Finance bloggers are an interesting breed; the best of them have combined a love of trading and writing that brings a much-needed clarity to the world of stock market punditry. The bloggers’ advice and explications can drive traffic and steer investment, but where should the reader start looking? TipRanks has the tools you need to sort through the blogs and bloggers. The Top Bloggers Tool will show you the best-rated financial blog writers; from there, you can read their blogs and see what they have to say about the stocks.
For now, let’s take a look at three top tech stocks that TipRanks’ top bloggers love. The tech sector has been taking a beating in the markets lately, with heavy losses among the ‘FAANG’ companies (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Alphabet {Google}) leading the general market declines. At the same time, top-rated bloggers continue to show a bullish sentiment toward the tech giants. We’ll quote them, unpack the trading data, and see how these investments measure up in the blogosphere and among the analysts.
Alphabet, Inc. (GOOGL – Research Report)
First up, if you can afford the thousand-dollar entry price, is Google. Technically, the stock is in Alphabet, Inc., the parent company that owns Google, but much of the management is the same and the stock ticker is GOOGL. They know where their profits come from.
The analysts agree. GOOGL has a ‘Strong Buy’ consensus, based on 27 ‘buy’ ratings versus 3 ‘holds.’ The average price target of $1,346 is a 23% upside from the current share price of $1,091.
View GOOGL Price Target & Analyst Ratings Detail
Finance bloggers give some of the plain-language details that analyst reports sometimes lack, and the bloggers are bullish on GOOGL. Five-star blogger Andres Cardenal (Track Record & Ratings) writes of the case for buying into Alphabet: “Alphabet is a high-quality business, financial performance remains clearly strong, and valuation levels look quite attractive at current price levels.” He describes the current price as undervalued, and, in elaborating on his three points, makes a strong case for GOOGL as a long-term investment.
Julian Lin (Track Record & Ratings), also a five-star blogger, agrees that investors should pick up Alphabet for the long run. He notes several weaknesses – the most recent quarterly report missed on revenue and the company has been hoarding cash – but also notes potential strategic advantages of Alphabet’s policies, as defense against a general market downturn. After reviewing GOOGL’s market policy and performance, he reaches a conclusion: “I remain bullish on its underlying businesses and shares appear very cheap at less than 20 times forward earnings minus cash. Shares are a strong buy.”
Apple, Inc. (AAPL – Research Report)
Despite having slipped in the last four weeks to a six-month low, Apple still has its fans in the financial world. These investors and bloggers are attracted by the company’s obvious strengths: a popular product line; an expanding services segment; the largest market cap of any publicly traded company.
The analyst consensus on Apple is currently a ‘Moderate Buy.’ AAPL stock holds 15 ‘buy’ ratings, 11 ‘hold’ ratings, and a single ‘sell.’ The average price target is $234; compared to the share price of $180, that gives a 27% upside potential.
View AAPL Price Target & Analyst Ratings Detail
The bloggers have not been shy elaborating on the upside of Apple.
Nicholas Ward (Track Record & Ratings) sets out a conservative investing case for Apple, explaining in great detail how the stock is a near-perfect long-term investment. His case is summed up in one line: “I’ve made good money buying Apple on the dips, so I decided to follow the old saying, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’”
Ward also cites Apple’s steady dividend payments, noting that while the percentage payout is low, the long-term increases are an attractive feature.
Blogger Will Ashworth (Track Record & Ratings) concurs, noting Apple as one of his “best stocks to buy for the next decade.” Ashworth looks at Apple’s past performance and actions, and says, “I have a feeling Apple will continue to create products people want to buy for years to come. What these products are, I couldn’t tell you. What I do know is that Apple will continue to generate a huge amount of free cash flow to reward shareholders for their patience and loyalty.” It’s a great description of the perfect company for long-term investment: A reputation for profitable innovation, and loyalty to shareholders.
Microsoft Corporation (MSFT – Research Report)
The third stock we’ll take a look at today is Microsoft. The venerable software giant, like Alphabet and Apple, has slipped recently in the overall market downturn, but like its competitors MSFT has the underlying strength to outlast a market correction.
Microsoft’s current share price is $111, so the average price target of $124 offers potential for a 12% upside. The ‘Strong Buy’ analyst consensus is based on 18 ‘buy’ ratings and a single ‘sell.’ Market watchers clearly have a bullish take on Microsoft.
View MSFT Price Target & Analyst Ratings Detail
Dana Blankenhorn (Track Record & Ratings) notes Windows and Office, of course, but also points out how MSFT has been leveraging its Azure cloud system to sell and deliver software to a far wider customer base. Citing increased cloud business, he bluntly states the case for investing in MSFT: “Over the last year, Microsoft has become a growth company again, with revenue growing over 15% between 2017 and 2018, and on track to continue growing at double digits in 2019. It has beaten analyst estimates for earning handily for the last four quarters and has over $135 billion in cash and short-term investments.”
Blankenhorn adds, “If I could own only one Cloud Czar in 2019, it would be Microsoft.” It’s hard to get a better recommendation than that.
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