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4 Disruptive Technology Stocks to Watch Out For in 2021
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Historically, new and emerging technology that transforms major industries and radically impacts the society has often created enormous wealth building opportunities. So, it can rightly be said that innovation is the key to real growth.
This innovation has led to a lot of disruption in the technology sector. Such disruptive or revolutionary technologies, products, and services have the potential to alter the way we live our lives.
Here, we will look at some such technologies that are well poised to gain mainstream adoption in 2021.
5G Adoption to Expand Exponentially: The emergence of 5G networks is arguably one of the most important and transformative developments. The technology provides faster wireless Internet access, with greater bandwidth and minimal delay.
Since the coronavirus outbreak has forced people to stay indoors, the demand for faster Internet connections has increased substantially. This is because people are spending more time now on the Internet to work, learn, shop and entertain. In fact, the pandemic has helped accelerate digitization, and increase the requirement for connectivity and computing power.
Today, 5G deployments have become a vital part of the solution and are expected to become increasingly mainstream in 2021.
Robotics to Gain Steam in 2021: Robotics is playing a wider role than before because digital assistants are slowly becoming part of our daily lives.They are taking over the work environment earlier than expected.
Earlier, people were less willing to engage with AI-infused technologies. However, the life-threatening coronavirus seems to have changed this blinkered vision for good. Social-distancing norms are necessitating the growing usage of artificial yet intelligent autonomous machines in nearly all industries.
Robotic assistance is becoming more common with the speedy evolution of technology. It is not just confined to industrial use but across other areas like automotive, healthcare and defense sectors. Post the outbreak of novel coronavirus, robots are intensively being used for service, education and emotional care. The rise in aging population has also boosted the space, with increasing demand for health monitoring and self-treatment, especially among elders and for senior care.
Robotics revolution is swiftly gaining momentum and in the upcoming year, it might become the new normal.
Blockchain to be in the Mainstream in 2021: Blockchain technology will be a game changer in 2021 in view of coronavirus-induced challenges in the digital ecosystem.
The technology is enabling enterprises and government agencies to tackle prominent issues including data tracing, security, visibility and management, and supply chain supervision. Evolution of blockchain practices in a bid to address these challenges is expected to democratize the benefits of blockchain technology in the days ahead. This, in turn, will aid in countering the pandemic in an efficient way.
The technology is being utilized to enhance smart payment systems, secure financial transactions, advance shipping and transportation, modernize government agencies and institutions, and even detect critical illnesses.
Growth in IoT, autonomous vehicles, AR/VR, wearables and other connected devices, and coronavirus crisis induced rapid adoption of cloud computing are expected to drive adoption of blockchain technology.
SASE Gaining Momentum: Secure access service edge (SASE) is one of the most promising emerging technologies in enterprise networking in 2021, given the work-from-home trend expected to continue. It improves remote work cloud security.
The technology is still in a nascent stage, and has ample growth opportunity ahead. SASE integrates SD-WAN with network security, and delivers applications and services from cloud to edge. As businesses operate in a hybrid manner, with employees working from a variety of locations, enterprise networking technology is poised to gain momentum in 2021.
This adoption is likely to be driven by the ongoing architectural transformation of traditional data center-centric networking and security to better cater to the current mobile workforce and achieve higher adoption of the cloud technology.
Without a doubt, the innovations coming in 2021 and beyond offer numerous opportunities for investors.
Let’s look at some technology stocks that are worth watching for these disruptive technologies.
NVIDIA (NVDA - Free Report) is the leading manufacturer of graphics processing units (GPUs), which are essential components in such important technological arenas as artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, 5G, and gaming. In addition, GPUs are key hardware components of cryptocurrency mining. In a nutshell, "miners" use specialized GPUs to process transactions on the blockchain and are rewarded with newly minted digital coins. At present, mining hardware isn't a major revenue source for NVIDIA but if cryptocurrency prices shoot higher, it could create renewed interest in mining, and NVIDIA would be a big beneficiary.
Further, the new Ampere GPU chips of the company are well-designed to meet requirements of the upcoming advanced cryptocurrencies. We believe that expanding presence of company in the booming cryptocurrency market is likely to contribute well to the stock’s performance in the near term.
NVIDIA currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). The stock has long-term earnings growth expectation of 18.3%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its fiscal 2021 earnings is pegged at $9.71 per share, having moved 0.5% north in 30 days’ time. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Brooks Automation provides automation and cryogenic solutions. Its products include atmospheric and vacuum robots, robotic modules, and tool automation systems that offer precision handling and clean wafer environments and more.
