Most Popular
1. It’s a New Macro, the Gold Market Knows It, But Dead Men Walking Do Not (yet)- Gary_Tanashian
2.Stock Market Presidential Election Cycle Seasonal Trend Analysis - Nadeem_Walayat
3. Bitcoin S&P Pattern - Nadeem_Walayat
4.Nvidia Blow Off Top - Flying High like the Phoenix too Close to the Sun - Nadeem_Walayat
4.U.S. financial market’s “Weimar phase” impact to your fiat and digital assets - Raymond_Matison
5. How to Profit from the Global Warming ClImate Change Mega Death Trend - Part1 - Nadeem_Walayat
7.Bitcoin Gravy Train Trend Forecast 2024 - - Nadeem_Walayat
8.The Bond Trade and Interest Rates - Nadeem_Walayat
9.It’s Easy to Scream Stocks Bubble! - Stephen_McBride
10.Fed’s Next Intertest Rate Move might not align with popular consensus - Richard_Mills
Last 7 days
Stock Market Brief in Count Down to US Election Result 2024 - 3rd Nov 24
Gold Stocks’ Winter Rally 2024 - 3rd Nov 24
Why Countdown to U.S. Recession is Underway - 3rd Nov 24
Stock Market Trend Forecast to Jan 2025 - 2nd Nov 24
President Donald PUMP Forecast to Win US Presidential Election 2024 - 1st Nov 24
At These Levels, Buying Silver Is Like Getting It At $5 In 2003 - 28th Oct 24
Nvidia Numero Uno Selling Shovels in the AI Gold Rush - 28th Oct 24
The Future of Online Casinos - 28th Oct 24
Panic in the Air As Stock Market Correction Delivers Deep Opps in AI Tech Stocks - 27th Oct 24
Stocks, Bitcoin, Crypto's Counting Down to President Donald Pump! - 27th Oct 24
UK Budget 2024 - What to do Before 30th Oct - Pensions and ISA's - 27th Oct 24
7 Days of Crypto Opportunities Starts NOW - 27th Oct 24
The Power Law in Venture Capital: How Visionary Investors Like Yuri Milner Have Shaped the Future - 27th Oct 24
This Points To Significantly Higher Silver Prices - 27th Oct 24
US House Prices Trend Forecast 2024 to 2026 - 11th Oct 24
US Housing Market Analysis - Immigration Drives House Prices Higher - 30th Sep 24
Stock Market October Correction - 30th Sep 24
The Folly of Tariffs and Trade Wars - 30th Sep 24
Gold: 5 principles to help you stay ahead of price turns - 30th Sep 24
The Everything Rally will Spark multi year Bull Market - 30th Sep 24
US FIXED MORTGAGES LIMITING SUPPLY - 23rd Sep 24
US Housing Market Free Equity - 23rd Sep 24
US Rate Cut FOMO In Stock Market Correction Window - 22nd Sep 24
US State Demographics - 22nd Sep 24
Gold and Silver Shine as the Fed Cuts Rates: What’s Next? - 22nd Sep 24
Stock Market Sentiment Speaks:Nothing Can Topple This Market - 22nd Sep 24
US Population Growth Rate - 17th Sep 24
Are Stocks Overheating? - 17th Sep 24
Sentiment Speaks: Silver Is At A Major Turning Point - 17th Sep 24
If The Stock Market Turn Quickly, How Bad Can Things Get? - 17th Sep 24
IMMIGRATION DRIVES HOUSE PRICES HIGHER - 12th Sep 24
Global Debt Bubble - 12th Sep 24
Gold’s Outlook CPI Data - 12th Sep 24

Market Oracle FREE Newsletter

How to Protect your Wealth by Investing in AI Tech Stocks

Tech Stocks Forecast 2013 - Ride the Mobile Wave, Bet on Cloud Computing

Companies / Tech Stocks Dec 04, 2012 - 07:10 AM GMT

By: Money_Morning

Companies

Michael A. Robinson writes: The best way to score tech stock gains in 2013 is simple: tap into the areas where there is "constant buzz."

But before we get to the three areas that are the most buzz-worthy, let's start by clearing up one big myth. There really is no such thing as one tech industry.


High-tech now sweeps throughout the entire economy. We're talking everything from robot welders, to laser surgery, to hum-drum database management.

So, even if the economy remains flat or declines, there will still be buzz-driven tech stock winners, companies involved in fields that are so vital that customers simply must have their products.

That's why I tell investors to look for huge global trends that will continue no matter what happens with the fiscal cliff or the Eurozone debt crisis.

Ditto for the expected battles over Obamacare this year. Two years after its passage, we still don't know exactly how many states will set up the exchanges needed to put the law into practice.

Either way, it doesn't really matter...

There's so much going on in high tech that some specific tech stocks are bound to yield big gains in 2013.

I've narrowed it all down to three vital areas that should power through next year-- no matter what the economy or the politicians throw at them.

It starts with the biggest of them all, the mobile wave...

2013 Tech Stock Forecast: Ride the Mobile Wave
Mobile tech dominated developments in the market this year and that trend will gain steam throughout 2013.

