The Best Stocks to Invest $1,000 in Right Now

By Dave Kovaleski – Feb 16, 2026 at 6:05PM ESTKey PointsIf you have $1,000 to invest, you should look for reasonably valued stocks fueled by the AI transformation. Nvidia is one of the best stocks to buy now, given its relatively low forward P/E. Amazon is trading at close to its lowest valuation since Obama was in office. These 10 Stocks Could Mint the Next Wave of Millionaires ›NASDAQ: NVDANvidiaMarket Cap$4.4TToday's Changeangle-down(-2.21%) $4.13Current Price$182.81Price as of February 13, 2026 at 3:58 PM ETThese two stocks will give you AI-fueled growth at a reasonable value.It is an interesting time to be an investor. This bull market that has had the best three-year stretch since the dot-com boom in the 1990s. The markets have been driven by the artificial intelligence (AI) computing revolution, which is not slowing down. At the same time, valuations have soared to levels not seen since the dot-com boom, which is cause for caution. However, this cycle is different from the 1990s bubble in some key ways. For the most part, it is driven more by megacaps with high earnings and less by speculation like the 1990s bubble. So, two things can be true -- markets are overvalued and AI is the driving force for stocks. Thus, a good use of $1,000 would be to combine the two in a portfolio. Here are two good choices. Image source: Getty Images. Nvidia: AI-fueled growth at a reasonable value One stock that does that is Nvidia (NVDA 2.21%). The AI chipmaker has been a juggernaut the past few years, becoming the largest company in the world by market cap. But a stock split in 2024 brought the price per share down to a reasonable level, trading now at $190 per share. Also, it is reasonably valued as the stock price has gone flat over the past six months or so, with investors worried about its high valuation. While the trailing-12-month P/E ratio is still high at 47, the forward P/E is a reasonable 24, meaning it is well priced based on its projected earnings over the next 12 months. ExpandNASDAQ: NVDANvidiaToday's Change(-2.21%) $-4.13Current Price$182.81Key Data PointsMarket Cap$4.4TDay's Range$181.59 - $187.5552wk Range$86.62 - $212.19Volume5.4MAvg Vol180MGross Margin70.05%Dividend Yield0.02% Its five-year P/E-to-growth (PEG) ratio is even better at 0.73. A PEG ratio under 1 indicates that a stock is undervalued in relation to its long-term earnings power. With the stock trading at roughly $190 per share, you could add five shares of Nvidia for $1,000. As the leading provider of chips for AI data centers with about a 90% market share, Nvidia remains an earnings machine that will be fueled for years by the AI computing transformation. Some 91% of analysts say it's a buy with a median price target of $250 per share, which suggests 31% upside. Amazon: Betting big on AI Amazon (AMZN 0.39%) shocked investors earlier in February when it announced it is allocating $200 billion for capital expenditures in 2026, which is some 50% more than it spent last year. Many investors are concerned about the size of the spend, which is mostly on AI and Amazon Web Services (AWS). AWS has been losing market share to its key rivals even with massive AI spending. So the concern is, is the company just throwing more money at the problem? As the cloud computing leader, Amazon has too much at stake to not invest in the major source of its income for years to come. The capex might prove to be a drag on earnings in the near term, but it will position Amazon for long-term success. ExpandNASDAQ: AMZNAmazonToday's Change(-0.39%) $-0.78Current Price$198.82Key Data PointsMarket Cap$2.1TDay's Range$197.28 - $201.1652wk Range$161.38 - $258.60Volume3.1MAvg Vol47MGross Margin50.29% Also, Amazon has a P/E ratio of about 27, which is near its lowest valuation since the early 2010s. That reasonable valuation, combined with its massive earnings power, makes it a great time to buy. Amazon stock trades at around $200 per share, so you could also buy five shares for $1,000 -- or split the $1,000 between shares of Nvidia and Amazon.Read NextNov 28, 2025 •By Motley Fool StaffSemiconductors and Housing and Retail, Oh My!Sep 13, 2025 •By Neil PatelIs Apple Stock as Good as Nvidia?Jul 14, 2025 •By Adam LevySelf-Made Billionaire Karthik Sarma Sold His Entire Stake in Nvidia and Bought This Incredible Stock Up More Than 100% in 12 MonthsJul 6, 2025 •By Jennifer SaibilThe Smartest Growth Stocks to Buy Right NowMay 11, 2025 •By Adria CiminoThe Best Stocks to Invest $1,000 in Right NowApr 14, 2025 •By Travis Hoium3 Keys to Avoiding Mistakes in Today's MarketAbout the AuthorDave mainly covers financials, consumer goods, and technology stocks and ETFs. He wrote for the Fool from 2019-2023 and rejoined the Fool in 2026. In the past he's covered mutual funds and institutional investments for Pensions & Investments, personal finance for S&P, money markets and bonds for Crane Data, and stocks for ValueWalk.TMFdkovaleskiStocks MentionedNvidiaNASDAQ: NVDA$182.81 (2.21%) $4.13AmazonNASDAQ: AMZN$198.82 (0.39%) $0.78*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.