It is gaining from robust growth in its life sciences business driven by COVID-19-led demand. Furthermore, solid demand for automation solutions is a key catalyst. Moreover, the expanding life-science clientele is a positive.
Brooks currently sports a Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its fiscal 2021 earnings is pegged at $1.72 per share, having moved 5.5% north in 30 days’ time.
Qualcomm Incorporated (QCOM - Free Report) remains well poised to gain from solid 5G traction. Notably, Qualcomm is reportedly the only chipset vendor with 5G system level solutions spanning both sub-6 and millimeter wave bands and one of the largest RF (radio frequency) front-end suppliers with design wins across all premium-tier smartphone customers. The company is focused on retaining its leadership in 5G, chipset market and mobile connectivity with several technological achievements and innovative product launches.
Qualcomm is arguably the largest supplier of mobile phone chips in the world. The company has raised the bar for driverless cars with the launch of the first-of-its-kind automotive platform — Snapdragon Ride — which enables automakers to transform their vehicles into self-driving cars using artificial intelligence.
The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3(Hold). The stock has long-term earnings growth expectation of 19.6%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its fiscal 2021 earnings is pegged at $7.08 per share, having moved 0.4% north in 30 days’ time.
Fortinet (FTNT - Free Report) is benefiting from dominance in the Unified Threat Management (UTM) space, which is one of the fastest-evolving segments in the network security space.
The company’s ability to meld next-generation, cloud-based firewalls with SD-WAN allows it to grab an early lead in the SASE market. Its Opaq Networks buyout in July will act like a catalyst. Also, this company has been gaining from heightening cyber-attack risks that are propelling demand for its FortiMail platform.
Fortinet currently carries a Zacks Rank #3. The stock has long-term earnings growth expectation of 14.3%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2020 earnings remained stable at $3.25 per share over the past 30 days.
Image: Bigstock
4 Disruptive Technology Stocks to Watch Out For in 2021
Historically, new and emerging technology that transforms major industries and radically impacts the society has often created enormous wealth building opportunities. So, it can rightly be said that innovation is the key to real growth.
This innovation has led to a lot of disruption in the technology sector. Such disruptive or revolutionary technologies, products, and services have the potential to alter the way we live our lives.
Here, we will look at some such technologies that are well poised to gain mainstream adoption in 2021.
5G Adoption to Expand Exponentially: The emergence of 5G networks is arguably one of the most important and transformative developments. The technology provides faster wireless Internet access, with greater bandwidth and minimal delay.
Since the coronavirus outbreak has forced people to stay indoors, the demand for faster Internet connections has increased substantially. This is because people are spending more time now on the Internet to work, learn, shop and entertain. In fact, the pandemic has helped accelerate digitization, and increase the requirement for connectivity and computing power.
Today, 5G deployments have become a vital part of the solution and are expected to become increasingly mainstream in 2021.
Robotics to Gain Steam in 2021: Robotics is playing a wider role than before because digital assistants are slowly becoming part of our daily lives.They are taking over the work environment earlier than expected.
Earlier, people were less willing to engage with AI-infused technologies. However, the life-threatening coronavirus seems to have changed this blinkered vision for good. Social-distancing norms are necessitating the growing usage of artificial yet intelligent autonomous machines in nearly all industries.
Robotic assistance is becoming more common with the speedy evolution of technology. It is not just confined to industrial use but across other areas like automotive, healthcare and defense sectors. Post the outbreak of novel coronavirus, robots are intensively being used for service, education and emotional care. The rise in aging population has also boosted the space, with increasing demand for health monitoring and self-treatment, especially among elders and for senior care.
Robotics revolution is swiftly gaining momentum and in the upcoming year, it might become the new normal.
Blockchain to be in the Mainstream in 2021: Blockchain technology will be a game changer in 2021 in view of coronavirus-induced challenges in the digital ecosystem.
The technology is enabling enterprises and government agencies to tackle prominent issues including data tracing, security, visibility and management, and supply chain supervision. Evolution of blockchain practices in a bid to address these challenges is expected to democratize the benefits of blockchain technology in the days ahead. This, in turn, will aid in countering the pandemic in an efficient way.
The technology is being utilized to enhance smart payment systems, secure financial transactions, advance shipping and transportation, modernize government agencies and institutions, and even detect critical illnesses.
Growth in IoT, autonomous vehicles, AR/VR, wearables and other connected devices, and coronavirus crisis induced rapid adoption of cloud computing are expected to drive adoption of blockchain technology.
