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3 Tech Stocks for Growth Investors to Buy Now

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By their very nature, growth investors are primarily focused on finding companies whose earnings and revenue are expected grow at a rate that outpaces the market. This investment strategy comes with its fair share of risks, but it also brings the exciting possibility of outsized returns—an end goal that every investor desires.

Over the past several years, Wall Street’s most exciting growth stocks have emerged from the technology sector. From industry innovators like Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) and Netflix (NFLX - Free Report) to exciting foreign stocks such as Alibaba (BABA - Free Report) , tech-focused growth investors have been rewarded with massive profits recently.

Strong earnings and impressive sales imply that the technology sector’s hot streak should continue into 2018. That means that growth investors searching for the next great market-beating stock might want to keep their focus on tech companies.

Luckily, we can pair the proven Zacks Rank with our innovative Style Scores system, which includes a “Growth” category, to find strong growth tech stocks. Investors should note that our Growth category values earnings and sales growth, as well as improvements to a company’s financial statements—including strong cash flows and great return on equity.

With all of this said, check out these three tech stocks for growth investors to consider now:

1.       Entegris, Inc. (ENTG - Free Report)

Entegris is a leading provider of materials management solutions to the semiconductor manufacturing and disk manufacturing markets. Shares have soared nearly 70% on the back of the firm’s expansion in 2017, and our consensus estimates are calling for full-year EPS and sales growth to finish at 48% and 13%, respectively.

Looking ahead, Entegris’ earnings and sales are expected to continue expanding in fiscal 2018. What’s more, the company’s profits are projected to grow at an annualized rate of 11% over the next three to five years.

On top of this, the firm’s RoE of 19% bests its industry’s average of 14%, and its current cash flow growth of 5% underscores its financial improvements. Entegris is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

 

2.       Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. (VSH - Free Report)

Vishay Intertechnology is a producer of discrete semiconductors and passive electronic components. The company has a broad portfolio of solutions that are tailored to the “things” being controlled in the Internet of Things, which have been a key growth catalyst for the firm. Shares of VSH are up about 30% this year and should continue to rise if expansion projections hold up.

Based on our latest consensus estimates, we expect Vishay to finish fiscal 2017 with EPS growth of 66% and sales growth of 12%. That expansion is expected to continue next year, with current estimates calling for earnings growth of an additional 10% and revenue growth of 6%.

Vishay is expected to improve its profits by an annualized rate of 21% over the next three to five years. The firm’s RoE of 12% and net margin of 4% both stack up well against its competition, and the stock is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

 

3.       AppFolio, Inc. (APPF - Free Report)

AppFolio offers cloud-based software solutions for the property management and legal industries. The company’s AppFolio Property Manager is a leading solution for property management, while its MyCase application is ideal for practitioners and small law firms. Currently, the stock is a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Investors love to reward a company for its first profits, and AppFolio has witnessed that trend over the past three quarters. After posting a loss last year, the company is expected to finish the current year with earnings of 41 cents per share, which would represent growth of over 444%.

That EPS expansion is expected to continue next year, with current consensus estimates calling for earnings of 59 cents. AppFolio’s top line is projected to grow by 28% next year. This type of explosive expansion from a young tech company is exactly what growth investors are looking for.

 

Want more stock market analysis from this author? Make sure to follow @Ryan_McQueeney on Twitter!

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