This year it seems that tech stocks are constantly among the hottest names on the market, as many stocks in the tech space feature attractive growth potential. But even so, things have cooled down a bit as the year has progressed.
Although tech stocks were all the rage earlier this year, investors have become more cautious over the last couple of months. Thankfully this “cooling down” has created many good buying opportunities in the tech space.
Specifically, Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL), Snap Inc (NYSE:SNAP), and BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) are three of the best names to buy in the wake of this summer’s tech stock pullback.
Alphabet, Snap and BlackBerry have all retreated significantly in the past three months, partly due to legitimate worries about fundamentals and partly due to macro concerns. But all three have powerful positive catalysts on the horizon, making them attractive for growth investors.
With that in mind, here’s a little more about each of these weakened tech stocks to buy.
Best Weakened Tech Stocks to Buy: Alphabet Inc (GOOG)
GOOG stock has dropped to the $927 area from around $998 in July 24.
The recently announced deal between Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) and Google, under which the retail giant will sell its products on the Google Express website, could move the needle as far as Alphabet’s financial results are concerned.
Walmart fans could start visiting and using Google Express in droves, especially since GOOG also announced that it would cancel Google Express’ $95 per year or $10 per month membership fee. Moreover, Google Express has received billions of dollars of free publicity from the announcement of the deal, and Walmart may very well pay for some ads that will tout the website.
Furthermore, as has been well-documented, the deal also allows consumers to use their voices to order Walmart products for the first time. Since voice ordering for Walmart will only be available on the company’s Google Assistant, many Walmart customers could consider buying the device, significantly boosting its adoption.
Given all of these positive catalysts, Alphabet could, within six months or so, finally start getting some significant e-commerce revenue, providing a boost to GOOG stock.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported earlier this year that the company’s self-driving car initiative is offering free rides to Phoenix residents, bringing the company “close to becoming a real service”. By the end of this year, investors may start baking some revenue and profit from the self-driving program into GOOG stock.
Best Weakened Tech Stocks to Buy: Snap Inc (SNAP)
Snap stock has tumbled from nearly $22 at the end of May to under $15.
But the company’s flagship website, Snapchat, has overtaken Facebook among both 12-17 year old’s and 18 to 24 year old’s in the U.S., research firm eMarketer reported recently. Although Facebook Inc’s (NASDAQ:FB) flagship platform and Instagram combined still have more than double the number of Snapchat’s users in the 18-24 demographic, SNAP now has an impressive 24.4 million users in that age range.
However, in the 12-17 age range, Snapchat was much closer to the 18.7 million combined total for Facebook and Instagram with its 15.8 million users.
eMarketer predicts that SNAP’s overall user base will jump 25.8% this year to 79.2 million. In the wake of this data, it’s clearly only a matter of time before many more marketers start to launch ads on Snapchat. After all, there are a significant number of advertisers that want to sell products to teenagers and young adults.
Additionally, some companies, realizing that these young people will at some point grow into major breadwinners, will see the efficacy of starting to win their hearts and minds now. But after its recent retreat, SNAP has a market capitalization of just $17.6 billion, which is equal to around 4% of Facebook’s valuation. That’s an imbalance that is going to change sooner or later, probably mostly through the appreciation of Snap stock.
Best Weakened Tech Stocks to Buy: BlackBerry (BBRY)
Like GOOG, BlackBerry, which has tumbled to $9 from nearly $11.40 on June 1, could soon get a significant boost from the driverless car phenomenon.
During BBRY’s second-quarter results conference call in June, CEO John Chen said that the company would launch “a comprehensive cybersecurity solution for automobiles … later this year.”
If the product receives good reviews and/or any early customers are announced, investors could get pretty excited, sparking a rally in BlackBerry stock.
Another product that could easily produce a rally in BBRY stock is its product tracking software, Radar. FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) began using the product earlier this year, and the shipping giant could eventually expand its use of the system and other major transportation firms could follow suit.
Finally, given the fact that earlier this year BlackBerry became “the first cloud-based crisis communication service to receive a FedRAMP authorization,” along with the company’s partnership with Giuliani Partners, whose CEO, Rudy Giuliani, is heading up the Trump Administration’s cybersecurity efforts, the company could easily win significant new, highly profitable federal cybersecurity deals.
As of this writing, Larry Ramer owns shares of BlackBerry.