SASE Gaining Momentum: Secure access service edge (SASE) is one of the most promising emerging technologies in enterprise networking in 2021, given the work-from-home trend expected to continue. It improves remote work cloud security.
The technology is still in a nascent stage, and has ample growth opportunity ahead. SASE integrates SD-WAN with network security, and delivers applications and services from cloud to edge. As businesses operate in a hybrid manner, with employees working from a variety of locations, enterprise networking technology is poised to gain momentum in 2021.
This adoption is likely to be driven by the ongoing architectural transformation of traditional data center-centric networking and security to better cater to the current mobile workforce and achieve higher adoption of the cloud technology.
Without a doubt, the innovations coming in 2021 and beyond offer numerous opportunities for investors.
Let’s look at some technology stocks that are worth watching for these disruptive technologies.
NVIDIA (NVDA - Free Report) is the leading manufacturer of graphics processing units (GPUs), which are essential components in such important technological arenas as artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, 5G, and gaming. In addition, GPUs are key hardware components of cryptocurrency mining. In a nutshell, "miners" use specialized GPUs to process transactions on the blockchain and are rewarded with newly minted digital coins. At present, mining hardware isn't a major revenue source for NVIDIA but if cryptocurrency prices shoot higher, it could create renewed interest in mining, and NVIDIA would be a big beneficiary.
Further, the new Ampere GPU chips of the company are well-designed to meet requirements of the upcoming advanced cryptocurrencies. We believe that expanding presence of company in the booming cryptocurrency market is likely to contribute well to the stock’s performance in the near term.
NVIDIA currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). The stock has long-term earnings growth expectation of 18.3%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its fiscal 2021 earnings is pegged at $9.71 per share, having moved 0.5% north in 30 days’ time. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
NVIDIA Corporation Price and Consensus
NVIDIA Corporation price-consensus-chart | NVIDIA Corporation Quote
Brooks Automation provides automation and cryogenic solutions. Its products include atmospheric and vacuum robots, robotic modules, and tool automation systems that offer precision handling and clean wafer environments and more.
It is gaining from robust growth in its life sciences business driven by COVID-19-led demand. Furthermore, solid demand for automation solutions is a key catalyst. Moreover, the expanding life-science clientele is a positive.
Brooks currently sports a Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its fiscal 2021 earnings is pegged at $1.72 per share, having moved 5.5% north in 30 days’ time.
Brooks Automation, Inc. Price and Consensus
Brooks Automation, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Brooks Automation, Inc. Quote
Qualcomm Incorporated (QCOM - Free Report) remains well poised to gain from solid 5G traction. Notably, Qualcomm is reportedly the only chipset vendor with 5G system level solutions spanning both sub-6 and millimeter wave bands and one of the largest RF (radio frequency) front-end suppliers with design wins across all premium-tier smartphone customers. The company is focused on retaining its leadership in 5G, chipset market and mobile connectivity with several technological achievements and innovative product launches.
Qualcomm is arguably the largest supplier of mobile phone chips in the world. The company has raised the bar for driverless cars with the launch of the first-of-its-kind automotive platform — Snapdragon Ride — which enables automakers to transform their vehicles into self-driving cars using artificial intelligence.
The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3(Hold). The stock has long-term earnings growth expectation of 19.6%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its fiscal 2021 earnings is pegged at $7.08 per share, having moved 0.4% north in 30 days’ time.
QUALCOMM Incorporated Price and Consensus
QUALCOMM Incorporated price-consensus-chart | QUALCOMM Incorporated Quote
Fortinet (FTNT - Free Report) is benefiting from dominance in the Unified Threat Management (UTM) space, which is one of the fastest-evolving segments in the network security space.
The company’s ability to meld next-generation, cloud-based firewalls with SD-WAN allows it to grab an early lead in the SASE market. Its Opaq Networks buyout in July will act like a catalyst. Also, this company has been gaining from heightening cyber-attack risks that are propelling demand for its FortiMail platform.
Fortinet currently carries a Zacks Rank #3. The stock has long-term earnings growth expectation of 14.3%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2020 earnings remained stable at $3.25 per share over the past 30 days.
Fortinet, Inc. Price and Consensus
Fortinet, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Fortinet, Inc. Quote
Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2021
In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 top tickers for the entirety of 2021?
These 10 are painstakingly hand-picked from over 4,000 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. They are our primary picks to buy and hold. Start Your Access to the New Zacks Top 10 Stocks >>