It’s very easy to construct negative sentiment around the tech sector. As investors are well aware, increasing quantitative tightening has spelled a massive downturn for the equity class.
Easy money is gone, drying up investor capital for highly valued tech stocks. The fact is that the harder liquidity is to come by, the less likely that capital is to flow into tech firms because they tend to lose money despite rapidly growing top-line revenue.
That’s largely what has happened through the first half of 2022: The tech wreck saw the Nasdaq Composite lose 33% through June 16. That date seems to mark an inflection point as the index has risen 9% since.
That suggests that quantitative tightening is fully priced in despite future expected rate hikes. What that means is that there are lots of tech shares currently worthy of your consideration.
Cheap Tech Stocks: Marvell Technologies (MRVL)
There are multiple signs pointing to Marvell Technologies (NASDAQ:MRVL) stock as a strong choice among cheap stocks to buy.
First is its business: Marvell Technologies makes semiconductors used in data infrastructure. In other words, the company is a chip supplier to data centers. Fortunately, data centers are growing rapidly, which suggests a bright future for Marvell Technologies.
In fact, the data center market is anticipated to grow at a compound annual rate of 21% between 2021 and 2026.
MRVL stock carries a target price near $70 and currently trades at $45. It has been affected by the tech wreck to a similar degree as the overall sector.
Unity Software (U)
Unity Software (NYSE:U) has done well despite the issues that are affecting the broader tech sector. While it remains true that digital advertising continues to lag across tech, Unity has performed well.
The company reported $320.1 million in sales in Q1, up 36%. Importantly, that figure was at the top of its guidance range, suggesting that its advertising could be relatively insulated.
CEO John Riccitiello offers a plausible explanation: “It’s the only industry I’m aware of where the consumer of games loves the ads.”
Unity recently agreed to purchase ironSource (NYSE:IS). What’s particularly interesting about the move is that both firms provide services for videogame and other developers. It is strengthening its position in that niche. And it’s a strong niche indeed, with 5.4% growth expected despite the larger slowdown.
Cheap Tech Stocks: Pinterest (PINS)
The primary reason to invest in Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) stock currently is that there are massive changes afoot. Those changes could very well push share prices much higher in the near future.
The basic premise here is less about a slowdown in discretionary spending that will affect Pinterest’s business model and more about the incoming power figures at the firm.
Bill Ready is taking the reins from Ben Silbermann. In many ways Ready looks to be a perfect fit for the role. He was most recently head of commerce at Google (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL), and prior to that, the COO of PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL).
The company also recently became 9% owned by activist investor hedge fund Elliott Management. Pundits believe the chance that Pinterest could be an acquisition target has increased as multiple big names in tech had the firm in their sights when prices were much higher.
Salesforce (CRM)
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) stock is something of an anomaly in the tech space. It’s either extremely overvalued, or it simply has the magic sauce. Many investors were scared of CRM stock and its sky-high P/E ratio when the tech rout began.
Yes, Salesforce fell, but it still maintains a high valuation that Wall Street is keen on. The firm’s P/E ratio currently sits at 281.67. That’s worse than 97% of the software industry. But flip that narrative around and you’ll see that Salesforce has the special sauce: It has discovered the secret to charging investors more for a percentage of its earnings than comparable software equities.
That is why the company finds itself named to Gartner’s (NYSE:IT) 2022 Magic Quadrant for Multichannel Marketing Hubs. What that basically means is that Salesforce is exceptionally good at connecting company offers as well as integrating them across channels as diverse as website, mobile, social, paid media, direct and email. This makes it one of the best cheap tech stocks to buy now.
ON Semiconductor (ON)
ON Semiconductor (NASDAQ:ON) stock represents a very profitable firm, currently performing well, and in a strong position.
Investors can pretty much consider any profitability metric regarding ON Semiconductor. Whether it’s margins or returns, ON stock tends to excel. So, investors who believe that a strong business that performs well is worth investing in should consider ON Semiconductor. Across most profitability metrics the company scores at or above the 75th percentile.
And that strong performance has resulted in the company beating EPS expectations in each of the last four quarters. And looking forward, it’s only getting better. EPS figures should reach $1.31 in Q3. That’s rising as well as those expectations were $1.05 a few months ago.
It all points to a strong company that is getting stronger. The firm’s position as a supplier to the automotive, electric vehicle and EV charging sectors only bolsters its future potential.
Intel (INTC)
Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) stock is going to need every bit of help from the CHIPS Act. But that’s a bet worth taking as the worst of the surprise is over. The surprise I’m referring to is Intel’s disastrous earnings report that came just moments after the CHIPS Act was passed.
That law will provide $53 billion of financial assistance for U.S. fabrication infrastructure. Intel will be its greatest beneficiary because of its revenue base and manufacturing footprint, both of which lead the U.S. industry.
But only an hour after it passed the House of Representatives, Intel released very weak earnings that came as a surprise. Revenue dropped 22% and missed Wall Street projections by 15%.
In the short term, the news is bad. But in the longer term, Intel can rebound on the news given that it is poised to benefit from the law in an outsized manner. It’s certainly a risky bet given Intel’s propensity to disappoint over the last few years, but one worth considering nevertheless.
Cheap Tech Stocks: Shopify (SHOP)
Shopify (NYSE:SHOP) stock personifies an emerging trend in the tech sector: Investors simply not caring about losses and capital flowing into tech shares regardless.
At least that seems to be the case with Shopify as a wider-than-expected Q2 loss and management warnings that Q3 will be as bad have not discouraged investors.
In fact, share prices rose despite the news. It could be that investors are viewing the company’s earlier announcement that it was laying off 10% of its workforce in a positive light. The notion is that a leaner Shopify will be able to find renewed efficiency with fewer employees who suddenly recognize that a weakening economy spells changes.
On the date of publication, Alex Sirois did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.