Even though many people view the bull market rally as long in the tooth, given that the beginnings were almost nine years ago, the fact of the matter is bull markets can run a long time, and they often have big corrections within the run. While there is no doubt that we may be closer to the end than the beginning, the final phase is often the most productive in terms of upside, and 2017 has been a good example of that, as the market will post its best year since 2013.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of daily analyst research reports, and this turns into hundreds of reports each week. In the second half of December there have been many Wall Street strategists making big bold predictions for stocks in the year ahead. That is after the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up about 25% and the S&P 500 was up about 20% so far in 2017.

Top strategists around Wall Street, like Savita Subramanian at Merrill Lynch, feel that the place to be for the final push higher in this bull market is momentum. In a recent and lengthy year-end report, Subramanian and her outstanding team acknowledged the nosebleed levels of the market, with the S&P 500 forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio at a rich 18 times, but they also say that missing out on the final run of a bull market can be a losing hand. They maintain that in the late stages of a bull market, momentum is the place to be, and for 2018, momentum equals technology stocks.

A huge silo of the technology sector that could also drive growth in 2018 is memory. It’s been percolating for a while, and some of the top stocks already reflect the growth, but demand for DRAM and 3D NAND flash memory is continuing at a pace that is even astounding some on Wall Street. Flash memory is electronic (solid-state) non-volatile computer medium that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. Dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) is a type of random-access memory that stores each bit of data in a separate capacitor within an integrated circuit.

A recent research report from Stifel indicates that capital expenditures at the big chip companies like Samsung and Intel are rising. The report from earlier this year noted this:

We believe DRAM pricing has held up better than expected (and bit growth may actually be somewhat higher than previously forecasted) and Samsung is aggressively converting its capacity (both DRAM and older planar NAND capacity) to 18 nanometer. We expect the company to maintain a leadership position at this node for approximately six months before the competition can fully ramp.

Lastly, the proliferation of the cloud continues to be one of the most amazing stories in the ever-expanding world of technology. Since the introduction of the smartphone in 2007, just a short 10 years ago, the demand for data both streaming and downloaded has exploded. Toss in massive new Internet of Things applications, big data use, a huge directional change in media and entertainment and a multitude of additional structural use, and the growth just keeps exponentially going higher.

While cloud growth continues almost unabated, so does spending for maintenance and expansion. A new RBC research report traces cloud expenditures, and they continue at a furious pace. According to the report:

Cloud service provider capital expenditures grew ~23% year over year in the third quarter and increased 24% quarter over quarter in our tracker, while the fourth quarter is expected to be stable seasonally and grow +19% year over year.

We screened our December research coverage here at 24/7 Wall St., looking for the top analyst picks for 2018 and beyond, and found 13 companies rated Buy at top Wall Street firms that look poised to continue their strength in the coming year and beyond.

Alibaba

This red-hot momentum stock is being bought this quarter by Dan Loeb, who runs Third Point, a New York–based hedge fund. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE: BABA) runs the largest retail marketplaces (Taobao, TMall) and leading B2B sites (Alibaba.com, 1688.com) in China and Lazada in Southeast Asia. It collects revenues mainly from commissions, marketing services, subscription fees, cloud computing and software, as well as other value-added services.

The company has gone beyond e-commerce and developed into a sophisticated new type of conglomerate in the cyber-era with e-commerce as the base for the rest of the four businesses: logistics, finance, data-computing and cross-border infrastructure. Top analysts expect a whopping 24% compounded annual growth rate between now and 2018 for e-commerce in China.

The SunTrust price target for the shares is $210, and the Wall Street consensus target is $208.37. The shares closed Friday at $172.34.

Alphabet

The search giant continues to expand and is even working on a driverless car now. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) is a global technology company focused around key areas, such as search, advertising, operating systems and platforms, enterprise and hardware products. It generates revenue primarily by delivering online advertising and by selling apps and contents on Google Play, as well as hardware products. The company provides its products and services in more than 100 languages and in 190 countries, regions and territories.

