RBC Says Take Advantage of Sell-Off in Top Technology Stocks

By Lee Jackson Updated Jul 23, 10:10AM EDT · Published Jul 23, 8:15AM EDT

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One thing smart traders always seem to do is buy weakness and sell euphoria. It seems easy, but many investors are often scared of having seller’s remorse when stocks may go higher. A new report from RBC says to take advantage of selling in three top tech stocks now, for what could be solid gains not far down the road.

Often investors, and certainly Wall Street analysts, become myopic on stocks and focus so closely on the near-term results that the big picture gets lost in the sell-off dust. The RBC analysts are focused on positives that could be just a quarter or so down the road.

These three tech stocks are all rated Outperform at RBC.

Apple

This remains the world’s biggest and boldest technology company in the world. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) came in with numbers for the quarter that were above expectations, but the actual iPhone sales were somewhat below what was a pretty high bar. The company has an incredible $200 billion in cash, most of it stored overseas, that could be used to buy back shares and make strategic investments.

The RBC team acknowledged in the research report that near-term selling of the shares not only Wednesday, but possibly for the foreseeable short term, is inevitable. But they pointed to four major points that investors positive on the long-term outlook for the stock to consider.

Only 27% of the installed base of iPhone owners have migrated to the iPhone 6 models. This leaves a huge part of the very loyal Apple nation still waiting to step up to the plate and purchase.
They feel that the gross margin guide down on 70 basis points, or 0.70%, is minimal given the program transition and current strong dollar headwinds. The analysts feel that this could lay the groundwork for 40% or more gross margins in fiscal year 2016.
Only 12% of China, which is the market that many are crazy bullish on for Apple, has 4G coverage. As that coverage expands, it obviously opens the door for huge increases in iPhone sales. It is also important to remember that Chinese consumers covet the Apple brand.
The average selling price for the iPhone still remains very strong at $660, which is flat quarter over quarter. With a move by many to the higher memory models, this could start to trend higher.

The company is also widening its lead over Google in the app marketplace. In fact, revenue at Apple’s global App Store was about 70% higher than on Google Play in the first quarter, compared with about a 60% advantage last year.

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Toss in the recent huge streaming music announcement, with some concessions made due to push-back from superstar Taylor Swift, and the company continues to expand the gigantic reach it already commands. Apple has updated the iOS operating system, updated and added new apps and is quickly expanding Apple Pay. In other words, it continues to add to its 800-pound gorilla status.

Apple investors are paid a 1.68% dividend. The RBC price target for the stock is $150. The Thomson First Call consensus figure is $149.28. The stock closed Wednesday at $125.22, down over 4%.
Microsoft

The iconic software company lagged some Wall Street estimates on guidance and was hit Wednesday. Microsoft Inc. (NASDAQ: MSFT) remains the RBC analysts’ favorite mega-cap software stock, and they pounded the table for investors to buy any weakness in the shares. The stock traded down on weakness in the phone market and other current issues. Excluding restructuring charges and other items, per-share earnings actually rose to $0.62 from $0.56. Analysts expected per-share profit of $0.56. The revenue fell 5.1% to $22.18 billion.

The sales were actually skewed to the hardware upside, and the per-share beat was a result of better non-operating income and a lower share count due to buybacks. Wall Street analysts were also less than thrilled by the forward guidance from the company.

One thing the RBC team is stressing is they think that the company is two quarters away from a very important upswing in sales, earnings per share and cash flow growth. Another huge item for the company is that the new edition of Windows 10 is to be released next week. The software update is expected by many to be the biggest, most well-received and feature-rich update in recent memory, with a new and much faster browser named Edge replacing the venerable Internet Explorer.

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Microsoft investors are paid a solid 2.72% dividend. The RBC price target is set at $54, and the consensus target is $50.13. The stock closed Wednesday at $45.54, down 3.7%.

VMware

This company actually reported very solid numbers, but the stock is down huge over the past year and a half. VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) is a global leader in cloud infrastructure and business mobility. VMware’s industry-leading virtualization technology solutions deliver a brave new model of IT that is fluid, instant and more secure. Customers can innovate faster by rapidly developing, automatically delivering and more safely consuming any application. With 2014 revenues of $6 billion, VMware has more than 500,000 customers and 75,000 partners.

The company reported very solid earnings, which they had reaffirmed earlier this month. The RBC analysts feel that VMware is very well positioned for the rest of the year and should benefit from increased government spending and continued ramp up in new products and new and renewed enterprise license agreements (ELAs) in 2016.

VMware reported earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, that came to $0.93 per share. The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 16 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $0.91 per share. Revenue was right in line with expectations at $1.6 billion on an adjusted basis.

The company is adding ELAs at a furious pace, and cloud management tools are now 16% penetrated into the customer base, with plenty of room to grow. The bottom line is this company is back, and back with a vengeance. Despite the big move Wednesday, the stock still is trading almost 22% below highs printed in April of 2014.

The $100 RBC price target is higher than the consensus target of $96.08. The shares closed Wednesday at $86.11, up over 5%.

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The trade here is pretty easy for long-term technology investors. Buy the cream-of-the-crop while the stocks are trading down. Put them in the portfolio and sit back and wait. If the RBC team is right, the gains should be substantial.

About the Author Lee Jackson →

Lee Jackson has covered Wall Street analysts' equity and debt research and equity strategy daily for 24/7 Wall St. since 2012. His broad and diverse career, which included a stint as the creative services director at the NBC affiliate in Austin, Texas, gives him unique insight into the financial industry and world.

Lee Jackson's journey in the financial industry spans over 30 years, with nearly two decades as an institutional equity salesperson at Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, and Morgan Stanley. His career was marked by his presence on the sell side during pivotal Wall Street events, from the dot.com rise and bubble to the Long Term Capital Management debacle, 9/11, and the Great Recession of 2008. This is a testament to his resilience and adaptability in the face of market volatility.

Lee Jackson’s practical financial industry experience, acquired from a career at some of the biggest banks and brokerage firms, is complemented by a lifetime of writing on various platforms. This unique combination allows him to shed light on the intricacies and workings of Wall Street in a way that only someone with deep insider experience and knowledge can. Moreover, his extensive network across Wall Street continues to provide direct access for him and 24/7 Wall St., a privilege few firms enjoy.

Since 2012, Jackson’s work for 24/7 Wall St. has been featured in Barron’s, Yahoo Finance, MarketWatch, Business Insider, TradingView, Real Money, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Benzinga, and other media outlets. He attended the prestigious Cranbrook Schools in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and has a degree in broadcasting from the Specs Howard School of Media Arts.