The top carriers like AT&T and Verizon often can drive earnings for the top communications technology stocks. There has been no shortage of hand-wringing on Wall Street over the amount of capital expenditures the mega carriers would pump out this year. Especially with major deals making headlines like the AT&T purchase of DirecTV and the possible Sprint and T-Mobile merger.

A new report from UBS, while acknowledging the difficulty in fully handicapping the capex numbers going forward, indicates that the firm’s Buy-rated companies are exposed to areas of spending priority, including IP routing (edge), optical transport and broadband access. Their products are also deployed in areas of the network where the UBS team believes the wireless/wireline distinction is less relevant as ultimately all traffic requires an intelligent IP services delivery edge and robust access and transport infrastructure

Here are the six stocks rated Buy at UBS for investors looking to add communications technology names to their portfolios.

Calix Inc. (NYSE: CALX) could be a big winner and leads off the stocks rated Buy at UBS. The company provides broadband communications access systems and software for fiber and copper-based network architectures that enable communications service providers to connect to their residential and business subscribers in North America.

The company’s Unified Access portfolio of broadband communications access software, systems and services enables communications service providers worldwide to transform their networks and become the broadband provider of choice to their subscribers. UBS has an $11 price target for the stock. The Thomson/First Call consensus target is $12.17. Shares closed Friday at $7.91.

ALSO READ: Merrill Lynch’s 10 Growth Stocks to Buy for the Rest of 2014

Ciena Corp. (NYSE: CIEN) is a company that many analysts, including the UBS team, believe could be the top beneficiary of an increase in wireless spending. Ciena management is optimistic about its prospects in the United States and in markets such as Brazil and India, where it has landed Tier 1 design wins. Recently, it also won a contract from Cablevision Argentina, which is a leading cable TV and Internet services provider in Argentina, to enhance its broadband network countrywide.

The company is rapidly reducing its losses, and the earnings growth outlook for the next five years is also quite promising. According to Yahoo! Finance, investors can expect Ciena’s earnings to improve at an annual rate of 16.7% for the next five years. The UBS price target for the stock is $27. The consensus estimate stands higher at $28.53. Ciena closed Friday at $20.55.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) has continued a string of positive news to Wall Street that began with its earnings surprise in May. The UBS team cited several positive catalysts in the pipeline for Cisco, including its dominance in wireless equipment and its undisputed “900-pound gorilla” status in the industry. Many firms on Wall Street still feel that the stock is providing investors a good entry point. Shareholders are paid a solid 3.1% dividend. The UBS price target is $26.50. The consensus target is $25.75. Cisco closed Friday at $25.52.

JDS Uniphase Corp. (NASDAQ: JDSU) was a pioneer of the optical revolution that began in the 1990s. It performed ahead of expectations in its fiscal second-quarter and issued a strong outlook for the balance of 2014. Its management has always been confident about the prospects of the business as the need for bandwidth across the world increases. As a result, the company is seeing strong demand in the Americas for its 100G products and LTE solutions. The UBS price target is $15, and the consensus target is posted at $14.30. The stock closed Friday at $12.18.

Juniper Networks Inc.‘s (NYSE: JNPR) recent large layoff will dent the balance sheet as it is expected to pay over $35 million in severance as 6% of its workforce is expected to be let go. Positive activist shareholders moves combined with a solid product cycle have made the stock a favorite on Wall Street, and its big presence in network and enterprise security has drawn key portfolio managers to the stock. By vendor, Juniper posted the strongest year-over-year growth at 38.7% in the key switching market in 2013. The UBS price target is $32, and the consensus target is at $28.97. Juniper closed Friday at $24.27.

ALSO READ: 12 Analyst Stock Picks Under $10 With Massive Upside Potential

TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE: TEL) wraps up the top stocks to buy at UBS. The company designs and manufactures products at the heart of electronic connections for the world’s leading industries including automotive, energy and industrial, broadband communications, consumer devices, health care, and aerospace and defense.

The company has a long-standing commitment to innovation and engineering excellence, which helps its customers solve the need for more energy efficiency, always-on communications and ever-increasing productivity demands. Investors are paid a 1.9% dividend. The UBS price target is $68, and the consensus target for the stock is $76.70. Shares closed Friday trading at $63.21.

Since the carrier spending issue does remain a wildcard for investors, it just makes sense to stay with the top names in the field. They are probably the least likely to report a huge earnings stumble that could send the stocks plunging.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.