As they lagged expectations, tech stocks have been one of the biggest stories of the stock market for the last few months. But have you noticed that tech is starting to finally turn around?
The Investo QQQ ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ) which tracks tech stocks is down 19% so far in 2022, but it’s gained more than 16% over the last two months. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA:XLK) dropped 13% since Jan. 1, but gained 16.6% in the last two months.
Tech stocks have long been a reliable source of solid returns and can be great momentum plays in good times. Now that tech is threatening to return to its winning ways, this may be an outstanding time to pick up A-rated tech stocks for the long term.
Here are seven for buy-and-hold investors.
| BCOR | Blucora | $23.11 |
| EXLS | ExlService Holdings | $178.44 |
| SWCH | Switch | $34.02 |
| KBR | KBR | $52.49 |
| PDFS | PDF Solutions | $27.28 |
| QLYS | Qualys | $155.57 |
| PSN | Parsons Corporation | $42.62 |
Blucora (BCOR)
Perhaps nothing creates more anxiety for the general population every quarter and every year like taxes. If you mess up your taxes it could have both civil and criminal consequences, not to mention huge penalties.
That’s where Blucora (NASDAQ:BCOR) comes in. Blucora provides a suite of products and services that help people accurately file their taxes and identify potential deductions.
It also helps people use their tax data to for wealth management. Blucora owns TaxAct tax preparation software, and the HD Vest financial services firm.
Earnings for the second quarter included earnings of $256.88 million and adjusted earnings of 99 cents per share. Both were better than analysts’ expectations of $256.67 million revenue and 95 cents EPS.
The company is projecting full-year revenue of $892.5 million to $916 million, and EPS of $1.71 to $1.90 per share. The consensus analyst estimate is $1.83 per share.
BCOR stock has an “A” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
ExlService Holdings (EXLS)
ExlService Holdings (NASDAQ:EXLS) is a holding company for New York-based EXL Service, which is an analytics and digital services company that works in insurance, banking and financial services, healthcare, media, and other industries.
It handles everything from finance and accounting to legal services, customer services and bill collection.
Earnings for the second quarter were outstanding. Revenue of $346.78 million, versus expectations of $329.68 million. Earnings of $1.50 per share were also better than analysts’ predictions of $1.32.
Even better, EXLS projected full-year earnings of $5.60 to $5.80 per share, with a midpoint better than the analysts’ consensus EPS projection of $5.57.
EXLS isn’t one of the tech stocks that will make a move soon. It isn’t waiting for the tech stock turnaround – its already moving up. ExlService us up 23% so far this year, including a 22% jump over the last 30 days.
Not surprisingly, EXLS stock has an “A” rating in my Portfolio Grader.
Switch (SWCH)
With the internet becoming even more important for businesses following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, Las Vegas-based Switch (NYSE:SWCH) looks to be in a strong position.
The company says it has more than 700 issued and pending patents covering data center designs – and data centers, of course, are critical pieces of internet infrastructure, as they house storage systems, services and routers.
Earnings for Q2 were solid, as the company reported a beat on revenue by posting $168.19 million versus analysts’ estimates of $166.78 million. Earnings came in at $1.51 per share versus estimates of $1.46 per share.
Switch stock is up a strong 18% so far in 2022, making it one of the tech stocks to watch and helping give it an “A” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
KBR (KBR)
Formerly known as Kellogg Brown & Root, KBR (NYSE:KBR) is a spin-off of the oil company Halliburton (NYSE:HAL). It went public in 2006.
KBR operates in the aerospace, defense, industrial and intelligence industries, and worked with NASA to launch the James Webb Space Telescope, which is the most powerful space telescope launched.
KBR also worked with the U.S. government in several hot spots around the world. It built sections of the U.S. Navy base in Guantanamo, Cuba; it built the U.S. embassy in Kabul, and it supported U.S. Marines serving in Iraq.
Despite an up-and-down 2022, KBR stock is up nearly 10% on the year. Earnings in Q2 were a mixed bag, beating on earnings per share (76 cents EPS versus analysts’ estimates of 65 cents) but missing on revenue ($1.62 billion versus analysts’ estimates of $1.64 billion).
This is one of the tech stocks with a strong position in the defense and aerospace industries. That, plus its market-beating performance in 2022, helps give it an “A” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
PDF Solutions (PDFS)
Interestingly, PDF Solutions (NASDAQ:PDFS) doesn’t have anything to do with the portable document format, or PDF, that was created by Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) and widely used in business. Instead, PDF Solutions works with software that semiconductor manufacturers use to increase profits and output from their facilities.
The shortage of semiconductors weighed heavily on that segment as well as PDF Solutions in the first half of the year, with the stock down by nearly 40% by late June. But a big rally over the last few week has PDFS stock down now only 14% in 2022, with all indications there’s plenty more to come.
Earnings in the second quarter were more than promising, coming in at $34.67 million in revenue and EPS of 11 cents – both better than analysts’ estimates of $33.75 million and EPS of 7 cents.
Like the other names on this list, PDFS stock has an “A” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
Qualys (QLYS)
Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company, meaning its customers license software online by a subscription rather than buying licenses to install on individual computers.
With more than 10,000 customers in 130 countries, Qualys provides vulnerability management solutions that detects potential problems on servers, networked devices, printers and work stations – anything that has its own IP address.
More than 60% of the Forbes Global 50 companies work with Qualys, and the company notably has partnerships with Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Web Services, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Azure and Alphabet’s (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google Cloud.
Earnings for the second quarter included revenue of $119.89 million and earnings of 89 cents per share, both better than analysts’ predictions of $117.53 million in revenue and EPS of 79 cents. This puts it among the tech stocks you should keep your eye on.
After a recent rally, QLYS stock is up 12% in 2022 – and that includes a 30% gain over the last three months. With momentum firmly on its side, Qualys stock has an “A” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
Parsons Corporation (PSN)
Parsons Corporation (NYSE:PSN) is a Virginia-based tech company that works in defense, intelligence, security and infrastructure engineering.
Although the company was founded in 1944, it didn’t go public until 2019.
The company is best known for manufacturing bases for Titan and Minuteman missile sites and silos. It currently provides engineering and management support for missile defense systems for the U.S. and its allies.
PSN stock is having a solid year, up 27% so far this year as defense spending remains a high priority thanks to tensions with Russia and, to a lesser extent, China and North Korea.
Earnings for Q2 included revenue of $1.01 billion, which was better than the $930.97 million that analysts expected. The company also met expectations with EPS of 41 cents.
As a tech company working in the defense space, Parsons stock seems like a good pick for the long term. It has an “A” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
On the date of publication, neither Louis Navellier nor the InvestorPlace Research Staff member primarily responsible for this article held (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.