Alphabet offers performance and brand advertising services. It operates through Google and Other Bets segments. The Google segment includes principal internet products, such as Search, Ads, Commerce, Maps, YouTube, Apps, Cloud, Android, Chrome and Google Play, as well as technical infrastructure and newer efforts, such as virtual reality.

SunTrust has a $1,180 price target, and the consensus price objective is $1,178.57. The shares closed on Friday at $1053.40.

Amazon

This absolute leader in online retail and dominant player in cloud storage business remains the top internet pick at many firms on Wall Street. Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) serves consumers through retail websites that primarily include merchandise and content purchased for resale from vendors and those offered by third-party sellers.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is also the undisputed leader in the cloud now, and many top analysts see the company expanding and moving up the enterprise information value chain and targeting a larger total addressable market. The company serves developers and enterprises through AWS that provides compute, storage, database, analytics, applications and deployment services that enable virtually various businesses.

The Merrill Lynch price target for the shares is $1,220, and the posted consensus target is $1,274.60. The shares closed most recently at $1169.47.

Applied Materials

Stifel feels this semiconductor capital equipment leader has the broadest range of exposure to 3D NAND and foundry display. Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) is the global leader in precision materials engineering solutions for the semiconductor, flat panel display and solar photovoltaic industries. Applied Material’s technologies help make innovations like smartphones, flat screen TVs and solar panels more affordable and accessible to consumers and businesses around the world.

Investors receive a 1.01% dividend. The $66 Stifel price target is less than the consensus target of $67.40. Shares closed on Friday at $51.12.

Expedia

This online travel leader is poised for a potential big 2018. Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) is the leading internet travel pure-play with exposure to online travel in the United States, Europe and Asia. The company’s portfolio of brands includes Expedia, Orbitz, HomeAway, Travelocity, Hotels.com, Trivago, Egencia, Hotwire, Wotif, Venere and Classic Vacations.

Investors receive a 0.8% dividend. The massive $170 SunTrust target price compares with the $152.17 consensus price target. Expedia closed Friday at $119.77.

Facebook

The huge social media leader has continued to post gigantic numbers. Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) operates as a mobile application and website that enables people to connect, share, discover and communicate each other on mobile devices and personal computers worldwide.

Its solutions also include Instagram, a mobile application that enables people to take photos or videos, customize them with filter effects, and share them with friends and followers in a photo feed or send them directly to friends; Messenger, a messaging application for mobile and web on various platforms and devices, which enable people to reach others instantly, as well as enable businesses to engage with customers; and WhatsApp Messenger, a mobile messaging application.

SunTrust has set its price target at $215. The consensus target is $208.21, and shares closed on Friday at $176.46.

Intel

This leader in semiconductors is working hard to scale away from dependence on personal computers, and the Internet of Things and data center cloud spending are a big part of the shift. Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) designs, manufactures and sells integrated digital technology platforms worldwide. It operates through Client Computing Group, Data Center Group, Internet of Things Group, Software and Services, and All Other segments.

The company’s platforms are used in various computing applications comprising notebooks, two-in-one systems, desktops, servers, tablets, smartphones, wireless and wired connectivity products, wearables, retail devices and manufacturing devices, as well as for retail, transportation, industrial, buildings, home use and other market segments.

Intel investors receive a 2.36% dividend. The Merrill Lynch price target is $49 and soon should be lifted higher. The consensus target was last seen at $47.07. The shares closed Friday at $46.16.

Micron Technology

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) is a global leader in advanced semiconductor systems, and hedge fund manager David Einhorn from Greenlight Capital has been buying the shares recently. Micron’s broad portfolio of high-performance memory technologies, including DRAM, NAND and NOR flash, is the basis for solid state drives, modules, multichip packages and other system solutions. Its memory chip solutions enable the world’s most innovative computing, consumer, enterprise storage, networking, mobile, embedded and automotive applications.

Micron and Intel announced last year the availability of their 3D NAND technology, the world’s highest-density flash memory. Flash is the storage technology used inside the lightest laptops, fastest data centers and nearly every cell phone, tablet and mobile device.

