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Big Tech Stocks to Buy Now at a Discount and Hold

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The market’s wild month-long stretch continued Thursday, with resurgent tech stocks helping lift the S&P 500 to new highs, as the Dow closed at its 12th record of 2021. The Nasdaq posted another huge day, up 2.5%, as Wall Street jumps back into tech stocks that were hammered over a roughly two-week stretch that sent the tech-heavy index into a correction, down 10% from its recent highs.

The Nasdaq now sits about 5% off its mid-February records, as investors decided names such as Tesla (TSLA - Free Report) , Zoom Video (ZM - Free Report) , and countless others had taken big enough hits, with some down over 25% from their highs.

The wave of selling was tied to rising bond yields that highlighted stretched tech valuations. Talk of inflation, driven by more government spending and the increased likelihood of a huge vaccine-boosted economic comeback also dominated headlines. But interest rates are still historically low and some of the inflation fears might have been a bit overdone, at least for now.

The quick rebound also highlights why savvy investors often take advantage of pullbacks and corrections to buy their favorite stocks at discounts. So now might be time for investors with longer-term horizons to scoop up a few strong tech stocks at a discount, even if there is more selling pressure…

 

Adobe (ADBE - Free Report)

Adobe’s suite of subscription-based creative and design software from Photoshop to Illustrator are often considered irreplaceable by its various users from individuals in the creative fields to businesses, schools, and beyond. ADBE’s Creative Cloud offerings help provide a solid moat and consistent revenue streams. The tech company that invented the PDF has also expanded its business-focused platforms and solutions for marketing, commerce, and more.

ADBE has introduced newer creative software offerings for the digital media world where consumers expect high-quality content everywhere from Instagram ads to YouTube videos. The company topped our Q4 estimates in December, with its 2020 revenue up 15% to $12.9 billion. The growth followed four straight years of between 22% to 25% top-line expansion for a company that went public in 1986.  

Zacks estimates call for Adobe’s FY21 revenue to pop 18% to $15.2 billion, with fiscal 2022 projected to climb another 14%. These projections stretch Adobe’s streak of roughly 15% or higher sales growth to eight-straight years. Meanwhile, the creative software firm’s adjusted earnings are projected to jump 11.5% and 18%, respectively.

Adobe’s EPS estimates have remained unchanged recently to help it land a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) heading into its Q1 FY21 financial release on March 23. The company has consistently topped our EPS estimates and 11 of the 15 broker recommendations Zacks has for Adobe come in at “Strong Buys,” with none below a “Hold.”

ADBE has soared 420% in the past five years to crush its industry’s 250% climb and Apple’s (AAPL - Free Report) 375%. The stock has cooled down somewhat, up 60% in the past year to lag just behind its industry. Adobe has slipped roughly 8% in the trailing six months.

That said, the stock has popped over the last several days, but at around $451 a share, it sits roughly 13% below its August 2020 highs. Plus, the stock rests below neutral in terms of RSI at 45, after it fell below oversold levels on Monday.

Adobe has also continued to repurchase shares and it trades at a 10% discount to its own year-long median in terms of forward sales and earnings. And the company in December completed its acquisition of a leading work management platform for marketers, Workfront. Therefore, investors might want to consider buying the creative and business software giant that boasts hard-to-replicate offerings.

Nvidia (NVDA - Free Report)

Wall Street loved the GPU firm’s growth within the booming gaming industry. But its ability to expand into and succeed within the ever-growing world of data centers and cloud computing helped further cement Nvidia as a chip powerhouse and Wall Street titan. Nvidia is currently the largest U.S. chipmaker by market cap, having left Intel (INTC - Free Report) in its dust.

The company topped our Q4 FY21 results in late February, with its fourth quarter revenue up 61%. More specifically, its Q4 data center revenue skyrocketed 97% from the year-ago period, with full-year data center sales up 124%. Overall, Nvidia’s full-year revenue climbed 53% to mark its strongest top-line growth in nearly 20 years. NVDA also posted 73% adjusted earnings growth in FY21.

Investors should remember that Nvidia announced in September that it planned to buy Arm Limited from Softbank for $40 billion, mostly in stock. Arm is one of the most important behind-the-scenes companies in the semiconductor world and it could be a potential game-changer for Nvidia and the industry. That said, the deal appears as though it might not make it through the regulatory approval that it must pass in China, the U.K., and the U.S.  

Luckily, Nvidia’s outlook remains strong even if the deal falls through. Zacks estimates call for its FY22 earnings to climb another 33% on 33% stronger revenue that would see it grab $22.3 billion.

Nvidia is then expected to follow up this projected growth with another double-digit expansion on both the top and bottom lines next year. NVDA executives also provided strong guidance that forced analysts to up their outlooks, with its FY22 EPS figure up 14% and FY23 up 13% since its report.

The positivity helps Nvidia land a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) right now. The stock also grabs an “A” grade for Momentum in our Style Scores system and “B” for Growth and 15 of the 21 broker recommendations Zacks has are “Strong Buys” with two more at “Buys.” The company even currently pays a dividend, but its yield is small considering that the stock has skyrocketed roughly 1,500% in the past five years.

More recently, Nvidia is up 140% in the last 12 months. Luckily it has cooled off, having moved roughly sideways over the past six months. And Nvidia was clobbered along with Tesla, Zoom Video, and other pandemic high-flyers as the Nasdaq fell into correction territory.

Wall Street used the recent dip to buy shares at a discount as they stepped in when it reached oversold levels. Nvidia stock popped another 4% on Thursday to close regular trading at around $520 a share. This gives it 15% more room to run before it has to break records.

The recent pullback also improved NVDA’s valuation, with it trading at a 20% discount to its own year-long median when it comes to forward sales. Therefore, long-term investors might want to consider buying the chip firm that’s exposed to multiple growth industries, which also includes cryptocurrency mining.

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