In this article, we will discuss the 10 Best Affordable Tech Stocks to Buy According to Analysts.
Undoubtedly, technology continues to change rapidly. In a tech-rich world, investors and analysts have a lot to pick from. As we all know, Artificial Intelligence (Al) dominated conversations over the last couple of years.
US stocks have seen some revival from their recent lows as the economic data has provided confidence about the health of the US economy. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund has seen a run-up of over ~19% on a YTD basis. Much of this rally in the IT space was led by optimism about AI technology. However, some hints about the rate cuts also supported the broader increase.
As per the latest data, the global Al market has been pegged at $196.63 billion (according to estimates from Grand View Research). This exhibits a rise of ~$60 billion since 2022. This growth stemmed from increased practical use cases of Al technology, ranging from content creation to self-driving cars.
Growth of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Extended Reality (XR)
Al should continue to advance rapidly, with an improved focus on areas including natural language processing, computer vision, and generative Al. PWC reported that ~45% of total economic gains by 2030 should come from product enhancements, fueling consumer demand. Al is expected to drive greater product variety, with higher personalization, attractiveness, and affordability. The greatest economic gains from Al are expected to be in China (26% boost to GDP in 2030) and North America (14.5% boost). This equates to $10.7 trillion and will account for ~70% of the global economic impact.
Extended Reality (XR), which is known as the convergence of Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR), is expected to create immersive experiences throughout industries, mainly in gaming and entertainment. The increased use of smartphones, higher adoption of smart electronic devices, and deployments of 5G technology are expected to act as key growth drivers of the extended reality market in North America.
Notably, media companies have explored the possibility of using XR technology as a medium to tell stories and as an advertising outlet for numerous years. The interactive ad campaigns and product visualization components of XR should help drive growth in the advertising industry.
Cybersecurity Technology – Need and Emergence
The cybersecurity technology market has been pegged at US$190.4 billion in 2023, and this should touch US$298.5 billion in 2028 (according to data from Markets and Markets). This represents a CAGR of ~9.4%. Such healthy growth is expected to stem from the increased sophistication of cyber threats, the expansion of the digital landscape, and the pressing need for data protection. Therefore, cybersecurity solutions like data encryption, firewalls, and antivirus software are being used to protect and transfer data.
Technologies ranging from AI, machine learning (ML), and automation are being widely used in cybersecurity technology to improve threat detection and predictive analytics. The higher demand for industrial robots together with the growing adoption of managed security services should help create new opportunities in the market. Also, robotic cybersecurity solutions tend to protect endpoints and connectivity stacks help in preventing data leaks and asset downtimes.
Trends in Robotics
Robotic automation has seen wide acceptance throughout industries because of the introduction of digitization and the Industry 4.0 revolution. As a result, there has been a drastic change in traditional production and operational procedures. In Industry 4.0, smart factories are developed in a way that the machines can collaborate with human workers and other machines in real-time. This is done by using cloud computing, IoT, and cyber-physical systems.
The emergence of numerous techniques focused on production control and the introduction of automation solutions continue to make the key components of present production improvement policies. Apart from this, the awareness of industrial robots led to their deployment across manufacturing and healthcare industries. Moreover, demand is majorly driven by higher labor charges, which has prompted manufacturers to replace human labor with machines. Notably, Asia and Europe are tagged as the key growth regions of the world.
Growth in smart factories or smart manufacturing is expected to stem from rapid digitalization across varied industries and higher demand for industrial automation. A further factor that is expected to support growth over the next few years is the extensive use of manufacturing execution systems (MES) along with sophisticated data models for process-specific operations. The market for smart factories continues to see traction due to the increased use of reconditioned industrial robots and radio frequency identification (RFID) systems.
10 Best Affordable Tech Stocks to Buy According to Analysts
Our methodology
To compile the list of 10 Best Affordable Tech Stocks to Buy According to Analysts, we used the Finviz screener and applied relevant filters to our screen. We chose the stocks which have a forward P/E multiple of less than ~22.40x (as the broader market has a forward P/E of ~22.40x as of 23rd August 2024). Finally, we narrowed our list to 10 companies having the highest average analyst price target upside, as of August 24.
At Insider Monkey, we are obsessed with the stocks that hedge funds pile into. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds like? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points. (see more details here).
10 Best Affordable Tech Stocks to Buy According to Analysts
10) Twilio Inc. (NYSE:TWLO)
Forward P/E as of 23 August: 19.16x
Upside Potential: 7.80%
Expected EPS Growth This Year: 38.4%
Twilio Inc. (NYSE:TWLO) is a cloud-based communication platform-as-a-service company. It provides communication application programming interfaces, or APIs, and prebuilt solution applications aimed at improving customer engagement.
