In a new research report, the technology team at UBS has reaffirmed their work on some of the top technology names they cover. With industry capital expenditures expected to rise in 2014 after years of flat to soft growth, many firms are more than a little bullish on the technology sector. Here are some of the top technology stocks to buy at UBS.
Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) continues to amaze Wall Street with a string of solid earnings reports. The company has released its newest product, called Salesforce 1. The main focus is a mobile first approach, enabling quick and easy development of mobile apps with much deeper access to CRM app functionality, another cutting edge jump for the company. The UBS price target for the stock is $66. The Thomson/First Call price target is $65. Salesforce closed Tuesday at $52.74.
Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) had disappointing earnings, and once again Wall Street firms are starting to take a wait and see approach. The UBS analysts are looking past the poor quarter and expect new product offerings to help drive sales in 2014. Investors are paid a very solid 3.2% dividend. The UBS price target for the network giant is $26.50, while the consensus is down just under $25. Cisco closed Tuesday at $21.42.
Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) continues to see positive revenue growth from increasing smartphone sales. The company recently unveiled a line of new mobile chips that are used for fast data transfer in top-tier smartphones and should begin sampling by manufacturing customers early next year. Qualcomm is the world’s leading mobile chipmaker and is far ahead of Intel and smaller rivals in LTE technology. Investors receive a 1.9% dividend. UBS has a $74 price target for the stock. The consensus is posted at $75.50. The stock closed Tuesday at $71.84.
Fusion-io Inc. (NYSE: FIO) is supposed to be one of the up and coming leaders in flash memory, yet if you look at the stock price and performance you will see that the stock has brought pain to its shareholders. New products designed to serve across a vast array of servers are being well received by the company’s clients. UBS has a $15 price target for the stock, while the consensus price target is closer to $13. Keep in mind that the stock was over $20 previously as well, and Fusion-io closed Tuesday at $10.03.
Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ: LRCX) is a leader in the chip capital equipment sector. The company expects wafer fab equipment spending to rise by 10% year over year. Trading at a low 12.5 times the UBS 2015 calendar 2015 earnings numbers, the company is one of the top stocks to buy in the sector. The UBS price target is placed at $66. The consensus target is at $62. Lam Research closed Tuesday at $50.22.
Juniper Networks Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) was very upbeat at the conference over its new partnership arrangement with cloud software giant VMware. The UBS team cites Juniper as another very cheap multiple play for 2014 and beyond. The UBS price target for the stock is $26, and the consensus is lower at $23. Juniper closed Tuesday at $19.40.
Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NYSE: PANW) and Juniper are locked in a patent case with a ruling expected in the coming months. The founders of the company are former Juniper employees, and Wall Street is handicapping which way the trial and ruling could end. UBS still likes the stock and has a $57 price target. The consensus target is at $58. Palo Alto closed Tuesday at $43.91.
Technology stocks are favored across Wall Street for the rest of the year and through 2014. They are extremely cheap compared to other sectors of the market. They also rarely have any large amounts of long-term debt to service. Investors looking for portfolio growth in 2014 should look to the top technology names that continue to innovate.
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