The $60 Merrill Lynch price target compares with the consensus target price of $58.79, as well as the most recent closing price of at $41.12 a share.

Microsoft

This top old-school technology stock has posted all-time highs this year and has a massive $121.79 billion sitting on the balance sheet. Microsoft Inc. (NASDAQ: MSFT) continues to find an increasing amount of support from portfolio managers, who have added the software giant to their holdings at an increasingly faster pace all of this year and last.

Numerous Wall Street analysts feel that Microsoft has become a clear number two in the public or hyper-scale cloud infrastructure market with Azure, which is the company’s cloud computing platform offering. Some have flagged Azure as a solid rival to Amazon’s AWS service. Analysts also maintain that Microsoft is discounting Azure for large enterprises, such that Azure may be cheaper than AWS for larger users. The cloud was big in the recent report.

Microsoft shareholders receive a 2% dividend. Merrill Lynch has a $98 price target, while the consensus target is $92.75. Shares closed Friday at $85.54.

Lam Research

This remains one of the top chip equipment picks across Wall Street. Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ: LRCX) designs, manufactures, markets, refurbishes and services semiconductor processing equipment used in the fabrication of integrated circuits. The company offers plasma etch products that remove materials from the wafer to create the features and patterns of a device.

Many Wall Street analysts have highlighted the company and its peers as having a significant equipment opportunity from the NAND evolution as well. Lam Research also appears well positioned to gain share in the wafer fab equipment market, driven by a strong focus on technology inflection spending over the next few years.

Shareholders are paid a 1.08% dividend. The Stifel price target for the shares is $235, which compares to a posted consensus price objective of $226.75. The stock closed Friday at $184.07 a share.

NVIDIA

This top chip company reported strong earnings throughout the past year, and it was the top performing stock in the S&P 500 in 2016. NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) is one of the leaders when it comes to supplying graphics processing technology for the 3D graphics market, including desktop graphics processors and gaming consoles.

NVIDIA is also moving into visual computing chips for cars, mobile devices and supercomputers. The company has been able to use its ability to leverage past investments, with a more controlled spending structure ahead on unified, which enables strong cash flow that is allowing a focus on capital return, which is currently estimated to be $1 billion next year.

Investors in NVIDIA are paid a small 0.3% dividend. The $213.50 posted consensus price target is much lower than the RBC price objective of $240. The shares were last seen trading at $193.50 apiece.

VMware

This may still be one of the best stocks to own and is one of Merrill Lynch’s top software picks for 2018. VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) provides virtualization infrastructure solutions in the United States and internationally.

The company’s virtualization infrastructure solutions include a suite of products designed to deliver a software-defined data center run on industry-standard desktop computers and servers, and support a range of operating system and application environments, as well as networking and storage infrastructures. Its solutions enable organizations to aggregate multiple servers, storage infrastructure and networks together into shared pools of capacity.

Merrill Lynch has a price target of $148, while the consensus estimate is lower at $132.66. The shares closed most recently at $125.32.

Western Digital

This long-time innovator in the storage industry is a leader in the total addressable HDD market. Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC) is an industry-leading developer and manufacturer of storage solutions that help to create, manage, experience and preserve digital content.

The company is responding to changing market needs by providing a full portfolio of compelling, high-quality storage products with effective technology deployment, high efficiency, flexibility and speed. Its products are marketed under the HGST and WD brands to original equipment manufacturers, distributors, resellers, cloud infrastructure providers and consumers.

Western Digital shareholders are paid a 2.48% dividend. The RBC team has put a $115 price target on the stock. The consensus price target was last seen at $115.77, and the stock closed trading on Friday, the last trading day of the year, at $79.53 per share.

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These 13 top technology stocks for 2018 all have had a solid year and should be poised for exponential growth in 2018. Plus, don’t forget that many of these companies have mountains of cash stored overseas, which may be coming home thanks to the new tax reform law.

Also check out some top semiconductor and biotech stocks that analysts recommend for 2018.

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