There are still opportunities in tech — here's how to trade it: Analysts

Published Sun, Nov 6 20228:11 PM EST

Tech firms are facing a double whammy of bad news, with disappointing earnings and continued rate hikes by the Federal Reserve both weighing on the sector. But with the tech-heavy Nasdaq down more than 30% year-to-date, analysts say there are some bright spots that could offer opportunities to investors. Two stand-out Big Tech names All the major tech stocks declined sharply following the bad earnings reports last week – except for Apple , which saw its stock rise. Michael Yoshikami, CEO and founder of Destination Wealth Management, listed it as one of his picks. "[It's] expanding reach from relatively affluent consumers to mainstream consumers, and from developed to emerging markets, and from consumer and educational to the enterprise market," he said. "If the macro-economic situation deteriorates, Apple's stock will still be attractive, as it leveraged to secular tailwinds." Some 76% of analysts covering Apple have a buy rating on the stock, according to FactSet, and give it an average upside of 28%. Alphabet is another name that analysts have been positive on. Josh Brown , co-founder and CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management, said last week the stock is a "screaming buy." Alphabet is currently "very cheap," said Steven Glass of Pella Funds Management, adding that he likes the stock as the company "invests aggressively" in its growth. Over 90% of analysts covering Alphabet give it a buy rating, with average upside of nearly 53%, according to FactSet. Forget legacy tech In many industries, market leaders are still holding onto their positions — except for in tech, Dan Niles, founder of the Satori Fund, said. "For me, the legacy tech companies is a melting ice cube in a lot of ways if you're in the wrong one. So that's not really where I look at to make money over three or five or 10 years," he told CNBC Pro Talks last week. He added that the exception was when a firm does something "drastically different," for example Apple , or Oracle , which he said is making "some really good strides" in the cloud. "I want to invest in the companies that are going to help change the world in the future," Niles added. He said names in the gig economy space were "looking interesting," with many focused on services. "Whether it's ride sharing or hotel or leisure, a lot of those stocks have gotten absolutely destroyed from their highs. And that's where it's kind of interesting, I think, in terms of looking at some of those names," he added. Buy the 'right type' of Big Tech stock There are two types of mega tech companies, according to Yoshikami. "One is solid business model, good market share, good profit. They're not reinventing the business. They're moving forward," he told CNBC's "Street Signs Asia" on Thursday. "Then you have transitional technology. And that would be a company like Meta [which] is ... pretty clearly in transition away from Facebook or moving more towards the [metaverse]," he said. He said Netflix was another firm in "transition." In comparing the two types of companies, Yoshikami said he likes companies that are not transitioning. "We like companies that give us an opportunity to take advantage of that strong cash flow without the uncertainty of them reworking their entire business model," Yoshikami said.