Technology

Oppenheimer Very Bullish on 3 Top Technology Stocks to Buy Now

Lee Jackson

Published: June 1, 2016 9:35 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 7:21 am

One thing is for sure on Wall Street, it takes all kinds of opinions to make the stock market the horse race that it is. At 24/7 Wall St. we cover almost all the major firms, and there is no shortage of conflicting ideas on the direction of the market. Some firms are extremely bearish and worried that the market could be heading for another big leg down. Others are very positive and bullish, and one firm thinks that the S&P 500 is poised to breakout and trade to new highs.

In a new research report, the Oppenheimer team sees numerous positives for the market, and they cite everything from broadening internal market breadth to contrarian skepticism and improving commodity prices as a basis for their very bullish stance. They also zero in on 12 top stocks to buy now that are either jumping higher from technical support levels or breaking above resistance.

We screened the list for the technology companies that made the technical grade and have a rating of Outperform at Oppenheimer.

Broadcom

This is the combined entity that was formerly known as Avago and Broadcom. Broadcom Ltd. (NASDAQ: AVGO) is a leading designer, developer and global supplier of a broad range of analog and digital semiconductor connectivity solutions. Its extensive product portfolio serves four primary end markets: wired infrastructure, wireless communications, enterprise storage and industrial and other.

Applications for the company’s products in these end markets include data center networking, home connectivity, broadband access, telecommunications equipment, smartphones and base stations, data center servers and storage, factory automation, power generation and alternative energy systems, and displays.

The company produces radio frequency (RF) front-end for LTE-enabled Apple products. Wall Street estimates that the company does 15% of its total business with Apple. Additional estimates are that the company has between a 13% and 17% revenue exposure to Apple in the wireless communications segment, which was guided up 10% or more quarter over quarter for the third quarter. Customer diversity and content for Samsung could be more than enough to offset slower Apple business.

Top Wall Street analysts like the leadership in the mobile, data center and broadband markets, and especially in the RF arena. Many on Wall Street see a cyclical rebound in industrial and communications demand.

Broadcom investors are paid a 1.3% dividend. The Oppenheimer price target for the stock is $170, and Thomson/First Call consensus price target is set at $178.25. Shares closed Tuesday at $154.36.
SAP

This top technology company has a history of making very selective accretive acquisitions. SAP S.E. (NYSE: SAP) provides application and analytics software and software-related services for enterprises worldwide. The company offers solutions covering various lines of businesses, including asset management, commerce, finance, human resources, manufacturing, marketing, sales, service, sourcing and procurement, supply chain and sustainability, as well as research and development and engineering. It provides enterprise application software to various industries, including consumer, discrete manufacturing, energy and natural resources, financial services, public services and services.

The company also offers SAP Business Suite, as well as software-as-a-service, such as SAP SuccessFactors solutions; and SAP cloud-based solutions, such as temporary workforce sourcing, procuring and managing external workforce and travel and business travel expense management systems. Additionally, the company provides analytic solutions, such as trusted data discovery and agile visualization, advanced analytics, and corporate performance management solutions; and support, custom software development, consulting, training, messaging and payment services.

SAP recently increased and strengthened its partnership with Microsoft. The two companies announced plans to provide extensive support to the SAP HANA platform on Microsoft Azure, integrate Microsoft Office 365 and cloud solutions and also boost management and security for SAP Fiori apps. The announcements, which come after two years since the companies entered into a partnership, are set to improve cloud capabilities for clients.

SAP investors are paid a 1.15% dividend. The Oppenheimer price target is posted at $85, and the consensus target is $87.21. The stocks closed most recently at $81.07.

Texas Instruments

This is an old-school chip tech company that is also a sizable auto chip player. Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN) is a global semiconductor design and manufacturing company that develops analog integrated circuits and embedded processors. The company generates 80% to 90% of its revenues from its analog and embedded processing businesses, which have well-diversified end-markets (autos, industrial, personal/consumer electronics), long product life cycles and limited capital intensity. The company has 6% market share of the auto chip market.

Numerous Wall Street pros see the stock as core large cap holding, and they cite a solid high-single-digit and very diverse revenue flow, solid capital allocation to lever the balance sheet if needed, and substantial room for margin expansion as the ramp up new facilities. The company boasts sustained impressive cash flow over the past several years and has impressively returned 100% plus of that back to shareholders via stock buybacks and dividends.

Given modest capital expenditure requirements coupled with room for margin expansion, Texas Instruments should be able to sustain double-digit free cash flow growth despite slower sales growth.

Texas Instrument investors are paid a solid 2.51% dividend. The Oppenheimer price target is $70, and the consensus target is $62.32. The shares closed Tuesday at $60.460.

Combining good fundamental and technical research can be a solid winning play for investors. While these stocks are more suited for aggressive growth accounts, the dual positives give investors a little more confidence for success.