What a difference a year makes. This time in 2022, investors were just getting a taste of what would become one of the longest and biggest interest rate hikes in market history. While the Federal Reserve took a breather in June, it is a good bet more rate hikes are coming. Fed Chair Powell said so in his congressional testimony, and they could start as early as July. The ongoing increase in rates could not hold back the groundswell of artificial intelligence (AI), which has emerged as the biggest technology trend since the internet.
The current rally, which has pushed the Nasdaq up over 30% this year and has the venerable S&P 500 up close to 15%, has many old-timers reliving the late 1990s and early 2000 dot-com tech explosion and meltdown, which was fueled by the nascent internet coming into our lives.
While the current rally is not fueled by “eyeballs” as the dot-com era was, and the companies involved in the recent melt-up make huge profits, the main question for many investors is when will the rest of the market catch up, as the seven tech-driven technology companies that now all have reached the $1 trillion market-cap club, have supplied almost 95% of the upside for the Nasdaq and the S&P 500.
Whether the market breadth catches up or continues to lag should not deter aggressive growth investors from adding these seven top stocks, all of which are Buy rated across Wall Street. It is important to remember that no single analyst report should be used as a sole basis for any buying or selling decision.
Alphabet
There should be no surprise that the Google parent and search giant is all-in on the AI revolution. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) provides various products and platforms in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and elsewhere.
Its Google Services segment offers products and services, including ads, Android, Chrome, hardware, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search and YouTube. It is also involved in the sale of apps and in-app purchases and digital content in the Google Play store, as well as Fitbit wearable devices, Google Nest home products, Pixel phones and other devices, and in the provision of YouTube non-advertising services.
The Google Cloud segment offers infrastructure, platform and other services; Google Workspace that includes cloud-based collaboration tools for enterprises, such as Gmail, Docs, Drive, Calendar and Meet; and other services for enterprise customers. The Other Bets segment sells health technology and internet services.
Alphabet is reported to be using AI applications in almost all the firm’s central business silos, from ad pricing to content to spam filters. Alphabet is the parent company for software subsidiary DeepMind and autonomous vehicle company Waymo.
Jefferies has a $150 price target for Alphabet stock. That compares with the $132.03 consensus target and Wednesday’s closing print of $123.10.
Amazon
This company is very possibly the best value for investors, after taking a harsh beating this year. Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) engages in the retail sale of consumer products and subscriptions globally. It sells merchandise and content purchased for resale from third-party sellers through physical and online stores.
Sponsored: Find a Qualified Financial Advisor
Finding a qualified financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to 3 fiduciary financial advisors in your area in 5 minutes. Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests. If you’re ready to be matched with local advisors that can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
