With the first week of trading in the books for November, the stock market is at a crossroads. Even though high-quality stocks have been hitting new lows, blue-chip tech stocks should still be on investors’ buy lists.
We’ll see soon what October’s inflation results bring, but so far, the rhetoric from the Federal Reserve is not good. Chairman Jerome Powell signaled that while the size of the Fed’s rate hikes may decrease, the Fed’s outlook on rates staying “higher for longer” has not.
What does that have to do with stocks?
The more hawkish that the Fed’s monetary policy is, the more bearish it is for the stock market — generally speaking. So even though the market’s best blue-chip tech stocks will be just fine, they are under pressure as broad-market selling accelerates.
Let’s look at the best stocks to buy now.
Microsoft (MSFT)
When I look at Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), I can’t help but get excited. When other stocks are getting decimated, investors often get nervous about future potential losses. With Microsoft, that same fear is not present.
The company simply dominates in tech.
It has an enormous presence in social media (via LinkedIn), gaming, cloud-computing, and PC and enterprise computers, among other areas. It has allowed Microsoft to become one of the most dominant names in tech with a robust balance sheet and strong cash flows.
Microsoft even has better operating margins than all of FAANG. Its trailing operating margins of 41.7% are more than 10 points higher than the next highest performer, which is Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) (at 30.3%).
While future growth prospects did take a small hit for this year, analysts still expect 7% revenue growth. Beyond that though, analysts expect 12.5% to 15% annual revenue growth over the next three years.
Lastly, until now, the largest correction Microsoft has suffered since the Great Financial Crisis is 30.5%. At last week’s low, the stock was down 38.5% from its high. That seems like an opportunity in one of the market’s clear blue-chip tech stocks today.
Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG)
Like Microsoft, patient investors now find themselves with an overwhelmingly attractive situation with Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL, NASDAQ:GOOG). After making all-time highs in February, the stock is suddenly down 45%. A bulk of those losses have been felt over the last two weeks, as the stock has fallen more than 20% from its high on Oct. 25.
To be fair, this stock will see a slowdown as the global economy experiences a slowdown. It’s just the way ad-spend works as companies slash marketing budgets.
That said, consensus expectations call for a 16% earnings dip this year despite 10% revenue growth. While estimates for FY 2023 are subject to change (and are a bit premature), analysts call for 12% earnings growth on 8% revenue growth.
In other words, Alphabet stock has been nearly cut in half, yet is only forecast to suffer the equivalent of a bump in the road. Shares trade at just 18.5 times this year’s estimate and 16 times next year’s estimate, while boasting more than $116 billion in cash on its balance sheet.
Palo Alto Networks (PANW)
There is a temptation to go with Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) in this last slot and while I do believe that this company will continue to dominate, there’s one that’s standing out even more to me right now: Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW).
While Palo Alto Networks may not be the stock that jumps out to investors looking for blue-chip tech stocks to buy, it should be. In a world where cybersecurity spending continues to climb, this is the bluest of blue-chip stocks in this space.
After generating 30% revenue growth last year, management expects roughly 25% revenue growth this year. We know that after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results in August, it then provided a strong outlook for the current fiscal year.
Estimates call for strong top- and bottom-line growth in the coming years, but the truth is rather straightforward: Companies continue to invest in cybersecurity because they have to.
In the fourth-quarter earnings conference call, management noted that many of its customers “increasingly have the confidence” to make longer-term deals with Palo Alto. More specifically, “the vast majority of our customers continue on their investments here despite the expected short-term macro impacts.”
That’s likely why we’ve seen shares hold up relatively well until the last few days, when Palo Alto stock fell ~17% last week. Investors may find the $125 to $135 area attractive for an initial entry with a long-term outlook.
— Brett Kenwell
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Source: Investor Place