Friday’s major miss on the April non-farm payroll report has big implications for the stock market that investors should take a moment to consider. Since the report was much worse than economists were anticipating, it alludes to the fact that the labor market's recovery from the pandemic might take a lot longer than expected.
It also might be confirmation that the Federal Reserve won’t be tapering anytime soon, which is positive for high valuation growth names and technology stocks that have been weak so far this month.
That’s why it might pay off to start looking into some high-quality technology stocks that have the potential to rebound in the coming weeks. We saw many of the best earnings reports from tech companies get sold off relentlessly, which means there might be some nice deals out there at the moment.
This is especially true if the jobs report starts a rally in the tech sector.
Let’s take a look at 3 tech stocks that are poised for a strong rebound below.
1. Microsoft
It was very interesting to see the market reaction to Microsoft’s Q3 earnings, which were impressive but not strong enough to hold the gains that the stock had made before the release. The sharp dip could be for a few different reasons, including the idea that the stock was priced to perfection heading into the report.
It’s also worth considering that even though the company reported 19% revenue growth and 45% EPS growth in Q3, other mega-cap tech companies like Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) put out even stronger numbers.
Regardless, the truth is that Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a fantastic tech stock that could be poised for a strong rebound in the coming weeks after the recent dip.
As the world’s largest software company, the company has a dominant position in desktop operating systems and productivity software that help businesses all over the world. What’s impressive is how the company pivoted to cloud versions of its most successful software and focused on building its public cloud infrastructure offerings.
Microsoft generated $17.7 billion in commercial cloud revenue in Q3, up 33% year-over-year, and confirms that there are still plenty of companies undergoing digital transformations over a year into the pandemic.
2. Applied Materials
Semiconductor stocks have been pulling back in recent weeks, but given all of the macro tailwinds in the industry, such as heavy demand for electronic devices and the global chip shortage, it’s a great area of the market to keep an eye on.
One name that stands out is Applied Materials, which is the world’s largest supplier of semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Since Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) has engineered solutions that are used to make essentially every chip in the world, it’s a company that has developed strong relationships with some of the biggest chipmakers in the world, including Samsung Electronics (OTC:SSNLF), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM), and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC).
The company reported strong Q1 earnings earlier this year that saw sales rise 24% year-over-year to $5.2 billion. Applied should see strong momentum throughout the year and management expects Q2 revenue to increase by 36% year-over-year.
The company reports its Q2 earnings on Thursday, May 20, and we could see the stock rally into the release, particularly since it has already pulled back considerably from its April highs.
The company has a solid history of beating earnings estimates, and it’s also worth mentioning that the stock reclaimed all of the major moving averages last week which is a sign of strength in the tech sector at this time.
3. PayPal
It’s hard to have confidence in the growth area of the market right now, but if you are looking for a quality name in that space that could be one of the first names to bounce back, this stock fits the bill. PayPal is a technology platform and digital payments company that helps merchants and consumers with digital and mobile payment transactions.
With several different payment solutions including PayPal, PayPal Credit, Venmo, Xoom, and more, this company has established itself as a key player in the fintech industry.
With payment volumes steadily accelerating and innovative new updates including a service that lets customers buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrency, this is a tech stock that stands out for all of the right reasons.
Although expectations are high for the company to justify its valuation, investors should not underestimate just how quickly the world is moving to digital payments after the pandemic.
PayPal Holdings (NASDAQ:PYPL) reported a total payment volume of $285 billion in Q1, up 50% year-over-year, and delivered the strongest Q1 results in the company’s history. Although the market reaction following the report was muted, it might only be a matter of time before the stock gets going again.