Indeed, the mobile wave is moving more quickly than the advent of the personal computer in the 1980s and the rollout of the Web in the 1990s combined.

That's because mobile devices like smart phones and tablets provide a huge amount of computing power for very little money.

As I like to remind people, your smart phone is a faster and better computing system than NASA had for its Apollo moon shots -- and it's more than 1,000 times cheaper.

For less than a flight from LA to New York, you can have the whole world in the palm of your hands.

What makes this wave so strong is the sweet spot -- low-cost devices, high-speed wireless Internet access and a huge build-out around the world of cell towers that offer fast data rates.

Add it all up and you have a huge global trend that will flatten anything in its path.

Just look at what happened to Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) this year. Light on mobile tech compared to its peers, the stock is off 55% so far in 2012.

Though it faces growing competition, Apple Inc. (Nasdaq:AAPL) will dominate the enterprise class for tablet computers with its 10-inch iPad. It sets the standard for professional use.

And don't forget the importance of the iPhone 5. Indeed, I penned a column for Money Morning back on Aug. 22 that mentioned six ways to play this hot mobile device, including some small caps that you can read about by clicking here.

Also, keep an eye on Visa Inc. (NYSE:V). Known mostly as a credit-card firm, it is moving heavily into mobile payments. It trades at about $148 with a forward P/E of 17.5 and has very high profit margins.

Ebay Inc. (Nasdaq:EBAY) is close on its heels. Its Paypal unit is aggressively courting mobile payments.

Betting on Big Data And Cloud Computing
Most analysts divide big data and cloud computing into two separate categories. But I see these as two sides of the same computer coin.

Here's the thing. The minute a firm decides to move data to the cloud it realizes it is sitting on a gold mine. So it invests in big data to cut costs and find new sources of revenue.

And the reverse holds true as well. Firms that want to mine their vast treasures of info on clients, suppliers, and industry players realize they need to move all that information to the cloud. It's a whole lot cheaper than upgrading a computer network or building a new one from scratch.

Also, both fields derive much of their growth from the Internet. The advent of the Web has unleashed a tidal wave of new data, voice, video, Web-based applications and the like.

It's just too much information for humans to handle.

So, big data firms provide algorithms and other ways to convert boring details into something much more exciting -- cash. Stocks to watch in these two areas include:

•EMC Corp. (NYSE:EMC) is a data storage firm that also offers cloud-based infrastructure services. Trading at about $25, the big-cap firm has low price ratios and solid profit margins.
•Akamai Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq:AKAM) is a U.K.-based firm that is a straight-up play on cloud computing. Trading at about $36 a share, it has $465 million in cash on hand and no debt.
•International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) pretty much defines big data, but also is moving heavily into the cloud. With a market cap of $216.5 billion it trades at less than 14 times earnings.

Cyber Security Could Become Federal Law
This field faces a big political question: Will Washington finally pass a cyber security law mandating new measures for the private sector?

Despite what looks like broad bi-partisan appeal, Congress debated but did not pass a cyber security bill earlier this year. This is ironic considering how much Washington has cranked up new business mandates in the last decade.

CEOs I talk with say they expect a solid run at passing some type of cyber security bill in the second half of this year.

Clearly at this point, no one knows what might pass in its final form. But even if no law comes out this year, expect this segment to do well for one big reason -- constant buzz.

Cyber breaches are a daily fact of life in a Web-oriented world. Several make big news each year, prompting more firms to spend money protecting their computer assets. Here are three firms that specialize in this area:

•Palo Alto Networks (NYSE:PANW) trades at about $55.00 but is very expensive on a ratio basis, trading at a forward P/E of 133.
•Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq:CHKP) is very well known in this space. It trades at about $45.00 with a forward P/E of 13 and profit margins that are off the charts.
•Fortinet Inc. (Nasdaq: FTNT ) trades at nearly $20 a share with a forward P/E of 32.50 and solid profit margins. It throws off a lot of cash and has no debt on its books.

Let me close by noting that even if the economy softens next year, the three sectors I've outlined should do well.

Each represents an area that is benefitting from radical change that can't be stopped.

That's why I think the market will love these tech stocks in 2013.

Source :http://moneymorning.com/2012/12/04/2013-tech-stock-for...

Money Morning/The Money Map Report

©2012 Monument Street Publishing. All Rights Reserved. Protected by copyright laws of the United States and international treaties. Any reproduction, copying, or redistribution (electronic or otherwise, including on the world wide web), of content from this website, in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited without the express written permission of Monument Street Publishing. 105 West Monument Street, Baltimore MD 21201, Email: customerservice@moneymorning.com

Disclaimer: Nothing published by Money Morning should be considered personalized investment advice. Although our employees may answer your general customer service questions, they are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular investment situation. No communication by our employees to you should be deemed as personalized investent advice. We expressly forbid our writers from having a financial interest in any security recommended to our readers. All of our employees and agents must wait 24 hours after on-line publication, or after the mailing of printed-only publication prior to following an initial recommendation. Any investments recommended by Money Morning should be made only after consulting with your investment advisor and only after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

Money Morning Archive

© 2005-2022 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.


Post Comment

Only logged in users are allowed to post comments. Register/ Log in