Tech stocks witnessed a colossal boom immediately after the pandemic. In fact, the big five tech companies made up nearly 25% of the S&P 500 index in the first half of 2021.
But since then, many top tech stocks have plummeted. In 2022, shares of Meta, Amazon, Google, and Apple are down 41%, 33%, 20%, and 19% respectively. And some analysts are already calling this the next big dotcom crash.
However, I think this viewpoint is reactionary and shortsighted. The tech market has changed dramatically since the last big crashes in 2000 and 2008. Most major tech companies are mature businesses now, with huge order books and stable revenue streams. And there are several blue-chip tech stocks that present incredible value for my long-term portfolio. Here I look at two companies on my watchlist to invest £1,000 in the coming months.
Semiconductor supergiant
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) is the world’s largest manufacturer of semiconductor chips. And since 2020, a huge semiconductor shortage has crippled production in over 150 industries across the world. A confluence of macroeconomic factors has hit the industry hard and companies are struggling to meet growing demand.
And I think the tech crash, coupled with processor demand, make Intel a very attractive value investment right now. At US$43 per share, the company is trading at a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 7.2 times with a 3.3% dividend yield.
Over the last decade, Intel has lost out to companies like AMD. But the company might be making a huge comeback. Intel’s latest generation of processors looks excellent. Its 12th gen series has managed to beat competitors in most benchmarking and performance tests.
This has increased Intel’s demand in the market and this is expected to be reflected in this year’s earnings. First-quarter 2022 revenue at $18.4bn exceeded January estimates. And the company is already ramping up production efforts to meet the demand.
With warnings of a recession and increasing inflation, personal computer upgrades and sales could drop. And this is a huge concern for the tech sector right now. But, Intel is an industry leader and looks like one of the best value tech stocks for my portfolio right now.
Blue-chip UK tech stock
Avast (LSE:AVST) is one of the largest tech stocks in the UK and is part of the booming cybersecurity industry in the country. The company is one of the most recognised free antivirus programs in the market today. Avast has a huge user base and brand visibility and is branching off into interesting areas right now.
The cybersecurity firm works on a profitable freemium business model. Its new Avast One app includes a firewall for mobile security, a virtual private network (VPN), and protection against crypto hacking attacks.
Avast’s £6bn deal with Norton is an area of concern for me. After the UK-based company accepted the bid, the government put it on hold for six months now citing “competition concerns“. This caused the tech stock to fall sharply and the future of this deal is still uncertain.
But this also means I can snap up an exciting company at an attractive price. I would consider this tech stock for my portfolio if it falls below 400p. As it is an industry leader offering an increasingly important product, Avast shares look like a great bargain option.