7 Tech Stocks Set to Soar From 52-Week Lows

The selloff in tech stocks has gone from bad to worse. This earnings season has been a mess for the technology sector with numerous big-name companies coming up well short of expectations. Digital advertising has gone into a slump. On top of that, growth companies are cutting capital expenditure guidance, which implies further weakness in tech hardware demand heading into 2023.

Understandably, some investors have given up on tech stocks. And there’s no getting around the fact that it’s going to be another volatile couple of quarters for the industry. On top of specific fundamental factors, the Federal Reserve continues with its aggressive interest rate hikes, which adds even more pressure on the sector.

But the heavy selling has created huge opportunities. After years of tech stocks trading at massive valuations, great companies are now going for more reasonable prices. There are a ton of risks out there right now, to be sure. But for investors that can take a longer-term view, these seven tech stocks should come springing back once the tide starts to turn for growth-focused companies.

Microsoft (MSFT)

It’s been an utterly dismal year for the so-called FAANG stocks and tech stocks in general. For the longest time, it seemed like Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) might be able to avoid the same slump that its peers such as Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) stumbled into. However, MSFT stock has now dropped to new 52-week lows following a weaker-than-expected Q1 fiscal 2023 earnings report.

There were some glaring negatives in that earnings report. Windows revenues were down significantly as sales of laptops slumped after their 2021 boom. The company’s EPS growth came in at just 3%, which was among the lowest figures Microsoft has reported in years.

Adjusted for currency, however, earnings growth was 11%, which is a much healthier number. Meanwhile, while computer sales are down, Microsoft is continuing to post tremendous numbers in its cloud business. That is where Microsoft’s most promising high-margin growth opportunity lies. With MSFT stock down at the 52-week lows, shares are now going for just 23 times forward earnings.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM)

It’s been a brutal year for the semiconductor industry. 2021’s semiconductor shortage has turned into a glut as supply chains have normalized while at the same time, consumer demand for electronics has slumped. We’ve seen sales for semiconductor-intensive products such as laptops and automobiles dip considerably from last year’s record numbers.

On top of that, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) faces a specific risk, namely that it is located in Taiwan. Tensions have ramped up considerably between China and Taiwan this year. Numerous geopolitical analysts have speculated that, although unlikely, China could invade Taiwan within the next few years. This would have an uncertain, but undoubtedly negative, impact on TSM stock.

However, investors may have gotten too pessimistic with Taiwan Semi here at 52-week lows. For one, there are plenty of diplomatic means to hopefully avoid a worst-case outcome for Taiwan. For another, Taiwan Semiconductor has already started diversifying its manufacturing and is building large facilities in the United States. Long story short, the firm has the most advanced semiconductor fabrication technology out there, and it will be able to survive and adapt regardless of what happens with politics and economic cycles in the short term. Meanwhile, shares are going for just 10 times earnings.

Analog Devices (ADI)

Analog Devices (NASDAQ:ADI) is a leading semiconductor company that, as the name would suggest, is focused on analog semiconductor chips. There is a business benefit to analog chips. They tend to be a slower-moving field than chips for consumer electronics such as smartphones. This allows a maker of analog products to earn money from a given R&D investment over a much longer time span. Also, applications tend to be more niche, which limits competition and allows for stronger profit margins.

Analog Devices creates chips that go into a variety of machines such as autos, communications equipment, simulation tools, power conversion, gyroscopes and many other fields. While some of these fields will be significantly impacted by an economic downturn, this diversification of use cases should give Analog Devices more sticking power than a company narrowly focused on just chips for smartphones or memory applications.

ADI stock has more than tripled over the past decade, and it did so with remarkably low volatility as the company’s earnings and share price have steadily increased. This makes the company’s current 22% year-to-date decline one of the better entry points that we’ve seen in years for ADI stock. At this point, shares go for just 15 times forward earnings. Taken altogether, ADI stock makes for a solid pick among today’s beaten-down tech stocks.

Sabre Corp (SABR)

Sabre Corp (NASDAQ:SABR) is a software company that delivers ticketing solutions to the airline and travel industries. The quick breakdown is that there are three primary companies that offer ticketing solutions to airlines globally, with the exception of China which has a separate system. Sabre functions as a marketplace; airlines input their offerings and then customers such as travel agents and online booking websites can purchase via Sabre.

