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As the tech sector is on pace for the third consecutive month of losses, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), although a quality company at a rich multiple, does not have to be overweight in portfolios, said Barton Crockett, Rosenblatt Securities senior analyst, who has a “hold” on the stock.
Overall, he said during an CNBC interview, it has been “a nice earning season” for the tech stocks, but if the economy falters, the growth seen in this quarter will fade.
He recommends investors buy Meta (META), Alphabet Class A (GOOGL), Pinterest (PINS), and Amazon (AMZN), but “hold” on Apple (AAPL), whose target price is $198.
“We’ve liked the companies that have an opportunity for revenue acceleration and margin expansion, which we think is an unusual feature of the internet group,” he said.
Coming into the end of October, fundamentals are improving in digital advertising, making a great background for Alphabet (GOOGL), Meta (META), Amazon (AMZN), and Pinterest (PINS).
Crocket added that Apple is “most interesting when it has a breakout technology, which could be Vision Pro, eventually, but not near-term.”
In addition, concerns about issues with China are “an imponderable risk.”
“If everything blows up in the worst possible scenario, Apple of course will suffer, but everything would suffer,” said Crockett.
So, there was nervousness in the tech group coming into the season due to the trajectory of the longer-term macro environment, he said.
“The way you protect yourself is by focusing on quality and growth, and I think you see that with the stocks that we’re recommending in this group.”