The networking sector is often an overlooked, but vital, area of the technology world. But investors are finally starting to take notice of the space as companies like come into focus. In fact, the computer-networking segment is currently ranked in the top 5% of all industries overall and there isn’t a single ‘strong sell’ security in the space, while four of the fourteen have ‘strong buy’ rankings.

One company to watch in 2016 for potential in this group is definitely QLogic (QLGC - Analyst Report), a firm which is a pretty small player in the space but could be a great pick for next year. The company specializes in the switches and adapters market and it has clients that range from the small and medium sized businesses to giants like IBM, Cisco, and Oracle, just to name a few.

But while the stock price has been pretty volatile, and some investors from early 2015 are facing losses, the company is arguably on a much better path right now. This is largely thanks to a focus on its core businesses, a recent stock buyback, as well as success with their project with Brocade. Analysts are also buying into this shifting landscape as evidenced by their recent earnings estimates for QLGC stock.

Recent Estimates & Outlook

Analysts have begun to raise their estimates for QLGC stock, posting the current quarter estimate from 14 cents a share 90 days ago to 22 cents a share today, while the current year and next year estimates have gained, respectively, 34% and 15.9% in the time frame too. This suggests that analysts are really buying into the story at QLGC and that they are becoming more bullish on the prospects for QLogic stock over both the short and long term.

But before you start to worry about QLGC and their ability to beat earnings estimate revisions, consider their recent history at earnings season. The company has met or beat estimates in each of the last four quarters, including an average beat of nearly 28%. QLogic actually hasn’t missed since the summer of 2012 so it is riding a pretty nice streak heading into the New Year.

For these reasons, it should be pretty clear why QLGC is a great stock right now, and that it could outperform in 2016. Unsurprisingly, we have assigned the stock a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and are looking for this to be a top performer to start the year.

Bottom Line

Not only is QLGC in a great industry that is growing in importance, but it has some great stats of its own as well. It is expected to see great numbers next year even though it isn’t trading at an absurd valuation by any means.

So if you are looking for a stock that has a proven track record of beating estimates and is in a top industry too, definitely give QLGC a closer inspection as you are searching for the best stocks to buy for 2016 as this company is in a great position to ride its earnings momentum to prominence in the New Year.