Back to top

Image: Bigstock

The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights Meta Platforms, Arista Networks, NetApp and NVIDIA

Read MoreHide Full Article

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – August 14, 2024 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Meta Platforms, Inc. (META - Free Report) , Arista Networks, Inc. (ANET - Free Report) , NetApp, Inc. (NTAP - Free Report) and NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA - Free Report) .

Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:

Market Volatility Continues: 4 Tech Stocks to Buy on the Dip

Last week, Wall Street witnessed one of the most eventful weeks in 2024. Markets were rattled on Aug 5, following the release of disappointing July payrolls data, reigniting fears that the economy might slip into a recession.

However, stocks have recovered most of the losses since then in a dramatic rebound that has greatly fizzled fears of a recession in the near term, following the release of a fresh jobless claims report that came in better than expected. However, the market volatility is far from over.

On Aug 5, the Dow gave up more than 1,000 points, while the S&P 500 finished 3% lower to record its worst day since 2022. The tech-heavy Nasdaq plunged 3.4%. The massive selloff was sparked by fears that the Fed may have held interest rates higher for too long, which has started taking its toll on the economy.

Tech stocks, which were so long driving the market rally, were the worst suffers of last week's market rout, with $1.5 billion of market capitalization being wiped out of the "magnificent 7" stocks.

However, markets have since made a solid rebound. On Aug 8, all three major indexes rallied, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq jumping 2.3% and 2.9%, respectively. The S&P recorded its best close since November 2022.

Once again, the rally was driven by tech stocks. Markets closed the week on a high, recovering nearly all the earlier losses. However, the volatility is far from over as the Federal Reserve said that it will closely monitor inflation data before going ahead with the rate cuts.

Inflation has declined sharply over the past couple of months and investors are now awaiting the key consumer price index (CPI) reading for July.

The Federal Reserve is gearing up for its rate cuts, with markets pricing in a 25-50 basis point rate cut in September, followed by two more rate cuts by the end of this year.

Lower interest rates typically help growth stocks, particularly tech stocks. Given this situation, it would be a wise decision to buy stocks at a bargain.

Our Choices

We have chosen four top-ranked tech stocks such as Meta Platforms, Inc., Arista Networks, Inc., NetApp, Inc. and NVIDIA Corp. that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions in the last 60 days. Each of the stocks has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Meta Platforms, Inc. is the world's largest social media platform. META's portfolio offering evolved from a single Facebook app to multiple apps like the photo and video sharing app Instagram and WhatsApp messaging app owing to acquisitions.

Meta Platforms' expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 42.8%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings improved 3.5% over the past 60 days. META currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.

Arista Networks, Inc. is engaged in providing cloud networking solutions for data centers and cloud computing environments. ANET offers 10/25/40/50/100 Gigabit Ethernet switches and routers optimized for the next-generation data center networks. Arista uses multiple silicon architectures across its products.

Arista Networks' expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 18.7%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings improved 4% over the past 60 days. ANET presently sports a Zacks Rank #1.

NetApp, Inc. provides enterprise storage as well as data management software and hardware products and services. NTAP assists enterprises in managing multiple clouds environments, adopting next-generation technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), Kubernetes, and contemporary databases, and navigating the complexity brought about by the quick development of data and cloud usage.

NetApp's expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 6.2%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings improved 0.6% over the past 60 days. NTAP presently carries a Zacks Rank #2.

NVIDIA Corp. is the worldwide leader in visual computing technologies and the inventor of the graphic processing unit, or GPU. Over the years, NVDA's focus has evolved from PC graphics to AI-based solutions that now support high-performance computing, gaming and virtual reality platforms.

NVIDIA Corporation's expected earnings growth rate for the current year is more than 100%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings improved 0.4% over the past 60 days. NVDA presently has a Zacks Rank #2.

Why Haven't You Looked at Zacks' Top Stocks?

Since 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +7.0 average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +44.9%, +48.4% and +55.2% per year.

Today you can access their live picks without cost or obligation.

See Stocks Free >>

Media Contact

Zacks Investment Research

800-767-3771 ext. 9339

support@zacks.com                                      

https://www.zacks.com                                                   

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

Published in