Technology

8 Big Tech Stocks Outperforming Amazon, Alphabet, Facebook and NVIDIA in 2017

Jon C. Ogg

Published: June 1, 2017 10:40 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 11:28 am

If you only listened to the media chasing the biggest names and companies, you might think that tech giants like Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) and NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) were the best performing stocks of 2017, with an average gain of about 30%.

It is undeniable that these industry leaders have had impressive moves this year. Still, a fresh performance review of major technology stocks in the S&P 500 Index actually brought up many other stocks that generally have large-cap valuations and are up as much or more than the most frequently covered leaders so far in 2017.

Now that summer is kicking off, 24/7 Wall St. wanted to review some of these top S&P tech sector stocks so far in 2017. Some of these stocks are still not quite at all-time highs, but most of the top-performing stocks are now quite close to those highs.

As you will see, and something that has been the case even during most of their recent gains, most of these companies are trading above or close to their consensus analyst price targets. With summertime setting in, should investors look for even more gains or should they consider taking some money off the table after such major gains

For a comparison, here is how much each of the major tech stock gainers getting all the media attention are up so far this year, as of May 31, 2017:

• NVIDIA, up 35.0%
• Amazon, up 32.6%
• Facebook, up 31.6%
• Alphabet, up 24.5%

Performance tracking was screened on FINVIZ for tech stocks in the S&P 500 Index, price and range data was from Yahoo Finance, and relative consensus analyst price targets were from Thomson Reuters.

Here are the top pure technology stocks in the S&P 500 Index with the most impressive gains in 2017 at the end of May.

Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) is up almost 38% so far in 2017, and its recent price of $141.86 is less than $2 shy of its recent all-time high of $143.48. Adobe is up less than 2% over the past week, up about 5% in the past month, up over 17% in the past quarter and up over 42% from a year ago.

Adobe has a consensus analyst price target of $145.07 and a 52-week trading range of $90.35 to $143.48. The company has a total market cap of $70 billion.

Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) was last seen up 42% so far in 2017. At $45.88, its shares are almost back to the peak levels from its chart during the 1999 and 2000 technology bubble. Applied Materials has a gain of 2% in the past week, is up 10% in the past month, and is up 24% in the past quarter. Its gain is actually 88% from this time a year ago.

Applied Materials, the leader in semiconductor capital spending, has a market cap nearing $50 billion, and it has a 52-week range of $22.17 to $46.05. Its consensus target price is $49.98.

Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) is now up 51% year to date in 2017, and its $111.77 recent closing price is down less than $3 from its recent all-time high of $114.68.. The software maker is 1% lower in the past week, but up 21% in the past month and up almost 26% in the past quarter. Autodesk shares are up over 91% from this time in 2016.

Autodesk has a market cap of $24 billion. The consensus price target is $112.55, and the 52-week range is $49.82 to $114.68.

Broadcom Ltd. (NASDAQ: AVGO), the amalgamation of Broadcom and Avago after their merger, keeps rallying to new highs. At $239.48, Broadcom shares were last seen up 36% year to date in 2017. The shares are up more than 1% over the past week, up over 8% over the past month and up around 11% over the past quarter. The stock is also shown to be up 55% from a year ago.

Broadcom has a 52-week range of $142.27 to $242.89 and a consensus price target of $252.26. The total market cap is $101.5 billion.

Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ: LRCX) is up about 47% so far in 2017, and its $155.17 closing price for May was just shy of its most recent $157.77 all-time high. Its gains to get here are up about 1% in the past week, up 4% in the past month and up over 29% in the past quarter. Lam Research shares are up about 87% from a year ago.

The consensus price target for Lam Research is $160.40, and the 52-week range is $79.15 to $157.77. The market cap is $25 billion.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) may not be back at all-time highs, but the DRAM and flash maker has massively recovered from its lows during 2016. At $30.77, Micron is up 40% so far in 2017. Micron’s gains are due to it being almost 9% higher over the past week, up over 25% in the past month and up about 54% in the past quarter. To show just how much it has rallied from last year: Micron shares are up 142% from a year ago.

Micron has a market cap of $34 billion. The consensus price target is $38.56 and the 52-week range is $11.50 to $31.10. Micron’s most recent high in 2014 was well above $35, but its shares used to trade at more than twice the current level in the 2000 tech bubble.

Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) is up by 31% so far in 2017, and its recent $89.64 closing price compares to its 52-week high (also its all-time high) of $91.81. Its stock is up more than 1% in the past week, up over 3% in the past month and up nearly 7% over the past quarter. Its shares also are up only about 7% from a year ago, implying that the most recent strength is a rekindled strength.

Salesforce has a 52-week range of $66.43 to $91.81 and a consensus price target of $102.85. Its market cap is nearly $64 billion.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) shares are up more than 42% so far in 2017, and its $106.43 closing price is down less than $1 from the $107.25 all-time high. This is up more than 1% over the past week, up over 6% over the past month, up 10% over the last quarter, and more than 59.42% higher than a year ago.

Skyworks has a consensus analyst target of $111.17 and a 52-week range of $57.11 to $107.25. The company has a total market cap of almost $20 billion.