3 Tech Stocks to Buy in February

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There is a massive flight to quality and an incredible leadership change occurring in the stock market right now.

stocks to buyDue to the strong U.S. dollar, only 15% of mega-cap stocks are worth investing in today. That means investors are flocking to more domestic, small- to mid-cap stocks with real sales and earnings growth.

And I want investors to take advantage of this shift.

If you need to free up some cash to purchase new buys, the primary stocks that you should evaluate for near-term profit-taking are Depomed Inc (NASDAQ:DEPO), Horizon Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:HZNP), Siliconware Precision Industries (ADR) (NASDAQ:SPIL), TAL Education Group (ADR) (NYSE:XRS), United Insurance Holdings Corp. (NDA) (NASDAQ:UIHC) and Vipshop Holdings Ltd – ADR (NYSE:VIPS). All have rallied impressively in recent weeks.

And as always, be sure to keep 60% of your portfolio in conservative stocks and 30% in moderately aggressive stocks and 10% in aggressive stocks — the mix is imperative if you want to achieve much smoother, steadier returns.

Here are three tech stocks to buy in February that are thinly traded but worth considering:

3 Tech Stocks to Buy: M/A-Com Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTSI)

macom-mtsi-stock-185Up first is a leading semiconductor company — M/A-Com Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTSI).

MTSI supplies high performance analog RF, microwave, millimeterwave and photonic products for use in wireless and wireline networks, high speed optical, radar and satellite, as well as in industrial, automotive, medical and mobile devices.

M/A-Com Technology Solutions offers more than 3,000 products over 42 product lines, which are sold through direct sales force, applications engineering staff, independent sales representatives and distributors in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

MTSI recently announced financial results from its first quarter 2015. Revenue was $114.9 million, up 36.5% from $84.2 million in Q1 2014. Operating earnings were $9.1 million, up from a $9.2 million loss last year.

However, MTSI reported a net earnings loss of $6.3 million or a loss of 13 cents per share. Adjusted earnings were 38 cents per share.

The consensus estimate was for sales of $114.2 million and earnings of 35 cents per share. So, M/A-Com Technology Solutions posted a slight sales surprise and 8.57% earnings surprise. Looking forward, MTSI is expecting revenue between $120 million and $124 million in the second quarter.

M/A-Com Technology Solutions also announced that it was upsizing its original public offering of 6.5 million shares to 7.8 million shares, at a price of $30 per share. The underwriters have the option to purchase up to 1.17 million additional shares.

Please note: MTSI shares are also thinly traded and should be bought via a limit order. MTSI is a “moderately aggressive buy.”

3 Tech Stocks to Buy: Silicon Motion Technology Corp. (ADR) (NASDAQ:SIMO)

silicon motion-simo-stock-185Silicon Motion Technology Corp. (ADR) (NASDAQ:SIMO) is a semiconductor company that develops solutions for the mobile storage and mobile communications markets. Silicon Motion Technology already works closely with Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) and Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO), and it rumored to also be working with Samsung (OTCMKTS:SSNLF).

SIMO focuses on developing microcontroller ICs for NAND flash storage devices and specialty RF ICs for mobile devices. Currently, its products are used in many popular smartphones, tablets and mobile devices. Silicon Motion sells its products to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and module makers around the world.

On Jan. 26, Silicon Motion announced financial results for its fourth quarter 2014. Revenue soared 53% year over year to $80.5 million, thanks to a 70% annual increase in embedded storage sales. Net income was $11.92 million or 35 cents per share, up from $5.42 million, or 16 cents per share, last year. Adjusted earnings were 48 cents per share.

The consensus estimate was for earnings of 47 cents per share on $80.6 million in sales. So, SIMO beat earnings estimates by a penny and posted a slight sales miss. Looking forward to the first quarter 2015, SIMO expects revenues to dip 5% to 0% sequentially. For full year 2015, Silicon Motion Technology is looking for sales to increases between 15% and 25% year over year.

Silicon Motion stock has been improving compared to more recent quarters amid brewing excitement about Samsung increasingly using SIMO chips. In the past month, the analyst community has revised its consensus earnings estimate 7.7% higher for the current quarter. Typically, positive analyst earnings revisions precede future earnings surprises.

Silicon Motion stock is a good, but speculative “buy.” SIMO shares are relatively thinly traded. So, please only buy SIMO shares via a limit order. SIMO is a “conservative buy.”

3 Tech Stocks to Buy: Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc (NASDAQ:ZLTQ)

zeltiq-zltq-stock-185The final new tech stock to buy for February is Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc (NASDAQ:ZLTQ), a medical technology company that develops and commercializes non-invasive products for the selective reduction of fat.

Its CoolSculpting system utilizes its proprietary controlled-cooling technology to reduce fat bulges that don’t respond to diet and/or exercise. In the past 10 years, its CoolSculpting systems has become the number-one non-invasive body contouring procedure, with more than 22.4 million people in the U.S. interested in the procedure.

Zeltiq sells its products through a network of distributors, as well as a direct sales force to dermatologists, plastic surgeons and aesthetic specialists primarily in North America, the Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. ZLTQ has shipped is CoolSculpting systems to more than 60 countries around the globe.

Last year, Zeltiq was named the number-one medical device company and 24th overall on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500. The list ranks 500 of the fastest growing public and private technology, telecommunications, media, clean technology and life sciences companies in North America.

In mid-January, Zeltiq issued preliminary fourth-quarter sales between $51 million and $52 million, which is up approximately 44% compared to $35.8 million in the same quarter a year ago. For full year 2014, ZLTQ expects revenue between $175 million and $176 million, about a 57% increase over last year.

Zeltiq is expected to release actual fourth-quarter and full-year results on Mar. 3, and the analyst community is estimating earnings of 1 cent per share on $50.68 million in sales. In the previous two quarters, Zeltiq has posted big earnings surprises of 153.8% and 250%, respectively — and given that estimates have been revised higher in the past month, the upward trend is likely to continue.

Zeltiq is just starting to make the transition to profitability. So, ZLTQ stock is a “conservative buy.”

Louis Navellier is a renowned growth investor. He is the editor of five investing newsletters: Blue Chip GrowthEmerging GrowthUltimate GrowthFamily Trust and Platinum Growth. His most popular service, Blue Chip Growth, has a track record of beating the market 3:1 over the last 14 years. He uses a combination of quantitative and fundamental analysis to identify market-beating stocks. Mr. Navellier has made his proven formula accessible to investors via his free, online stock rating tool, PortfolioGrader.com. Louis Navellier may hold some of the aforementioned securities in one or more of his newsletters.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2015/02/tech-stocks-to-buy-macom-technology-solutions-mtsi-silicon-motion-technology-simo-intel-cisco-zeltiq-aesthetics-zltq/.

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