTD -26%), where the firm expects AI to augment advisors and boost efficiency, and Equitable (EQH, YTD -21%), which it sees as less exposed to middle-market lending and well positioned via its retirement-investment portfolio.

Among tech and banking picks, Microsoft (MSFT, YTD -16%) is viewed as oversold but uniquely placed to capture enterprise AI spending across Azure, M365 and Copilot, with Anthropic and OpenAI integrations supporting monetization.

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