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4 Tech Picks That Saw Double-Digit Gains Amid Volatility in Past Month
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Key Takeaways
DELL gains on strong AI server demand, securing $34.1B in orders and building backlog.
CIEN rides AI and cloud demand, boosting optical share and raising fiscal 2026 revenue outlook.
LITE and Samsara benefit from AI infrastructure and IoT growth, driving strong earnings outlook.
Wall Street witnessed an astonishing rally in the last three years buoyed by an unprecedented explosion of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. The AI rally also continued in the first two months of 2026.
Of late, a large section of financial experts and researchers has become skeptical about the sustainability of the AI trade. Moreover, the break-out of war in the Middle East, surging crude oil prices and sticky inflation significantly dented market participants’ confidence.
As investors booked profits on highly overvalued technology stocks, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index tumbled 4.2% in the past month. The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) — one of the 11 broad sectors of the S&P 500 Index — fell 3% in the past month.
Despite these headwinds, a handful of large-cap technology stocks popped in the past month. Here, we recommend four such stocks with a favorable Zacks Rank to gain in the near future.
The chart below shows the price performance of our five picks in the past month.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Dell Technologies Inc.
Zacks Rank #2 Dell Technologies benefits from strong demand for AI servers driven by the ongoing digital transformation and heightened interest in generative AI applications. DELL secured $34.1 billion in AI server orders, surpassing shipments and building a strong backlog. Strong enterprise demand for AI-optimized servers aids DELL.
A robust partner base that includes the likes of NVIDIA, Google, and Microsoft has been a major growth driver. AI server demand remained robust, contributing $9 billion to fourth-quarter 2025 revenues. Dell’s enterprise AI customer base surpassed 4,000, with broad adoption across industries.
DELL’s PowerEdge XE9680 AI-optimized server is very much in demand. The launch of advanced AI-optimized servers including the PowerEdge XE9780 and 9780L platforms supporting up to 256 NVIDIA HGX B300 GPUs per rack, the XE9712 with NVIDIA GB300 NVL72, and the XE7745 supporting NVIDIA RTX Pro 6000 Blackwell GPUs has been noteworthy.
In the last reported quarter, DELL launched the PowerEdge XE9712 supporting NVIDIA's NVL72 GB200. It launched the Dell Infrastructure Rack Sobel system, IR7000 and 5000 in both 21-inch and 19-inch versions, providing up to 96 GPUs in a rack and 786 GPUs in a scalable unit. The strong demand trend bodes well for DELL’s long-term prospects.
Dell Technologies has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 24.2% and 24%, respectively, for the current year (ending January 2027). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year’s earnings has improved 0.6% over the past seven days.
Ciena Corp.
Zacks Rank #1 Ciena has been benefiting from accelerating AI-led demand from cloud and service provider customers. Powered by strong cloud and service provider momentum, CIEN has gained 2 points of optical market share year to date and expects further gains in 2026.
Increased network traffic, higher demand for bandwidth, and the adoption of cloud architectures remain the key growth drivers as CIEN expects to improve its profitability with a balanced mix of new and existing customers.
Networking Platforms' growth is fueled by accelerating Optical demand, a sharp rise in RLS activity, and strong Routing and Switching traction from DCI deployments. CIEN lifted its fiscal 2026 revenue outlook to $5.7-$6.1 billion, nearly 24% growth at the midpoint, up from the prior 17%, on strong demand from cloud, DCI, and AI infrastructure.
Ciena has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 27.1% and more than 100%, respectively, for the current year (ending October 2026). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year’s earnings has improved 13.4% in the past 30 days.
Lumentum Holdings Inc.
Zacks Rank #1 Lumentum Holdings designs and manufactures optical and photonic technologies for high-speed telecommunications, data centers, and advanced manufacturing. LITE provides components, such as transceivers and lasers for fiber-optic networks, supporting the rapid growth of AI, cloud computing, 5G connectivity, and beyond.
LITE’s fiscal second-quarter 2026 results mark a significant inflection point for the company, driven by strengthening demand for AI infrastructure connectivity solutions. LITE’s robust revenue growth reflects accelerating customer adoption of optical technologies that address bandwidth and power efficiency challenges in modern AI workloads.
LITE’s technology leadership in high-speed optical components has positioned it as an essential supplier to hyperscale customers deploying next-generation network architectures. Moreover, LITE has a strong collaboration with NVIDIA for developing NVDA’s silicon photonics ecosystem, especially for deploying the latter’s Spectrum-X Photonics networking switches.
Lumentum Holdings has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 77% and more than 100%, respectively, for the current year (ending June 2026). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year’s earnings has improved 0.1% over the past seven days.
Samsara Inc.
Zacks Rank #1 Samsara provides solutions that connect physical operations data to its connected operations cloud in the United States and internationally. IOT is developing and building sensor systems that utilize wireless sensors with remote networking and cloud-based analytics.
IOT’s Connected Operations Cloud includes Data Platform, which ingests, aggregates, and enriches data from its IoT devices and has embedded capabilities for AI, workflow analytics, alerts, API connections, and data security and privacy.
Samsara has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 21.9% and 21.4%, respectively, for the current year (ending January 2027). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year’s earnings has improved 19.3% in the past 30 days.
