24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week with a goal of finding new ideas for investors and traders alike. The calls seen in the past week show that analysts still favor tech stocks, even though the sector has soared in the past year and many of the stocks may be overvalued.
These analysts favored the following eight top tech stocks last week, though a few seem like contrarian calls.
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Alphabet Upgraded at Loop Capital
Loop Capital reiterated its $2,525 price target when it upgraded Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) from Hold to Buy on Tuesday. Several analysts reiterated Buy-equivalent ratings after this tech giant posted quarterly results earlier this month, but JMP Securities and Wedbush also boosted their price targets to $2,400 and $2,470, respectively. The consensus target is $2,321.05 a share, and all but five of the 43 analysts surveyed recommend buying shares.
The stock has pulled back a bit from the recent all-time high of $2,145.14 per share but is still well up from the 52-week low of $1,008.87 from last March. The share price is more than 29% higher year to date, while the Nasdaq has seen almost an 8% gain in that time.
Canaccord Genuity Picks CrowdStrike
On Wednesday, Mizuho maintained its Buy rating on CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWD) and lifted its price target from $205 to $270. The following day, Canaccord Genuity started coverage of the stock with a Buy rating and a $280 target price. Stifel wasn’t a fan though, with its Hold rating and $240 target. The consensus price target of $226.73 is less than the most recent close, but analysts on average recommend buying shares.
This cybersecurity company announced an acquisition this week too. The stock retreated marginally in the past week, pulling back from an all-time high of $251.28. The 52-week low is $31.95, and the share price has risen around 13% since the beginning of the year.
Facebook, a Bull of the Day
On Wednesday, Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which pondered whether, with the lowest price-to-earnings ratio of the FAANG stocks, this stock was a value. Loop Capital has a Buy rating and recently boosted its price target from $330 to $370. Analysts on average recommend buying shares. They have a consensus price target of $338.42.
The social media giant has found itself at odds lately with a fellow FAANG component over privacy matters. Shares ended the past week near $261, down over 4% from the beginning of the year. Again, the Nasdaq is up less than 8% in that time.
Micron Technology, a Daiwa Securities Pick
On Thursday, Daiwa Securities initiated coverage on Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) stock with a Buy rating and price target of $140. Cascend Securities also has a Buy rating and recently hiked its $90 price target to $100. Zacks named the stock a Bull of the Day last month, pointing out that shares have soared over the past several months and the impressive fiscal first-quarter results showcased why the memory chip powerhouse might have more room to run.
The analysts’ consensus recommendation is to buy shares, and it has been for at least three months. The consensus price target on the shares is $95.87. The stock is up about 20% year to date and hit a multiyear high of $91.49 on Friday. The 52-week low of $31.13 was seen last spring.
It’s NetApp for Longbow
Longbow upgraded NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) to Buy from Neutral on Friday, in what seems like something of a contrarian call. The $66.05 consensus price target is well below the most recent close, though the street-high target is up at $100. While less than half of the analysts surveyed recommend buying shares, the sentiment has improved somewhat from last month.
On Friday, the shares saw a new 52-week high of $71.68. They have changed hands as low as $34.66 apiece in the past year. Note that the stock is up almost 8% year to date, the same as the Nasdaq in that time.
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Goldman Sachs Favors Palantir Technologies
Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs, which also raised its price target to $34 on Wednesday. The firm appears to be bucking the trend here, as other analysts have been less enthusiastic lately. The software company posted strong results, but with a weak revenue forecast, and shares pulled back as the lockup period expired.
The consensus price target of $25.83 suggests that the analysts see no upside, even after shares retreated around 9% in the past week. Shares have traded as high as $45.00 and as low as $8.90 since coming public via a direct listing last year.
BofA Securities Recommends Seagate Technology
BofA Securities upgraded Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ: STX) from Underperform all the way to Buy on Thursday, and the firm maintained its street-high $90 price objective. Also this past week, Craig Hallum boosted its target price from $78 to $90, and it has a Buy rating as well. These firms are bucking the trend here, as 19 out of 27 analysts surveyed recommend holding shares, and the consensus price target is down at $67.43.
The data storage company posted better than expected fiscal second-quarter earnings last month, and the share price is more than 20% higher since then. The stock has traded mostly between $71 and $73 in the past week, and it has a 52-week trading range of $39.02 to $77.07. That high came in the wake of the quarterly report.
Deutsche Bank Sticks With Square
Deutsche reiterated its Buy rating on Bank Square Inc. (NYSE: SQ) on Wednesday, and it lifted its price target from $255 to a street-high $330 per share. The firm sees this mobile payments company as a recovery story, and this call came ahead of the earnings report expected next week. Late last month, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated its Outperform rating and $266 target price. The consensus recommendation is to buy shares, though the sentiment has weakened somewhat recently. The consensus target price is only $229.20.
The stock is up around 27% year to date and recently traded at a multiyear high of $283.19. That is almost 776% higher than the 52-week low of $32.33, which was seen during the market selloff in March of last year.
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