Morgan Stanley says it’s buying tech stocks like Apple and Nvidia on dips ahead of earnings report | Wilnesh News
Morgan Stanley recently said there are still plenty of big tech-related stocks worth buying ahead of earnings. The firm said investors should buy weak stocks ahead of quarterly results from companies like Nvidia and Apple. CNBC Pro compiled research from Morgan Stanley to find stocks the company likes as earnings season continues. These stocks include: Dell, Nvidia, Keysight Technologies, Apple and Fortinet. Nvidia said it will continue to hold shares in the artificial intelligence chip maker until it reports earnings at the end of May. Analyst Joseph Moore believes a host of positive catalysts could drive the stock higher in the coming months. “NVDA continues to see strong spending trends in artificial intelligence, with upward demand from some new customers such as Tesla and various sovereign nations,” the company wrote. Moore said his survey showed concerns about the company’s graphics processing units, also known as demand for GPUs remains high. Nvidia’s data center business is also running at full speed, he added. He continued: “We expect the April quarter to beat consensus and provide strong guidance, setting the stage for another series of positive EPS revisions.” Shares are up 77% this year, but the company said there is still significant room for growth. Keysight Technologies, an electronic test equipment and software company, is another standout, according to the company. Analyst Meta Marshall wrote: “In the T&M (test and measurement) space, we believe KEYS is best positioned to take advantage of the AI/ML tailwinds given its exposure to risks at all levels of the network, including physical, protocol and application.” She said Keysight is well-positioned for share price gains due to its diversified portfolio that is attractive to investors. She wrote: “The company has the broadest customer base in semi-finished products, components, traditional networking and hyperscale, which combined with the depth of its product portfolio should make them a share gainer in the artificial intelligence space.” Meanwhile, the company said , the company’s stock price has fallen by about 7% this year, and there is still a lot of room for growth. “We remain (overweight) key as we believe today’s valuation fails to reflect the double-digit earnings growth story and defensive end-market risks,” Marshall said. Keysight plans to report results in May. Fortinet Fortinet is scheduled to report earnings on May 2, and Morgan Stanley will continue to bid on the stock. Analyst Hamza Fodderwala said he became more bullish on the cybersecurity company after attending a recent user conference. “On net, we see an uptick in first-quarter expectations and remain confident of revenue acceleration in the second half,” he wrote. Additionally, the company’s surveys show demand remains stable. “Our partner conversations indicate that overall demand is more stable after the turmoil in the second half of 2023,” he noted. Fodderwala also said that Fortinet has “regulatory tailwinds” and the need to secure critical infrastructure, which means Bookings remain “strong”. “Close to the bottom, ready to speed up in 2 hours,” he said succinctly. Fortinet shares are up nearly 10% this year. Dell’s “Strength of AI server orders, backlog, pipeline and expanding CSP/enterprise (cloud service provider) customer base suggests Dell’s AI story is in its early stages and has strong momentum. … Guidance suggests margins Margins will come under pressure year over year, but we believe management’s earnings/EPS outlook is conservative; our FY25 EPS is 3% above guidance, further momentum in AI servers, PC growth And inclusion in the S&P 500 remains a key catalyst going forward. “We believe Apple will slightly beat March estimates, but June quarter RPM/implied EPS was 4-7% below consensus. Price at 165. USD, that appears to be priced in, but it’s a tricky setup in today’s volatile market. Fortinet is “close to the bottom and poised to accelerate in the second half. … Net, we see upside expectations for Q1 and are optimistic about that.” Second-half revenue acceleration remains confident. …Our partner conversations indicate more stable overall demand after a tumultuous 2H’23.” Nvidia “NVDA continues to see strong spending trends in artificial intelligence, particularly. Demand was revised upwards from some new customers including Tesla and various sovereigns. …We expect a break from consensus in the April quarter with strong guidance, setting the stage for another series of positive EPS revisions… …We believe Nvidia should trade at a higher price given the higher likelihood of an upward correction in the near term. Keysight said: “In the test and measurement space, we believe KEYS is best positioned to leverage artificial intelligence/ A tailwind for machine learning as it has exposure to all layers of networking including physical, protocols and applications. Still bullish on them as we believe today’s valuation fails to deliver on the double-digit earnings growth story and defensive side. .
