12 Best Tech Stocks For Long Term Investment

Published on December 21, 2022 at 1:15 pm by Usman Kabir in Hedge Funds, News

In this article, we discuss the 12 best tech stocks for long term investment. If you want to read about some more tech stocks for long term investment, go directly to 5 Best Tech Stocks For Long Term Investment.

In no era of human history have business and technology been so inextricably linked as they are in the present times. The significance of this can be gauged from a recent report that outlines the six trending industries in 2022. All of these overlap with the technology space. The industries include space tech, bio tech, neuro tech, robot tech, climate tech, and energy tech. These trends were witnessed despite a broad macro slowdown at the market which favored value stocks as investors reevaluate their risk profiles in light of recession fears.

According to analysts, the tech industry remains a robust choice for business growth and career advancement in 2022. As per a recent report, the information technology market grew from $8,384.32 billion in 2021 to $9,358.51 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate of 11.6%. This growth came despite the pandemic, the Russia Ukraine war, and economic uncertainties. Looking forward into 2023, these growth trends are likely to accelerate as the economy recovers from a tumultuous 2022.

Investors should monitor long-term trends in the tech space, like the optimizing of IT systems for greater reliability, maintaining the value integrity of production AI systems and scaling vertical offerings, as well as the accelerating strategies to tap new virtual markets. Digital immune systems, applied observability, AI trust, risk and security management, industry clouds platform, platform engineering, wireless value realization, super apps, adaptive AI, metaverse, and sustainable technology are all also sectors investors should keep a close eye on.

Some of the top stocks in the tech sector for the long term include Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB). Analysts have urged leading technology providers to play a top role in helping enterprises use innovative technologies to slide through the current storms of disruption. The use of tech as a safe haven in times of recession, especially in the services sector, is also likely to rise in the coming years.

Source:Pixabay

Our Methodology

The companies that have long-term growth catalysts and operate in the tech sector were selected for the list. Special importance was assigned to outlining the basic business fundamentals and analyst ratings for each firm to provide readers with some context so they can make more informed investment choices. Data from around 900 elite hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey in the third quarter of 2022 was used to identify the number of hedge funds that hold stakes in each firm.

Best Tech Stocks For Long Term Investment

12. International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 40

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) provides integrated solutions and services worldwide. On December 13, the firm announced that it had signed a deal with Rapidus to work on developing the breakthrough 2 nanometer node technology of the former for implementation in Japan by the latter. The US government plans to invest hundreds of billions in chip firms over the next few years to shore up chip manufacturing in the country. As the demand for electronics and electric vehicles rises, so will the demand for chips. IBM can jump on this growth curve by investments in the chip space.

On October 18, BofA analyst Wamsi Mohan maintained a Buy rating on International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) stock and lowered the price target to $145 from $155, noting that it has been estimated that about 80% of the software portfolio is non-transactional contracts linked to mission-critical projects.

Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, Boston-based investment firm Arrowstreet Capital is a leading shareholder in International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) with 4.3 million shares worth more than $515.8 million.

Just like Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB), International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) is one of the best tech stocks for long term investment.

In its Q4 2021 investor letter, St. James Investment Company, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:

“International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) was not the first company to build computers. The distinction belongs to Sperry-Rand’s subsidiary UNIVAC, which introduced the first commercially successful computers in the early 1950s. In this era, IBM did possess the largest research and development department in the business machines industry and quickly caught up, introducing cost-competitive computers a few years after UNIVAC. By the late 1950s, IBM held the dominant market share in computers. IBM also touted a vastly superior sales organization, which used a sales tactic called “paper machines” (the equivalent of today’s “vaporware”). If a competitor’s product was selling well in a market segment that IBM had yet to penetrate, the company would announce a competing product and start taking orders for the “paper machine” long before it was available.

One cannot overstate how powerful IBM was in the computer industry in the 1950s and 1960s. Every competitor rightly worried that if their product worked too well for too long, it was only a matter of time before an army of IBM salesforce representatives mobilized. In their easily recognizable uniforms of starched white shirts, red ties and blue suits, IBM marketers marched on their customers and offered a more expensive, but much more defensible, choice. “Nobody gets fired for buying IBM” was a common phrase. Even competitors acknowledged that the company excelled at sales. As a UNIVAC executive once complained, ‘It doesn’t do much good to build a better mousetrap if the other guy selling mousetraps has five times as many salesmen.’” (read more)

11. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 69

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) designs, manufactures and sells computer products and technologies worldwide. On November 18, Intel revealed that it has introduced its real-time DeepFake detector, FakeCatcher. This Deep Fake detector analyzes the blood flow in the video pixels to return results in milliseconds with an accuracy of 96%. The product is just one example of the growth path that the firm has in different sectors, like video editing and news dissemination, as the demand for powerful chips rises. The company, one of the leading US-based plays in the semi space, is also a reliable dividend player for the long term.

