2 Under-the-Radar Robotics Stocks Analysts Are Betting On

Even a brief look at the stock markets today is enough to show that technology is in the driver’s seat. Of the ten largest publicly traded companies on Wall Street, the mega-cap firms that dominate the headlines and the trading, the top eight are all technology companies – and all of them are valued at over $1 trillion.

But the tech giants are not the only plays in town. A savvy investor can find plenty of opportunities among the smaller companies on Wall Street, it just takes a look beyond the obvious. Plenty of micro-cap and small-cap tech companies live there, and each brings its own suite of attributes and advantages to vie for attention.

Robotics is a field that investors should expect to show gains going forward – in a way, it’s just the physical embodiment of the artificial intelligence that has been generating so much hype in recent years. And the companies that specialize in applied robotics, putting mobile AI to work for all of us, will find themselves in a strong position to realize those gains.

Against this backdrop, we’ve used the TipRanks database to pinpoint two of these under-the-radar stocks, each a robotics company that features recent positive endorsements from the analysts. Let’s dive in.

Knightscope (KSCP)

The first stock we’ll look at is Knightscope, a company that has created a line of autonomous security robots. The company’s product lines feature autonomous patrolling robots, capable of providing mobile audio and video surveillance for public spaces and commercial properties around the clock; stationary remote-controlled monitoring devices, capable of providing 360-degree observation around a fixed point; automated audio gunshot detection devices, capable of pinpointing gunshots in time and place, and then alerting the police; and a range of emergency contact devices – callboxes and e-phones designed to put the public in contact with first responders when cell phones are not available.

Taken together, Knightscope’s robots put modern technology – networking, remote access and control, audio/visual surveillance, and autonomous movement – at the service of first responders, property owners, and the public. The company’s robots are designed to provide effective monitoring of sensitive areas, and rapid contact with appropriate authorities, when a 24-hour human presence is not practicable.

Over the past 12 months, Knightscope’s shares have fallen 57%. The company labors against several headwinds, including the basic fact that the firm is still in an early stage of growth and is not yet profitable. In addition, in 2022, Knightscope acquired CASE Emergency Systems, a provider of blue-light emergency phones and next-gen emergency communications tech. The acquisition allowed Knightscope to expand its product line to include more varied emergency contact options – but that integration did not come cheap; Knightscope bought CASE for approximately $6.72 million.

The fall in stock price was not without consequences. Last year, Knightscope fell out of compliance with the NASDAQ’s listing requirements, failing to keep its share price above the minimum bid. The company was able to turn that around, and in October of last year NASDAQ confirmed that Knightscope had kept its shares above the minimum and that the non-compliance matter was closed (the company also carried out a 1-for-50 reverse split of its stock).

This was followed in November of last year by an announcement from Knightscope that it had closed contracts in 12 states to deploy its mobile autonomous security robots and its emergency communications devices at a range of locations. The company has new contracts with customers in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, and Washington; the contracts include deployments with government entities and universities, as well as with private customers in commercial real estate.

In its last reported quarter, 3Q24, Knightscope’s revenue came to $2.54 million, a total that was down 23% year-over-year. The company’s earnings, reported as a net loss of $3.58 per share, were an improvement over the $5.38 net EPS loss reported in 3Q23 – but it still missed the forecast by $1.07 per share.

Nevertheless, Lake Street analyst Max Michaelis takes an upbeat view here. He believes that Knightscope offers investors a chance to get in on the ground floor – and to do so before take-off.

“After a transition year in 2024, we believe Knightscope is poised to be on a path of sustainable growth. We think the stock’s decline over the past year (vs. the R2K’s rise of 18%) has been driven by the significant restructuring of the CASE acquisition, a slower rollout of the new recurring revenue model, a declining appetite for unprofitable growth companies, and story stock/sectors (e.g. robotics) falling out of favor,” Michaelis opined. “We believe investors are now presented with an opportunity to gain exposure to a company well-positioned in the emerging robotics sector that offers the prototypical growth story, a growing recurring revenue stream, and SaaS-like margins.”

Describing the company’s path forward, Michaelis adds, “We think there is room for shares to work significantly higher from current levels as investors better appreciate the durability of the growth story and start to see the improving leverage in the model. Further, we believe shares can benefit from a scarcity factor as there are limited small cap ways for investors to play the emerging ASR (autonomous security robots) market.”

Taken all together, these comments support a Buy rating from the analyst, whose $17 price target points toward a one-year gain of 55%.

Both recent analyst reviews on KSCP are positive, giving the stock its Moderate Buy consensus rating. The shares are priced at $10.98, and the average price target of $16.50 implies a gain of 50% in the year ahead. (See KSCP stock forecast)

Serve Robotics (SERV)

Next up is Serve Robotics, a company reshaping delivery with a question that makes you think: Why use a 2-ton car to transport a 2-pound burrito? Their solution? A sleek, AI-powered autonomous robot designed for sidewalk travel, not the road. With low-emission propulsion and a compact, efficient design, this delivery bot is making last-mile logistics smarter, greener, and more cost-effective—one burrito at a time.

Serve is a small company, but it has acquired some important partners. Both Uber Eats and 7-Eleven work with the firm, and Serve has also gotten backing from Nvidia. That last gives the small robotics firm access to Nvidia’s top-end GPU chips, a necessity for the AI that directs the self-driving robots. This past November, Serve announced that it had entered into an agreement to acquire Vebu, a company involved in full-stack automation and robotics solutions for the restaurant industry. While it is known that the acquisition is an all-stock transaction, financial details were not revealed.

Looking ahead, Serve has signed agreements with the Uber Eats platform, which will enable the robotics company to deploy up to 2,000 delivery units in ‘multiple U.S. markets.’ Serve’s robotic delivery units have the potential to revolutionize the ‘last mile’ small delivery segment—an important point, since that segment currently depends on cars or motorbikes, which are highly inefficient regarding fuel consumption and other operating costs.

Serve is essentially still in the bootstrap stage, and in 3Q24, the company reported just $220,000 in revenues—but that figure was up an impressive 245% year-over-year. Serve’s net earnings loss came to 20 cents per share. However, the company has been successful at fundraising and ended 3Q24 with $50.9 million in cash and other liquid assets on hand.

This stock has caught the attention of Michael Latimore, a 5-star analyst with Northland. Latimore is impressed by the potential in Serve’s approach and says of the company, “We believe demand is so robust that the market would absorb as many robots as can get produced and optimized in the field. The key for success is reliability and a high level of automation, and Serve is the technology leader with level 4 autonomy and relatively small operator assistance. Given the recently announced financings, we believe Serve is fully funded into 2027. This gives us much more visibility into high sustained growth and our forecasts into 2027.”

Latimore goes on to put an Outperform (i.e., Buy) rating on SERV shares, which he complements with a $23 price target—indicating confidence in a 38% one-year upside potential. (To watch Latimore’s track record, click here)

Like Knightscope, Serve has a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on two recent positive reviews. (See SERV stock forecast)

To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.