After a stellar first half to the year, equities have been having a tough time of it since July. This is particularly true for tech companies, a handful of whom were largely responsible for the S&P 500's 20% run since the first week of January.
A combination of rising recession fears and concerns that the Fed has been too slow to cut rates has spooked investors. The benchmark index dropping 10% in just 3 weeks might be a bit worrying, especially because tech titan NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) dropped nearly 40% and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) dropped almost 50%.
Though it can feel scary in the moment, these periods of market-wide volatility can create some rare and golden entry opportunities, especially for top-performing companies. Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOGL) is one such name, and though it has fallen some 20% since July, there are several reasons to think this could be the mother of all entry opportunities.
Strong Fundamentals
First off, let's consider its fundamental performance. Not only did Alphabet's smash analyst expectations in their recent earnings report, but they also delivered record revenue and profitability. Both Google Search and YouTube maintained their year-on-year double digit growth figures, at 14% and 13% respectively, while Google Cloud was in a league of its own with 28% year-on-year growth.
These are solid numbers for a $2 trillion business to be delivering, and it's no wonder that Alphabet shares were closing all time highs all throughout the summer. The current drop however has put the stock back to where it was before May's earnings report, which was also stellar, so you can't help but get the feeling there's a bargain to be had here. A price-to-earnings ratio of just 23 also feels like a bargain, especially as expectations grow for a rate cut to be accelerated.
Bullish Outlook
Many analysts share this feeling of Alphabet being cheap right now, and the past two weeks alone have seen many of them reiterate their Buy ratings on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada, for example, did just that in the last week of July while boosting their price target on Alphabet shares up to $204. Citigroup did the same, only with a $212 price target.
This week alone has seen Needham & Company reiterate their Buy rating on Alphabet shares with a $210 price target, while BMO Capital Markets update on Tuesday gave a price target of $222. Considering Alphabet below $160 during yesterday's session, that's pointing to a targeted upside of nearly 40%.
In that context, this feels like the time investors should be willing to be greedy when others are fearful. To be sure, though, Alphabet doesn't come without its risks. The company lost an antitrust lawsuit last week, with the Justice Department winning the argument that Alphabet had illegally established and maintained "its monopoly in two product markets in the United States—general search services and general text advertising—through its exclusive distribution agreements."
Considering an Entry
It remains to be seen what the penalty will be and whether this landmark win against a tech company the size of Alphabet will only serve to stiffen prosecutors' backs for more of them. However, as the Wedbush team summed up in the aftermath of the ruling, they don't "expect any disruption to Google's near-term operations as a result."
Investors thinking about taking advantage of the ongoing dip should look for Alphabet shares to hold $155, as this is where the bears ran out of steam last week. If they can do that into the weekend and then begin to consolidate through the middle of August, there's every reason to think they'll soon be back knocking on the door of $200.