On October 31, Citi analyst Christopher Danely maintained a Neutral rating on Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) stock and lowered the price target to $27 from $30, noting that the company reported mixed results and guided well below consensus driven by the PC downturn.

At the end of the third quarter of 2022, 69 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $1.9 billion in Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), compared to 65 in the preceding quarter worth $2.5 billion.

In its Q3 2022 investor letter, ClearBridge Investments, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:

“Also on the detractor side, Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) delivered a disappointing revenue miss and lowered full-year revenue and earnings guidance as COVID-19-driven demand for PCs abated (where Intel enjoys half its sales) and a delay in its flagship Sapphire Rapids CPU hurt its data center business. Despite these issues, we still believe Intel is an economically sensitive turnaround story with substantial upside.”

10. Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 74

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) designs, manufactures and sells memory and storage products worldwide. On December 5, Micron Technology revealed that its mobile memory chip, low-power double data rate 5X (LPDDR5X), is gaining market traction with the validation of its mobile memory for Qualcomm Technologies’ latest mobile platform for flagship smartphones. The smartphone market is one of the biggest businesses in the world. Billions of people own smartphones and are increasingly reliant on these machines for many basic tasks. Micron, whose chips power these phones, has a steady avenue of growth in the smartphone space for the long-term.

On October 7, Fargo analyst Aaron Rakers maintained an Overweight rating on Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) stock and lowered the price target to $70 from $75, noting that it won’t be surprising to see shares trading lower ahead of the upcoming first-quarter earnings release.

At the end of the third quarter of 2022, 74 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $2.5 billion in Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU), compared to 69 in the preceding quarter worth $2.2 billion.

In its Q2 2022 investor letter, Meridian Funds, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:

“Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) is a leader in the production of DRAM and NAND memory. We invested in the stock in the third quarter of 2019 during a cyclical downturn in the memory industry. Our rationale was that, while the memory industry is cyclical, we believed there are strong secular drivers in place that will lead to higher peaks and long-term growth. Our secular thesis is based on our conviction that the quest for ever-increasing compute speeds will increasingly rely on memory to solve bottlenecks and that increased memory content in nearly everything from mobile phones to automobiles will drive demand. Micron’s stock traded lower during the quarter due to macroeconomic concerns that led to lower earnings expectations. We increased our stake in the company, as we believe our secular thesis remains intact. We wanted to take advantage of what we view as temporary cyclical concerns that caused the stock to trade at less than 10x reasonable trough earnings per share (EPS) estimates and less than 7x recent peak EPS.”

9. Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 88

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) designs, develops, manufactures, leases, and sells electric vehicles, and energy generation and storage systems. On September 30, Tesla launched the prototype of its humanoid robot named Dubbed Optimus. This launch has set a mark on reshaping the future of physical work using artificial intelligence. The company said that the robot is running on its Self-Driving computer. Over the years, the firm has distinguished itself in the electric vehicle space through the use of cutting-edge software that competitors are often lacking. The foray into robotics underscores the innovation-driven values of the firm which have helped it build such a strong profile in the EV space.

On December 13, Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Delaney maintained a Buy rating on Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock and lowered the price target to $235 from $305, noting that it is believed that if Tesla can demonstrate that its demand levers and the Inflation Reduction Act contribution can help drive strong growth and margins in the coming quarters, then an upside case could be visible for the stock to trade to about $300.

At the end of the third quarter of 2022, 88 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $7.4 billion in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA), compared to 73 in the preceding quarter worth $7.2 billion.

In its Q2 2022 investor letter, Baron Funds, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:

“In 2014, before we began to invest in Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), I called Roger to ask whether he thought Elon Musk’s electric car business would succeed. I did not believe that Roger, an owner of dealerships that sell cars powered by internal combustion engines (ICE) would likely have a favorable opinion of Tesla’s prospects. That was principally for two reasons:

First, automobile manufacturing and distribution is unusually complicated, capital intensive, and highly regulated, which makes profitability problematic;

second, cars with ICE motors require extensive annual maintenance, and dealer services revenues, not profits from automobile sales, are the most important contributor to profits of perpetual licensed ICE car dealerships.

Penske Automotive Group is principally an ICE car dealer. Since electric cars are powered by batteries and need little service, franchised dealerships are incented to sell ICE, not EV automobiles. Further, Roger had been a long-term director of General Motors. General Motors’ ICE automobile business would be disrupted if Tesla were successful. (click here to read more…)

8. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 89

NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) provides graphics, computing and networking solutions. On November 16, NVIDIA made a multi-year partnership with Microsoft to build a supercomputer powered by Microsoft Azure’s advanced supercomputing infrastructure. This would be one of the most powerful cloud-based artificial intelligence supercomputers in the world. NVIDIA chips are considered some of the most advanced across the world and are especially popular among gaming enthusiasts. This niche has helped the company establish a stable foundation which it is now using to expand into new spaces in the tech sector.

