Technology

6 UBS Favorite Tech Stocks to Buy Now

EMC

This company is trading at an incredibly low 14.16 estimated adjusted 2015 earnings, versus 15.1 for 2014. EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) is the leader in storage, and the constant increase in data makes the stock a core holding for technology investors. With the company expected to buy back $3 billion of stock in 2015 and the lower VMware numbers baked into future calculations, now may be a good time to add shares of this outstanding technology stock.

Some on Wall Street are not thrilled with the progress the company is making, and have said the stock was “dead money.” They argue that until numerous catalysts kick in, the stock will go nowhere. The company recently announced it plans to acquire global cloud service provider Virtustream in an all-cash transaction of approximately $1.2 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2015. Early reaction to the deal is very positive.

EMC investors are paid a 1.7% dividend. The UBS price target for the tech giant is $28.50, and consensus target is $30.45. EMC closed Thursday at $27.01.

ALSO READ: 5 More Semiconductor Merger Candidates After Altera

Fortinet

Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ: FTNT) is well liked on Wall Street and analysts have pointed to specific reasons for the bullish posture:

  1. The large push into enterprise and OMP
  2. The impact of the improved inventory management
  3. The new “Easy 4” pricing model released earlier this year, which involves a new bundled product sales strategy

Fortinet shareholders cheered in April as the company posted first-quarter earnings that beat expectations, forecast revenue during the quarter was higher, and management raised its year outlook above consensus. Wall Street also cheered as the company said the tone of business is very strong and CEO Ken Xie believes demand for network security software solutions is the strongest “in 20 years.”

The UBS price target is set at $45, and the consensus objective is $41.09. Shares closed Thursday at $39.50 apiece.

Hewlett-Packard

This old-school tech stock has been sold off hard as investors feel that the slowdown in personal computer (PC) sales could continue to hurt earnings. Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) stock is down a whopping 16% year to date and trades at a very low 9.3 times 2015 estimated earnings. Some Wall Street analysts feel that weak PC demand could continue to negatively impact revenue and free-cash-flow at the company. The recent decline in the stock may represent investors already discounting what could be a slow year at the Silicon Valley icon. HP does a large 65% of sales to foreign accounts, and the dollar may have topped out after a long run, which could help in the second half of 2015.

The server business is where many top analysts on Wall Street are bullish, and by adding in the firm’s very solid printer business, investors may be well advised to look at this stock at current lower trading levels.

HP investors are paid a 2.07% dividend. UBS has a very solid $40 price target for the stock. The consensus target is posted at $40.47. Shares closed Thursday at $33.30.

ALSO READ: Deutsche Bank’s 3 Top Tech Stocks to Buy Before the Market Corrects

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