Key Takeaways
- Last year wasn’t kind to tech stocks as we saw even the biggest tech companies (Apple, Microsoft, Meta) drop significantly in market cap.
- Many analysts are optimistic about the future of tech stocks due to the growing demand for cloud-based services and the possibility of consumer spending returning to normal if we avoid a recession.
- We still have to consider macroeconomic factors as we’re not in the clear yet when it comes to avoiding a recession.
It’s no secret that 2022 was a volatile year for the economy as a whole and for the stock market. We saw some of the biggest companies drop in value significantly as soaring inflation and rate hikes led to a series of investor sell-offs due to fears of a possible recession.
This means that many of the top tech stocks are at surprisingly low prices, and this market dip could be the perfect opportunity to invest in these giant companies. We’re going to look at the top tech stocks to buy right now.
What Are The Top Tech Stocks to Buy Now?
We decided to look at tech companies that have dropped in value over the last year but could be considered a good investment if the economy turns around. These are all tech giants that are relying on the overall economy to improve this year.
Apple (AAPL)
This tech giant had seen shares drop significantly in 2022 due to the usual macroeconomic factors as well as production issues. Apple had to deal with factory issues in China that slowed down the delivery of the newest iPhone. The share price is currently falling as of this writing, and the market cap has dropped below $2 trillion because investors are concerned about the iPhone supply chain disruptions and the reduced demand for the new product.
However, the company is still in a strong financial position, and there are rumors of a major new product line launch in the form of the AR/VR headset that could come out in 2023. When we wrote about Apple stock previously, we noted that the company reported record revenue for the most recent quarter of $90.1 billion during a time when other companies were struggling with earnings. The robust iPhone and Mac computer sales helped the company set this revenue record.
Apple shares closed at $134.76 on January 13, 2023, and the stock has a one-year target price of $176.20.
Microsoft (MSFT)
The company has been expanding its services and moving into businesses. While Microsoft is known for its Office products, the Azure cloud services have also been taking off, and the cloud-based business makes up almost two-thirds of the company’s total revenue. Microsoft brought in $20.3 billion last quarter from cloud services, and this sector is expected to continue growing as the world completes its digital transformation.
Analyst John Freeman has predicted that the operating margin for Microsoft will shoot up to 50% in 2023, up from 42% in 2021, with a compounded annual revenue growth of 15%.
Microsoft shares closed at $239.23 on January 13, 2023, and the stock has a one-year target price of $296.91.
NVIDIA Corp (NVDA)
Nvidia is known for selling and designing high-end graphics cards and video process chips for the PC gaming industry. They’re known for creating incredible visual effects for games with the most advanced options currently available, which makes their chips popular among developers and video game enthusiasts.
Despite the popularity of their products, the company saw its shares sliced by half in 2022 as consumer fears over a recession led to many tech companies dropping throughout the year. The company lost revenue due to the issues with the cryptocurrency space. Many analysts feel that Nvidia stock could rebound in 2023 because of the booming cloud-based data center business and the possibility of the gaming industry bouncing back in 2023.
It’s worth noting that the data center business brought in over $10 billion in revenue for fiscal year 2022. As businesses continue the digital transformation, there’s optimism that this will mean a higher demand for Nvidia’s chips.
Nvidia shares closed at $168.99 on January 13, 2023, and the stock has a one-year target price of $195.83.
Adobe Inc. (ADBE)
When we broke down how Adobe makes money, we observed that 93% of the company’s revenue came from the subscriptions segment. Adobe had an annual revenue of $15.785 billion in 2021, an increase of 22.67% from 2020. In the third quarter of 2022, the company announced a record-setting revenue amount of $4.43 billion, which represented a 3% year-over-year growth. With long-term enterprise contracts and popular design tools along with cloud-based services, the company is likely to continue growing in 2023. One major business point to look out for is the proposed $20 billion acquisition of Figma. Regulators could still block this purchase, but if it goes through, it would be another game changer for the digital media and marketing software powerhouse.
Adobe shares closed at $344.38 on January 13, 2023, and the stock has a one-year target price of $386.17.
PayPal (PYPL)
PayPal is still the leader in digital payment processing, and the service is used globally. What makes this tech stock a buy is that the shares have dropped almost 60% while the company has remained a highly profitable business. Even though the present-day issues with inflation and fears of a recession may have hurt volume, the company is in a position to capitalize when the economy rebounds. With a growing buy-now-pay-later program and the addition of cryptocurrency, PayPal, with its customer base of 432 million worldwide, should be a stock to keep an eye on.
PayPal shares closed at $74.48 on January 13, 2023, and the stock has a one-year target price of $105.83.
Here are a few other notable tech stocks to pay attention to in 2023:
- Meta Platforms. This stock declined steeply in 2022, with shares down about 64% from one year ago. However, there are hopes that ad spend could increase in 2023 if we avoid a recession.
- Mastercard. While Mastercard isn’t a tech stock, the company has exposure to the tech industry. If this field bounces back, the credit card company will have a higher volume.
- Accenture. This consulting and outsourcing firm had some issues in 2022 with currency, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and other macroeconomic factors. However, they’ve continued to offer a strong balance sheet and a track record of solid earnings growth. They’ve also worked on attaining an attractive talent pool.
As always, these are just tech stocks worth keeping an eye on, and there are no guarantees that any of these stocks will go up in 2023. We recommend that you do your due diligence and to invest accordingly.
Should You Be Investing in Tech Stocks?
The harsh reality is that investors, analysts, and policymakers are paying close attention to inflation data and other reports as they surface to determine the current state of the economy. The goal of the Fed’s aggressive rate hikes was to slow the economy down enough to bring prices back down for consumers. During this process, there are typically many casualties since consumers are less inclined to spend money on discretionary purchases, which means that tech companies have to report lower earnings.
It’s anyone’s guess as to what will happen to the stock market and the tech industry in 2023. However, many analysts predict that despite a bleak 2022, this new year will present a different situation. R “Ray” Wong, an analyst from Constellation Research, told Yahoo Finance that he felt 2023 would be much better since many of the tech giants are in a position to profit from the growing cloud-based industry. He noted that companies like Apple would see improvements with China opening up again.
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Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/qai/2023/01/15/8-top-tech-stocks-to-buy-nowhow-to-take-advantage-of-the-market-dip/