UBS Says U.S. Technology Stocks Are Secular Growth On Sale Now

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By Trey Thoelcke Updated Published
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The technology research analysts at UBS A.G. (NYSE: UBS) believe that the U.S technology sector is trading at an unjustified discount to the broader market despite its solid growth. Historically, investors have been well served by buying tech shares when the sector trades at under 15 times earnings, which is the case today (the sector is trading at 13.6 times earnings). Since 1989, the median 12-month forward return under such conditions has been 20%.

The recent sell-off has made UBS’s top stocks to buy even more reasonable in price. Earnings growth for the U.S. technology sector will outpace the market over the next few years in UBS’s view, based on secular growth drivers (mobility, cloud computing, online advertising, e-commerce), exposure to rapidly growing emerging markets and pent up enterprise demand.

Here are the top U.S. technology stocks to buy.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) continues to dominate technology. From search to the Android operating system to the all new Google Glass, the company remains at the forefront and cutting edge of new product design. UBS has a $945 target. The Thomson/First Call estimate is even higher at $965.

Accenture PLC (NYSE: ACN) is another top name to buy at UBS. Providing staffing, technological and management consulting services around the world, the stock price has held up even in very bad markets. UBS has an $85 price target, while the consensus target is $82.75. Investors are paid a 2,0% dividend.

Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ: LRCX) is in the chip processing equipment business used in the fabrication process. The stock has done well, but continuing second half improvement in chip sales could really ignite business. UBS has placed a $52 price target on the stock, though the consensus estimate is higher at $55.

Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) is a top stock to buy at many of the firms around Wall Street that we cover. The company is making the chips for the Samsung Galaxy S4 that will be able to access Wi-Fi hotspots anywhere. The top selling S4 is already enabled with the Hotspot 2.0 capability known as Passpoint. This gives Samsung a huge advantage over the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone because of its closed operating system. Clearly Apple will adjust if Wi-Fi becomes more predominant. The UBS target is $76, while the consensus price target is $77. Investors receive a 2.3% dividend.

SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) is one of the industry leaders in flash memory storage solutions. The company recently invested money in a private firm named Panzura. Panzura provides flash-based network attached storage (NAS) for enterprise companies. Their scalable offerings use flash memory to store data off-premises in the cloud. This reduces customer system support, administration, power and cooling costs. UBS price target for this top stock to buy is $65, while the consensus is at $66.

Cisco Systems Inc.‘s (NASDAQ: CSCO) routing division’s sales growth seems inevitable. The division boosted Cisco’s revenues in the past year in a big way. In the third quarter, the routing division accounted for 17.5% of Cisco’s total revenues. In the second quarter, the routing division accounted for 16.1% of the total revenues of the tech giant. The division accounted for 17.3% of Cisco’s total revenues in the first quarter. So the growth trajectory is obvious, and a good sign for investors. UBS has a $26 price target, which is the same as the consensus target. Investors are paid a 2.80% dividend.

UBS sees easing bank lending standards, the recent outperformance of the economically sensitive semiconductor industry and accelerating global profit growth that suggest an improving cyclical outlook for the sector. Perhaps even more importantly, downside risk has been quite limited when sector price to earnings have been this low. That bodes well for investors adding these quality technology stocks to their portfolio now.

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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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