Unfortunately for Sabre, it had taken on a lot of debt in the late 2010s to fund a massive overhaul and upgrade of the company’s technology systems. Just as Sabre was set to reap the rewards of this investment, the pandemic hit and left Sabre with a lot of debt and far fewer cash flows. SABR stock plunged from $22 to $4 as the pandemic set in. Shares rebounded to $15 in 2021 but are now back under $5.

The reason for nervousness isn’t hard to see. Sabre hasn’t yet made it back to profitability and its debt load remains large. However, airline traffic figures are continuing to pick back up toward pre-2020 levels. And, at the end of the day, Sabre has a business with high-profit margins and limited competition. It’s just a matter of time until it can work through its current operational issues and get back on track.

ZoomInfo Technologies (ZI)

ZoomInfo (NASDAQ:ZI) is a communications company that helps customers with market intelligence and engagement. Specifically, it maintains a massive database of information about decision-makers and key personnel at large enterprises. Clients can access this database from ZoomInfo and use it to help enhance and target their sales and marketing efforts.

ZoomInfo isn’t just the database, however. It has other value-added services on top of that, helping facilitate the sales process with customer engagement, messaging, and tracking tools throughout the sales process. As firms evolve their marketing techniques for the digital work-from-home age, this sort of information should gain more relevance as face-to-face sales take a back seat in many organizations.

Unfortunately for ZoomInfo, it isn’t immune from economic stress. With technology budgets facing cutbacks, there is less money to go into marketing. This led to a massive earnings disappointment in Q3. That, in turn, sent ZI stock down 29% in a single day. That’s an overreaction. ZoomInfo is already profitable, and there should continue to be sizable long-term adoption of the company’s solutions, even if demand is currently reduced due to the economic cycle.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (BR)

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) is a technology company focused on financial services. It started as a spin-off from Automatic Data Processing (NYSE:ADP) and became an independent firm in the 2000s. ADP spun out Broadridge as a shareholder communications company, meaning it handled proxy statement deliveries, dividend reinvestment programs, and other such financial paperwork.

Broadridge has modernized over the years. One avenue of that has been in making things digital; shareholders now can do their voting through brokerage apps instead of the mail. Annual reports, dividend statements, and so on have also moved online, increasing efficiency. On top of that, Broadridge has built or acquired various other technologies to handle back-office software for banks and brokerages, along with moving into paperwork management in healthcare and other adjacent industries.

BR stock has slipped almost 25% so far in 2022. That makes this often expensive growth company into a much more reasonable value. It is now going for less than 20 times forward earnings. On top of that, it pays a more than 2% dividend yield and has increased its dividend every single year since ADP spun it off. Broadridge has a long runway to keep consolidating the software and services space for the financial industry, and as such should be a strong growth and income holding for many years to come.

Tyler Technologies (TYL)

Tyler Technologies (NYSE:TYL) is another tech software rollup. Its domain is not in financial services, but rather in the government sector. Tyler built its business around software for courtrooms and legal systems, giving local governments the technology to manage caseloads, track court appearances, and so on.

Over the years, Tyler has added onto this with other lines of software such as for managing K-12 school systems. None of this may seem especially glamorous, but it’s a great business. Local governments tend to be slow adopters of technology and stick with a product for many years or even decades once it is installed. This means that once Tyler wins a local contract, it should be able to generate revenues for at least 10-15 years if not longer from that deal.

Tyler shares ran up to an utterly unreasonable valuation in 2021, topping 60x earnings and 20x revenues. It’s hard to make money, regardless of how attractive the business model is when paying those multiples for a company that grows revenues by around 15% annually. Now, however, TYL stock is down more than 40% over the past year. This has pushed it to 40x earnings and closer to 10x revenues. This still isn’t a screaming bargain, however, it’s a fair price for a high-quality software business that is sheltered from economic cycles since it primarily sells to governments rather than commercial clients. Definitely a unique play among tech stocks.

On the date of publication, Ian Bezek held a long position in BR stock. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.