On December 12, Cowen analyst Matthew Ramsay maintained an Outperform rating on NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) stock and raised the price target to $220 from $200, noting that the company is believed to be the leader in accelerated computing, and maintains wide and deep technological moats.

Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, Chicago-based investment firm Citadel Investment Group is a leading shareholder in NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) with 19.3 million shares worth more than $2.3 billion.

In its Q2 2022 investor letter, Baron Funds, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:

“At the company-specific level, there was a broad correction across the entire portfolio. While four of our holdings contributed to performance, the contribution to absolute returns was less than 100bps combined, as unfortunately none of them was large enough to move the needle. We had 16 investments detracting over 100bps each with NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA), our second largest detractor, costing the Fund 254bps.

NVIDIA’s stock was hit even harder, down 44.4%, impacted by concerns over the health of the consumer, dramatic declines in crypto, and COVID-related lockdowns in China. Despite the sell-off and the increased near-term volatility in its gaming business, NVIDIA’s revenues grew 46% year-over-year with 48% operating margins, driven by continued strength in its data center business as companies across industries adopt AI and ML…(read more)

7. ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 103

ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) provides enterprise cloud computing solutions that define, structure, consolidate, manage, and automate services for enterprises worldwide. On October 5, ServiceNow unveiled that it would acquire Era Software, an observability and log management innovator. The company said that customers will be able to gather actionable insights that deliver value across the business, within a single solution purpose-built for the era of digital business. The purchase highlights the growth momentum in the software industry that has showed it can handle macro pressures this year. As more businesses go digital, the firm can expect to grow significantly in the coming years.

On October 27, Truist analyst Joel Fishbein maintained a Buy rating on ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) stock and lowered the price target to $525 from $550, noting that the company reported a strong quarter of constant-currency growth, but currency headwinds continue to be a drag on the top line performance and are starting to impact the bottom line as well.

Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, New York-based investment firm Tiger Global Management LLC is a leading shareholder in ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) with 1.7 million shares worth more than $639.7 million.

In its Q2 2022 investor letter, Ensemble Capital, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:

“ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) is an enterprise software company that helps its corporate customers integrate all of their various software products into a unified platform. Their products are a key element in driving the digital transformation nearly every large company is undergoing. At the recent JP Morgan investor day, CEO Jamie Dimon explained that while the company could reduce expenses if needed should the economy slow, their spending on digital transformation would continue as this spending was critical to the company managing costs and maximizing revenue over time. As an example of this type of spending, Dimon specifically pointed to ServiceNow, calling out that the company’s products now oversaw the single largest collection of JP Morgan data and highlighted that working with them had saved JP Morgan $50 million over the past few years. (click here to read more…)

6. Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 117

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) provides customer relationship management technology that brings companies and customers together worldwide. On September 21, Salesforce revealed its real-time platform Genie, a hyper-scale real-time data platform that powers the entire Salesforce Customer 360 platform. With this platform, every company can turn data into customer magic, delivering seamless, highly personalized experiences across sales, service, marketing, and commerce. The revelation is the latest example of the leading cloud services provided by the firm to businesses across the world. The firm is firmly committed to a strategy focused on delivering growth while continuing to expand operating margins.

On December 5, Credit Suisse analyst Phil Winslow maintained an Outperform rating on Salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM) stock and lowered the price target to $225 from $250, noting that the company reported solid third-quarter results on the income statement.

At the end of the third quarter of 2022, 117 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $8.2 billion in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM), compared to 116 in the preceding quarter worth $7.9 billion.

Along with Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB), Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) is one of the best tech stocks for long term investment.

In its Q3 2022 investor letter, Oakmark Funds, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:

“Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) has become a dominant global player in sales, customer service, commerce and marketing software over the past 20 years. The company earns 80% gross margins and grows 20% organically. Plus, virtually all of its revenue is recurring. We see Salesforce as a great business that we’ve admired from afar for a long time. More recently, the organization has made some changes at the top that prompted us to take a closer look at the stock. New CEO Bret Taylor and CFO Amy Weaver are bringing a culture of financial discipline. We believe this renewed focus on profitability and capital return, combined with Salesforce’s strong underlying business characteristics, will yield strong results. The current valuation of 3.9x next year’s revenues represents a significant discount compared to publicly traded peers and recent private market values in the software space that have similar growth profiles. This discount is an opportunity to invest in a great business at a good value.”

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