Do You Have These Tech Stocks On Your May Watchlist?
When it comes to the top stocks to watch in 2021, investors may want to consider tech stocks. Why? Well, most would argue that this part of the stock market is home to some of the top growth stocks today. For newer investors, growth stocks belong to companies that are anticipated to grow at a quicker rate than the broader market. More often than not, these companies place most of their revenue back towards improving their offerings. This would accurately describe tech companies who are constantly innovating and competing in their respective fields. Sure, tech stocks have taken a breather earlier this year. But, tech continues to evolve, nonetheless. Accordingly, there would be no shortage of news for tech investors today.
Speaking of news, we are currently in the midst of a heated earnings season for big tech now. Tech goliaths such as Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) continue to report stellar figures. For starters, Microsoft exceeded Wall Streets’ estimates with an earnings per share of $1.95 on revenue of $41.71 billion. This was followed by a 19% annualized revenue growth for the quarter, Microsoft’s largest quarterly increase since 2018. Elsewhere, Apple also reported a blowout quarter as company-wide sales surged by 54% year-over-year thanks to booming iPhone sales. All in all, tech stocks continue to make headlines this year. If all this has you looking to add some to your watchlist, here are four in focus on the stock market today.
Top Tech Stocks To Watch Right Now
- International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM)
- Zoom Video Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM)
- Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN)
- PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL)
International Business Machines Corporation
IBM is a multinational technology company that has operations in over 170 countries. It produces and sells computer hardware and software, while also providing hosting and consulting services. Furthermore, it is a major research organization, holding the record for most U.S. patents generated by a business for 28 consecutive years. The company has five segments in the tech industry. It includes cloud and cognitive software and also global technology services. IBM stock currently trades at $141.25 as of 10:30 a.m. ET.
On Thursday, IBM announced that it will acquire Turbonomic, an application resource management (ARM) and network performance management (NPM) software provider based in Boston. The acquisition will provide businesses with full-stack application observability and management to assure performance and minimize costs using AI to optimize resources.
By acquiring Turbonomic, IBM is the only company that will be able to provide customers with AI-powered automation capabilities that span from AIOps (the use of AI to automate IT Operations) to application and infrastructure observability. With this exciting piece of news, will you consider watching IBM stock?
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Zoom Video Communications Inc.
Zoom is a communications technology company that is headquartered in San Jose, California. The company is a provider of video-first communication platform and web conferencing services. It offers a cloud-native platform, which unifies cloud video conferencing, online meetings, group messaging, and a software-based conference room system. ZM stock currently trades at $323.90 as of 10:56 a.m. ET. Last week, the company was covered by analyst Daniel Bartus from Bank of America (NYSE: BAC). He performed a deep dive into communication software companies and reinstated coverage of several leading stocks. Zoom, in particular, was given a buy rating and price target of $480.
Bartus says that Zoom is here to stay and has plenty of long-term growth ahead. For the sector, he sees a $60 billion market opportunity that is poised for more cloud migration. Given how the pandemic had provided the sector with a catalyst, Zoom could potentially grow even further post-pandemic.
Early last week, the company also announced the Zoom Apps Fund, a new $100 million venture fund created to stimulate the growth of the company’s ecosystem of Zoom Apps. Portfolio companies will receive initial investments between $250,000 and $2.5 million to build solutions that will become core to how Zoom customers meet, communicate, and collaborate. Zoom Apps announced at Zoomtopia 2020, are leading applications that will bring productivity and engaging experiences directly into the Zoom platform. Given all of this, will you add ZM stock to your watchlist?
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Amazon.com Inc.
Amazon is a multinational technology company that focuses on e-commerce and cloud computing. The company has been one of the most influential economic forces in the world and is also one of the world’s most valuable brands. AMZN stock surged to an all-time high today, breaching $3,500 per share. This follows another impressive quarter from the company that was reported on Thursday.
Firstly, the company reported net sales of $108.5 billion in the first quarter, a 44% increase year-over-year. Net income increased to $8.1 billion for the quarter or $15.79 per diluted share. The company also ended the quarter with a free cash flow of $26.4 billion. Amazon also reported that more than 200 million paid Prime members worldwide. All things considered, will you watch AMZN stock?
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PayPal Holdings Inc.
Topping off our list today is leading fintech player, PayPal. For the uninitiated, the online payments company offers a plethora of financial services to consumers. These range from online money transfers to even cryptocurrency-related services. In terms of scale, if digital payments are available, PayPal likely operates in that region. This year, PYPL stock would be in the spotlight thanks to the company’s growing cryptocurrency portfolio. Since March, PayPal has acquired a cryptocurrency security firm and introduced major crypto-related integrations across its core offerings. These include being able to transact using digital currencies and being able to manage them on its flagship Venmo app. Seeing as PYPL stock is currently up by over 100% in the past year, would it be a wise investment?
Well, PayPal does not seem to be slowing down in the least bit. Just yesterday, news broke of its latest collaboration with leading cryptocurrency exchange platform, Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN). Through this partnership, millions of U.S. PayPal users can now purchase cryptocurrencies on Coinbase. As the duo simplify the process of purchasing digital currencies, it would further incentivize widespread consumer adoption. In turn, this could result in feedback as more people rely on their services. Safe to say, this appears to be a strategic play for both companies. With PayPal leading the charge into this new frontier of finance, will you be watching PYPL stock?
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
