3 More Tech Stocks to Target During Market Weakness

Market Weakness Can Offer Great Buying Opportunities

Making the decision to buy a stock during a volatile period in the market can certainly be rewarding. After all, adding shares into overreactions and sharp declines offers an opportunity to gain exposure to top-notch companies at prices that might not be seen again for a while. On the other hand, the market can always continue to pull back and leave you quickly underwater with new positions if you aren’t careful. Usually, the best approach towards making new purchases during extended periods of market volatility is to consider dollar-cost averaging, focus on quality companies with strong growth prospects, and view each new position as a long-term holding.

Tech stocks have been particularly vulnerable to start the year, which means investors might want to consider adding some of the best names in the sector if the volatility continues. While it’s never wise to attempt to catch a falling knife in the market, certain tech companies have such strong business models and long-term growth prospects that they should pay off in the long run regardless of any short-term factors.

We’ve put together a brief overview of 3 tech stocks to target during market weakness below. Let’s take a further look at why these names stand out.

Palo Alto Networks Inc (NASDAQ: PANW)

This cybersecurity software provider continues to impress investors with innovative products and consistent earnings growth, which makes it a great name to consider owning for the long term. Palo Alto Networks primarily serves medium to large enterprises, service providers, and government agencies with a broad range of network, cloud, and security operations technologies. The company has been prospering thanks to all of the different companies that are spending big on updating their IT infrastructure and software following the pandemic, and it’s hard to find an area of the tech sector that has better growth prospects than the cybersecurity space at this time.

Palo Alto just reported Q2 earnings that included revenue growth of 30% year-over-year to $1.3 billion and Q2 billion up 32% year-over-year to $1.6 billion. The company also boosted its full-year outlook, which should give investors added confidence in the company’s prospects going forward. Hybrid work environments, digital transformations, and cloud migrations are going to continue driving growth in the cybersecurity industry for years to come, and it's quite clear that Palo Alto Networks is nicely positioned to capitalize on these trends in a big way.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM)

Most semiconductor stocks have been taking a beating in 2022, but that shouldn’t stop investors from taking a look at a company like Qualcomm as shares continue to pull back from recent highs. The company is a major designer and manufacturer of advanced semiconductors for mobile phones and commercial wireless applications, which are areas of the tech sector that are poised for immense growth going forward thanks to the rollout of 5G networks and the continued adoption of smartphones all over the world. Investors should note that Qualcomm receives royalty revenue on almost all 3G, 4G, and 5G handsets that are sold today thanks to its patents, which means the company should see its earnings grow along with the smartphone market.

With the current uncertainty in the market, it makes sense to focus on adding shares of industry-leading companies, and that’s the case with Qualcomm, which is a dominant force in wireless chips. The semiconductor powerhouse recently reported Q1 sales of $10.7 billion, up 30% year-over-year, and has been holding up well relative to peers during the recent selloff in the technology sector. With a current forward P/E ratio of 14.15, strong earnings growth, and a 1.62% dividend yield, adding shares of Qualcomm for the long-term makes a lot of sense at this time.

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT)

Microsoft is the type of company that investors should feel comfortable adding in almost any market environment, as it's one of the most consistent and innovative companies on the planet. While the stock has certainly faced heavy selling pressure to start the year, long-term investors might want to consider starting a position in the coming weeks if we get another large down move in the market. This software giant is a great way to capitalize on growth in enterprise cloud computing, evident in the strong growth Microsoft is seeing in its Azure offering.

Cloud revenue was up 32% year-over-year to $22.1 billion in Q2, and it’s easy to envision a future where Microsoft becomes an even more dominant force in enterprise cloud going forward. There’s also a lot to like about the company’s recent announcement that Microsoft will acquire Activision, which should lead to a stronger market position in the video game industry over the long term. The bottom line here is that Microsoft is a tech company with a visionary CEO, consistently stellar earnings, and a commitment to returning capital to shareholders, which makes it a no-brainer tech stock to target during market weakness.