The company released its 2Q 2024 financial results, with revenues reaching $1.08 billion, up by 4% (reported) and 7% (organic) YoY. The company’s top line surpassed its original guidance range of $1.05 billion to $1.06 billion. Due to the focus on cost reduction, its non-GAAP earnings went up to $0.87 per share from $0.54 per share in the same quarter of the last year.
Twilio Inc. (NYSE:TWLO) reported more than 316,000 active customer accounts as of June 30, 2024, compared to over 304,000 active customer accounts as of June 30, 2023. It saw a slight improvement in its customer spending, with its dollar-based net expansion rate coming at ~102% in 2Q 2024.
This means that Twilio Inc. (NYSE:TWLO) is getting more money from its existing customer base. Moving forward, it might be able to drive stronger customer spending. This is expected to stem from the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in the customer service space. Apart from the AI adoption, its growth might accelerate with time considering that it has built a strong customer base.
Moving forward, the momentum in Twilio Inc. (NYSE:TWLO) is expected to be supported by its strong partnerships with ISVs. It has also seen positive trends in international terminating messaging traffic, which is broad-based and not constrained to specific industries.
Analysts at Piper Sandler reiterated an “Overweight” rating on the shares of Twilio Inc. (NYSE:TWLO), giving a price target of $83.00 on 2nd August 2024. During Q2 2024, the count of hedge funds holding positions in Twilio Inc. (NYSE:TWLO) grew to 54 from 45 in the prior quarter, as reported by Insider Monkey’s database encompassing 912 hedge funds.
9) Rapid7, Inc. (NASDAQ:RPD)
Forward P/E as of 23 August: 17.67 x
Upside Potential: 11.72%
Expected EPS Growth This Year: 42.8%
Rapid7, Inc. (NASDAQ:RPD) is a provider of security data and analytics solutions that enable organizations to implement an active approach to cyber security. It combines a security data and analytics platform that provides solutions for cyber security, enabling organizations to find and eliminate critical weaknesses and detect attacks in their information technology (IT) environments.
The company delivered strong 2Q 2024 results, growing ARR by 9% YoY to reach $816 million. It reported 11,484 customers at the end of the quarter, reflecting a rise of 22 from the previous quarter. Rapid7, Inc. (NASDAQ:RPD) is expected to see strong growth given the demand for cybersecurity and the pressing need for businesses to move their data and processes into the cloud.
Therefore, there is increased exposure to attacks and malware because of which there is a significant increase in the demand for software that is meant to protect from data breaches. For example, the company introduced Command Platform which brings comprehensive visibility to its customers to risks across their hybrid attack surface.
Rapid7, Inc. (NASDAQ:RPD) infuses artificial intelligence (AI) into its platform and service offerings, which transforms the way security operations centers (SOCs) operate. It expects full-year ending ARR of between $850 million to $860 million. The earnings growth of the company is expected to stem from its Incident Detection and Response (IDR) business segment as the company plans to expand its services to address customer demand.
Analysts at Morgan Stanley reissued an “Equal-weight” rating on the shares of Rapid7, Inc. (NASDAQ:RPD), giving a price target of $46.00 on 10th July. In the second quarter of 2024, there were 34 hedge funds holding positions in Rapid7, Inc. (NASDAQ:RPD).
8) Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI)
Forward P/E as of 23 August: 18.05x
Upside Potential: 13.01%
Expected EPS Growth This Year: 58.3%
Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI) designs, develops, manufactures, and sells server solutions based on modular and open-standard architecture.
The company has announced a 10-for-1 stock split, which will be effective from 1st October. This split will take the stock price from ~$630 to $63 per share. While NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is getting all the attention, primarily because of the AI-fuelled rally, several other companies continue to benefit from the same factors.
For example, Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI) has started getting some traction as its products, ranging from data center hardware to complete racks, continue to see healthy demand.
Two of the main factors should continue to provide a competitive edge to Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI). Firstly, the company’s servers appear to be highly configurable. This means that its servers can be tailored to handle a workload of any size. Secondly, its servers are more energy-efficient. This is extremely important because energy input costs are quite high over the life of a server.
For 1Q 2025, the company expects revenue in the range of $6 billion to $7 billion, exhibiting a growth of 183% to 230% growth. For FY 2025, Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI) aims $26 billion to $30 billion in revenue. This means a YoY growth of 74% to 101%. This market continues to expand at a rapid pace, and the appetite for the company’s products is following the trend.
Wedbush restated a “Neutral” rating and gave a $800.00 price target on shares of Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI) on 2nd August. In the second quarter of 2024, there were 47 hedge funds holding positions in Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI) as compared to 35 in the previous quarter according to Insider Monkey’s database.
Polen Capital, an investment management company, released its second-quarter 2024 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:
“The second largest contributor to the Portfolio’s relative performance was Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI), a provider of high- performance, energy-efficient servers, which the Portfolio does not own. The stock declined notably in the quarter, providing a tailwind to relative performance. On a YTD basis, however, Super Micro is still our largest relative detractor, given its robust 1Q return.”
