Tech stocks: Strategists say it's time to buy META shares and more - CNBC

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The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank has added to volatility in the tech sector, coming hot on the heels of expectations that interest rates are likely to remain high for some time. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed 0.45% higher on Monday. That's after sliding 1.76% on Friday following the closure of Silicon Valley Bank . Crypto-focused Signature Bank was also shut down. Meanwhile, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said last week that interest rates are likely to remain "higher than previously anticipated" — usually viewed as bad news for the tech sector. Earnings misses and a series of layoffs at tech giants, including a planned second round of redundancies at Meta , have further compounded nervousness in the sector. But some market pros see the volatility as an opportunity to snap up growth stocks at bargain prices. "We think that for medium- and long-term investors, the recent bout of volatility that you've seen represents a buying opportunity," Anthony Doyle, head of investment strategy at Firetrail Investments, told CNBC on Monday. He said some tech firms' valuations have been "absolutely hammered." Meanwhile Phillip Wool, managing director of Rayliant Global Advisors, added: "The upshot is that we're bearish on U.S. stocks generally, though this will give way to bargain hunting as lagged damage from Fed policy shows up and greed turns to fear." Big Tech stock picks Speaking last week, before the sell-off, Sylvia Jablonski, chief investment officer at Defiance ETFs, urged investors to watch for pullbacks. "Through the last several decades, the top days in the markets have occurred during some sort of recession, crisis or pullback," she said in emailed notes to CNBC. "If you're an investor, and you're in it for beyond 2024, where we'll have a little more certainty at that point, we would think there is a really high chance that you're going to be buying [at] lower levels today than you will be in that timeframe and certainly a decade from now," she added. Meanwhile, Barbara Doran, CIO at BD8 Capital Partners, believes tech has "really been on a roll" and is "holding up," despite concerns around higher interest rates. She said she's refocusing on big-cap tech names given the promise of artificial intelligence — the hottest tech theme this year — and "historically attractive" valuations. She is bullish on Meta , giving the stock upside of between 15% to 35%. That's despite a gain of about 50% in its stock price this year. Meta's users and engagement have continued to increase across all platforms, according to Doran, with the company also growing monetization of its Reels platform and increasing financial discipline. Apple is another stock that she likes, citing its growing market share in high-end smartphones outside the U.S., as well as its ability to take market share from major competitor Samsung . Defiance's Jablonski highlighted that the top stock picks from major Wall Street banks tie to AI and machine learning. "Looking at a basket of stocks ranging from semiconductors, quantum computing, AI and machine learning, stocks in the lead in this space may pay off in the long term," she said. AI is expected to grow at a compounded rate of 37% by 2026, Jablonski added, citing research by global market intelligence firm International Data Corporation. "That's not so far off." Jablonski identified Microsoft , Nvidia , Advanced Micro Devices , Alphabet and Amazon as likely leaders in the space and believes now is a "great opportunity" to add exposure given that they are trading at "double digits from their 52-week highs." Defiance ETFs manages The Next Generation Quantum Computing & Machine Learning ETF . The exchange-traded fund is up more than 11% as of the end of February. Amy Kong, chief investment officer at CI Barrett Private Wealth, favors Microsoft, calling it a "stellar company" with a good business model. She added that the company is generating a lot of free cash flow, has "a lot more growth engines" relative to Alphabet, and is expected to grow its cloud computing business by about 30% over the next quarter. Firetrail Investments' Anthony Doyle also identified Microsoft as a tech stock he's bullish on , despite the volatility.

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