UBS’s Top New Growth at Reasonable Price Stocks to Buy

July 22, 2014 by Lee Jackson

As the stock market rises and rises, investors start to look for growth stocks that have not yet rallied too much or that do not have nose-bleed valuations. After all, no one wants to own stocks that they feel have risks that outweigh the rewards at the time. Add high prices with a general sense of foreboding that seems to be almost everywhere, and it becomes tough to pull the trigger with new capital that needs to be put to work. A new research report from UBS adds a top new name to their Quality Growth at a Reasonable Price, or Q-GARP, list.

We also screened all the top technology names that are currently on the list to bring our readers the UBS updates on these top names to own.

Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) is a top consumer discretionary pick that is a brand new addition to the UBS Q-GARP list. With an incredible range of properties from films to amusement parks to broadcast and cable networks, the company continues to churn out tremendous earnings. With the summer vacation season in full swing, the parks are jammed to capacity.

UBS cites the company’s strong quantitative metrics that are driven by one of the strongest and most recognizable consumer brands in the world, solid competitive advantages for the ESPN cable network and a rejuvenated production studio that is once again churning out box office hits (such as “Frozen,” which was a gigantic hit). Investors are paid a 1% dividend. The Thomson/First Call consensus price target for the stock is $89.56. Shares closed Monday at $85.74.

ALSO READ: Cowen’s Top IT and Data Stock Picks for the Rest of 2014

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) reports earnings after the close Tuesday, and investors will be looking very closely at the results. Reports indicate that the company has placed orders for 70 million to 80 million of the 4.7 inch and 5.5 inch iPhone 6 units. That is a sizable increase from the 50 million to 60 million iPhone 5s/5c units Apple initially ordered last year.

Despite its huge presence, Apple is one of the most underweighted stocks by portfolio managers. That may change if the earnings and forward guidance beat expectations. Shareholders are paid a 2.1% dividend. The consensus price target for the tech giant is $100.85. Apple closed Monday at $93.94.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (NASDAQ: CTSH) was added to the Q-GARP list in June and is a top tech name to buy at UBS and on Wall Street. The company provides information technology (IT), consulting and business process outsourcing services worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Financial Services; Healthcare; Manufacturing, Retail, and Logistics; and Other. It offers consulting and technology services, such as IT strategy, program management, operations improvement, strategy and business consulting services.

The company has really struggled during the first half of the year, becoming a prime value play for technology investors looking for stocks to add to their portfolios for the second half of the year. The consensus price target for this top tech name is at $56.20. Cognizant closed Monday at $49.35.

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) is continuing to make improvements in the user experience. eBay’s marketplaces keep attracting new users, evidenced by double-digit growth in active users and items sold. eBay announced recently expansion into 10 new countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America, bringing the total number of territories PayPal serves to 203. Customers that have Web access and a bank card authorized for Internet transactions in the new regions will now be able to sign up for accounts.

eBay reported solid second-quarter earnings, and the PayPal business continues to be very strong. Wall Street activists have called for the company to spin off the successful payment arm. The consensus price target is $59.50. Shares closed Monday at $51.70.

ALSO READ: GE’s Value and Identity Crisis for 2014 and 2015

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) is slowly, but surely starting to dominate every nook and cranny of technology. The company once again reported staggering second-quarter earnings and traded up smartly. Google remains the undisputed leader in search, has a very solid cloud offering and has introduced new forays into everything from driverless cars to home thermostats and infrastructure control. Add in a thriving Android OS platform for smartphones and tablets and home content controls to rival Apple, and the company is simply continuing to grow at a frantic pace and maul the competition.

A huge stock split has made the stock at least somewhat affordable. The consensus price target for the technology behemoth is set at $672.32. Google closed Monday at $598.44 a share.

Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) remains the 900-pound gorilla in the wireless space, despite its slight earnings miss last quarter. The UBS analysts are very positive on the stock, which is rated Buy at the firm. While they are only expecting an in-line report this week, they feel that the company could produce 9% quarter-over-quarter gains in the fiscal fourth-quarter report from the seasonal ramp of new products, especially from Apple. They also point out that much of China’s 4G demand is expected to happen in the second half of 2014.

Qualcomm’s Systems on a Chip (SoCs) will go into 1.22 billion to 1.3 billion devices this year. This represents a consolidated growth rate of 13% to 20%. Because Qualcomm operates at such economies of scale, the company has a lot of flexibility when it comes to pricing. That means it can produce margin gains better than many competitors. Investors are paid a 2.1% dividend. The UBS target price is $89, and the consensus target is $85.61. Qualcomm closed Monday at $79.67.

While the market will attempt to grind higher if earnings remain solid, investors need to be on the lookout for a fall sell-off. The market volume will slow dramatically in August as the vacation season wraps up, so it makes sense to perhaps scale some funds in now and wait for a better entry point.

ALSO READ: UBS Lists 6 Stocks With Positive Catalysts Coming Soon

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