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4 Tech Picks That Saw Double-Digit Gains Amid Volatility in Past Month
Key Takeaways
Wall Street witnessed an astonishing rally in the last three years buoyed by an unprecedented explosion of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. The AI rally also continued in the first two months of 2026.
Of late, a large section of financial experts and researchers has become skeptical about the sustainability of the AI trade. Moreover, the break-out of war in the Middle East, surging crude oil prices and sticky inflation significantly dented market participants’ confidence.
As investors booked profits on highly overvalued technology stocks, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index tumbled 4.2% in the past month. The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) — one of the 11 broad sectors of the S&P 500 Index — fell 3% in the past month.
Despite these headwinds, a handful of large-cap technology stocks popped in the past month. Here, we recommend four such stocks with a favorable Zacks Rank to gain in the near future.
These stocks are: Dell Technologies Inc. (DELL - Free Report) , Ciena Corp. (CIEN - Free Report) , Lumentum Holdings Inc. (LITE - Free Report) and Samsara Inc. (IOT - Free Report) . Each of our picks currently carries either a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The chart below shows the price performance of our five picks in the past month.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Dell Technologies Inc.
Zacks Rank #2 Dell Technologies benefits from strong demand for AI servers driven by the ongoing digital transformation and heightened interest in generative AI applications. DELL secured $34.1 billion in AI server orders, surpassing shipments and building a strong backlog. Strong enterprise demand for AI-optimized servers aids DELL.
A robust partner base that includes the likes of NVIDIA, Google, and Microsoft has been a major growth driver. AI server demand remained robust, contributing $9 billion to fourth-quarter 2025 revenues. Dell’s enterprise AI customer base surpassed 4,000, with broad adoption across industries.
DELL’s PowerEdge XE9680 AI-optimized server is very much in demand. The launch of advanced AI-optimized servers including the PowerEdge XE9780 and 9780L platforms supporting up to 256 NVIDIA HGX B300 GPUs per rack, the XE9712 with NVIDIA GB300 NVL72, and the XE7745 supporting NVIDIA RTX Pro 6000 Blackwell GPUs has been noteworthy.
In the last reported quarter, DELL launched the PowerEdge XE9712 supporting NVIDIA's NVL72 GB200. It launched the Dell Infrastructure Rack Sobel system, IR7000 and 5000 in both 21-inch and 19-inch versions, providing up to 96 GPUs in a rack and 786 GPUs in a scalable unit. The strong demand trend bodes well for DELL’s long-term prospects.
Dell Technologies has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 24.2% and 24%, respectively, for the current year (ending January 2027). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year’s earnings has improved 0.6% over the past seven days.
Ciena Corp.
Zacks Rank #1 Ciena has been benefiting from accelerating AI-led demand from cloud and service provider customers. Powered by strong cloud and service provider momentum, CIEN has gained 2 points of optical market share year to date and expects further gains in 2026.
Increased network traffic, higher demand for bandwidth, and the adoption of cloud architectures remain the key growth drivers as CIEN expects to improve its profitability with a balanced mix of new and existing customers.
Networking Platforms' growth is fueled by accelerating Optical demand, a sharp rise in RLS activity, and strong Routing and Switching traction from DCI deployments. CIEN lifted its fiscal 2026 revenue outlook to $5.7-$6.1 billion, nearly 24% growth at the midpoint, up from the prior 17%, on strong demand from cloud, DCI, and AI infrastructure.
Ciena has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 27.1% and more than 100%, respectively, for the current year (ending October 2026). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year’s earnings has improved 13.4% in the past 30 days.
Lumentum Holdings Inc.
Zacks Rank #1 Lumentum Holdings designs and manufactures optical and photonic technologies for high-speed telecommunications, data centers, and advanced manufacturing. LITE provides components, such as transceivers and lasers for fiber-optic networks, supporting the rapid growth of AI, cloud computing, 5G connectivity, and beyond.
LITE’s fiscal second-quarter 2026 results mark a significant inflection point for the company, driven by strengthening demand for AI infrastructure connectivity solutions. LITE’s robust revenue growth reflects accelerating customer adoption of optical technologies that address bandwidth and power efficiency challenges in modern AI workloads.
LITE’s technology leadership in high-speed optical components has positioned it as an essential supplier to hyperscale customers deploying next-generation network architectures. Moreover, LITE has a strong collaboration with NVIDIA for developing NVDA’s silicon photonics ecosystem, especially for deploying the latter’s Spectrum-X Photonics networking switches.
Lumentum Holdings has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 77% and more than 100%, respectively, for the current year (ending June 2026). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year’s earnings has improved 0.1% over the past seven days.
Samsara Inc.
Zacks Rank #1 Samsara provides solutions that connect physical operations data to its connected operations cloud in the United States and internationally. IOT is developing and building sensor systems that utilize wireless sensors with remote networking and cloud-based analytics.
IOT’s Connected Operations Cloud includes Data Platform, which ingests, aggregates, and enriches data from its IoT devices and has embedded capabilities for AI, workflow analytics, alerts, API connections, and data security and privacy.
Samsara has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 21.9% and 21.4%, respectively, for the current year (ending January 2027). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year’s earnings has improved 19.3% in the past 30 days.