The annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas is upon us again. So, there’s no better time to look at the tech companies the keep all the gadgets and images going.
While most consumers are aware of the big brands that kick out awesome gear on a regular basis, for every big brand there are dozens of players behind the scenes that allow the big brands to deliver the “wow.”
Following are three Portfolio Grader A-rated tech stocks that might not be on the tip of your tongue but should be serious contenders for your portfolio.
One thing to bear in mind here is that a lot of these tech firms are product-agnostic — they don’t depend on one big consumer name to keep their businesses going. They create and exploit the evolving architecture that all tech companies use.
These stocks to buy are in key growth sectors in the tech space and having established themselves, have a very bright future ahead.
Straight Path Communications Inc (STRP)
Straight Path Communications Inc (STRP) is a play on both shifts in how people access their content and on the quantum shift in mobility. Straight Path Communications holds, leases and markets fixed wireless spectrum licenses and provides point-to-point and point-to-multipoint wireless broadband digital telecommunications services to telecommunications providers and other companies.
Straight Path Communications’ spectrum is primarily used to provide backhaul services for existing wireless Internet service providers, including providers that serve WiFi markets in venues, businesses and outdoor public spaces; and for cellular mobile backhaul.
Backhaul means getting data to a point from which it can be distributed over a network. This is basically what happens when, say ESPN has to send a signal from a basketball game via fiber optic cable to a satellelite uplink point where the signal is sent to a satellite and then distributed over a network.
Again, it’s not the sexiest part of tech, but this is fundamental to watching movies in airports or negotiating a contract out of your hotel room. And STRP is one of the top players.
InterDigital, Inc. (IDCC)
Following on the mobility trend, InterDigital, Inc. (IDCC) designs and develops advanced technologies for wireless communications.
InterDigital has designed and developed a range of technologies that are used in digital cellular and wireless products and networks, including second generation (2G), third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G) and IEEE 802-related products and networks.
IDCC is a player in wireless infrastructure. And one of InterDigital’s most interesting new products is what it calls Perceptual Pre-Processing. Basically it’s a way to use the current broadband networks to send HD quality video more efficiently and more quickly.
This is indicative of the type of outside-the-box thinking IDCC has employed for years — instead of making a bigger pipe to ship data, find a way to adapt the data to maximize the current pipe.
Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ADR) (ASX)
Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ADR) (ASX) goes even further down the back-end rabbit hole. ASX provides semiconductor packaging and testing services in the U.S., Taiwan, Asia and Europe.
One nice aspect of Advanced Semiconductor Engineering’s business is that it’s more globally diversified than the former two stocks, which are basically plays on the U.S. tech sector.
Customers in the U.S. account for about half of ASX’s sales. And ASX cuts a wide swath through the global marketplace. ASX has more than 200 customers around the world; some of the largest include Broadcom Corporation (BRCM), Microsoft Corporation (MSFT), Nvidia Corporation (NVDA) and STMicroelectronics NV (ADR) (STM).
That’s a pretty good client list. What’s more, client STMicro is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of sensors, the devices that are making everything “smarter.” This lends a nice bit of diversity to ASX’s product services, and as the “Internet of Things” grows, ASX already has a sizable foot in the door.
Louis Navellier is a renowned growth investor. He is the editor of five investing newsletters: Blue Chip Growth, Emerging Growth, Ultimate Growth, Family Trust and Platinum Growth. His most popular service, Blue Chip Growth, has a track record of beating the market 3:1 over the last 14 years. He uses a combination of quantitative and fundamental analysis to identify market-beating stocks. Mr. Navellier has made his proven formula accessible to investors via his free, online stock rating tool, PortfolioGrader.com. Louis Navellier may hold some of the aforementioned securities in one or more of his newsletters.
