Bank of America said there are still plenty of buying opportunities in technology stocks. The investment bank said buying in stocks such as Apple is surging ahead of quarterly results this week. CNBC Pro compiled research from Bank of America to find Buy-rated tech stocks with more room to operate. They include: Microsoft, Apple, Micron Technology, Shopify and Sea Limited. Apple Bank of America recently raised its price target on the iPhone maker to $256 from $230. Analyst Wamsi Mohan said Apple is firing on all cylinders ahead of what he calls the “refresh iPhone cycle.” The bank’s recent survey shows that Apple’s iPhone user base is ready to upgrade to products that include artificial intelligence capabilities. The bank said brand loyalty is crucial. “14% of U.S. respondents said they plan to purchase Apple Vision Pro,” Mohan wrote. Apple is scheduled to announce earnings next Thursday, August 1. Shares are up 13.2% this year. Bank of America says now is the time to buy shares of Canadian business website provider Shopify. Analyst Brad Sills recently upgraded Shopify to buy from neutral due to “a more balanced growth and profit profile.” Hills said the company’s transformation under its new chief financial officer is also underway as quarterly results emerge in early August. “Revenue growth and disciplined spending point to healthy margin growth going forward,” he wrote. Sils believes Shopify has a number of competitive advantages that bode well for its future market share growth. “Shopify appears to be well-positioned to continue capturing e-commerce market share while achieving better scale and (free cash flow) conversion,” he continued. U.S. stocks are down 23% this year. Shares of Sea Limited, a Singapore-based technology internet company, are up 61% this year, but there is still more room to rise, Bank of America said. Analyst Sachin Salgaonkar urged clients to remain calm as trends in the company’s gaming and Shopee units are improving. Shopee is a Southeast Asian e-commerce platform owned by Sea. “We believe the company is well-positioned to capitalize on the e-commerce boom in Southeast Asia given its increasingly dominant online marketplace (Shopee), while its expansion into Brazil provides further long-term growth,” he wrote. Potential. The bank said losses were bottoming out, while acknowledging that competition with Sea was real. Still, the Wall Street firm reiterated its buy rating, urging clients to hold the stock for the long term. Competitive trends are stable and revenue rates are expected to improve,” he added. Sea is expected to report quarterly earnings in August. Micron Technology “Artificial Intelligence drives strong pricing, mix and advantage opportunities. We are pleased to invite Micron Technology CFO Mark Murphy, SVP Satya Kumar and IR Samir Patodia to participate in well-attended investor meetings in Boston and New York “We believe MSFT is well-positioned to grow in the future, driven by the continued adoption of its Azure cloud infrastructure platform, its cloud-based Office 365 productivity suite, and more profitable games and Game Pass revenue in Xbox,” Microsoft said. Achieving sustained low double-digit growth in 3-5 years “We believe the company is well-positioned to ride on the e-commerce boom in Southeast Asia, given its increasing dominance in the online marketplace (Shopee). Expansion in Brazil offers further long-term growth potential… We see stable competitive trends in the region and expect adoption to improve….We reiterate our Buy rating on GenAI. Fueled by an expected multi-year iPhone cycle, strong services growth and margin expansion… 14% of U.S. respondents said they plan to buy Apple Vision Pro… Shopify appears well-positioned to continue capturing e-commerce market share, Achieving better scale and FCF transformation simultaneously…a more balanced growth and profit profile.
