Technology stocks continue to pull markets higher, with the Nasdaq index up 27% yearly. Amid the current rally, some tech stocks are gaining ground at warp speed. Artificial intelligence (AI) is proving to be a huge catalyst for the tech sector. But AI stocks are not the only segment powering ahead right now. Cybersecurity, social media, and streaming are also growing leaps and bounds in the current market. The good news for investors is that despite the big gains in recent months, many technology stocks still remain well below their all-time highs and continue to have affordable valuations after last year’s severe downturn in tech securities. As the current rally in technology stocks gathers steam, we look at three top hyper-growth stocks to buy in June 2023.
Palo Alto Networks (PANW)
The stock of cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) is trading at an all-time high right now, following a 60% gain so far this year. In the last five years, PANW stock has risen 230%. That’s an impressive run, and it comes as the company continues to expand its share of the global cybersecurity market and issue earnings beats. The company’s success has led the S&P Dow Jones Indices to announce that Palo Alto Networks will replace Dish Network (NASDAQ:DISH) in the S&P 500 starting on June 20, another catalyst for the stock.
The company’s latest earnings print was typically good. Palo Alto Networks reported a 24% revenue increase to $1.72 billion for the three months ended April 30, which beat Wall Street consensus forecasts of $1.71 billion. Earnings per share (EPS) rose an impressive 83% to $1.10, above the 93 cents analysts expected. For the full year, Palo Alto expects revenue growth of 26% to $6.91 billion. Full-year EPS is forecast to come in at $4.25 to $4.29. PANW is a hyper-growth stock that is powering ahead.
Meta Platforms (META)
A lot of analysts and traders expressed concern about Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) as the technology company’s stock slid lower and lower throughout 2022 amid the tech wreck. What a difference six months can make. Since January of this year, META stock has more than doubled its price, having vaulted 112% higher. While the blistering run has been impressive to watch, Meta Platforms’ share price still remains 30% below its all-time high reached in September 2021.
After sliding below $100 a share last October, Meta’s management team, led by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, turned things around by aggressively scaling back the money the company was spending on the virtual reality realm known as the “metaverse,” cutting costs company-wide, renewing its focus on its lucrative social media properties and online advertising revenue, and pivoting to focus on artificial intelligence. The strategy has succeeded in renewing confidence in Meta Platforms, and it’s been up, up, and away for META stock this year.
Netflix (NFLX)
Streaming giant Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) is another tech stock that has been getting a lot of love from investors and analysts lately. Similar to Meta Platforms, Netflix has undertaken several shifts in its strategic direction that folks on Wall Street and Main Street have applauded. These include adding advertisements to the streaming platform for the first time, raising prices, scaling back content spend, and cracking down on password and account sharing worldwide.
The changes have helped to improve Netflix’s financials and led to a stabilization in its user base. As a result, NFLX stock has increased 99% over the last 12 months, including a 37% gain this year. Despite the bull run, analysts continue to lift their ratings and price targets on the stock, especially now that the company has begun cracking down on password sharing in major markets such as the U.S. JPMorgan Chase just raised its price target on NFLX stock to $470 from $380, which is 17% higher than where the shares currently trade.
On the date of publication, Joel Baglole did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
