4 Buy-Rated Computer Hardware Stocks Bucking the Market's Downtrend

Tech stocks got hammered again last week, dragging down the major stock indexes. The fear surrounding the COVID-19 omicron, rising inflation, and the ongoing supply chain crisis caused major tech stocks to plummet in price.

In addition, according to Jamie Cox, managing partner at Harris Financial Group, “There's a lot of carnage in tech stocks that were somewhat overvalued, and that's what's mainly contributing to the volatility.”

However, amid the market's downtrend, investment in the modernization of workflows should benefit computer hardware companies. So, we believe computer hardware stocks Dell Technologies Inc. (DELL), HP Inc. (HPQ), Seagate Technology Holdings plc (STX), and NetApp, Inc. (NTAP), which have been rallying on the back of their strong financials and consistent product innovations, could be solid picks now.

Dell Technologies Inc. (DELL)

Round Rock, Tex.-based DELL is an information and technology solutions company that operates through its Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG); Client Solutions Group (CSG); and VMware segments. Its segments offer a wide range of products and services, including digital transformation, hardware and software peripherals, hybrid and multi-cloud applications, and digital workspaces.

This month, DELL and Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), an Amazon.com, Inc. company, collaborated to bring Dell's cyber recovery vault to the AWS Marketplace with the launch of Dell EMC PowerProtect Cyber Recovery for AWS. Through this collaboration, DELL will offer customers a cyber recovery solution that isolates business-critical data from an attack with an air-gapped cyber vault, thus helping them to protect their data from ransomware and cyberattack.

DELL's total revenue increased 20.8% year-over-year to $28.41 billion in its fiscal third quarter, ended October 29, 2021. The company's operating income grew 5.2% from its  year-ago value to $2.87 billion. Its net income rose 17.8% from the prior-year quarter to $2.02 billion. Also, the company's EPS increased 16.7% year-over-year to $2.37.

Analysts expect DELL's revenue for its fiscal 2022 to be $105.57 billion, representing an 11.8% increase year-over-year. The company has an impressive earnings surprise history; it beat the consensus EPS estimates in each of the trailing four quarters. Also, its EPS is expected to grow 3% in the current year. Its stock price has increased 4.2% over the past month.

DELL's strong fundamentals are reflected in its POWR Ratings. The stock has an overall B rating, which equates to a Buy in our proprietary rating system. The POWR Ratings assess stocks by 118 distinct factors, each with its own weighting.

Also, the stock has an A grade for Value. We have also graded DELL for Sentiment, Stability, Quality, Growth, and Momentum. Click here to access all of DELL's ratings. DELL is ranked #18 of 52 stocks in the B-rated Technology - Hardware industry.

HP Inc. (HPQ)

HPQ provides and develops various hardware components, software, and related services to consumers, small- and medium-sized enterprises, and large enterprises in the United States and internationally. Personal Systems; Printings; and Corporate Investments are the segments through which the company works. HP is based in Palo Alto, Calif.

This month, HPQ unveiled new tools  for print service providers that should enable them to grow their digital-based businesses and put Industry 4.0 into practice through the better-automated tools to enhance connectivity, productivity, and support customer growth as print service providers move to capture online business.

During the fiscal fourth quarter, ended October 31, 2021, HPQ's net revenue increased 9.3% year-over-year to $16.68 billion. The company's earnings from operations grew 24.8% from the year-ago value to $1.24 billion. Its net earnings rose 363.9% from the prior-year quarter to $3.1 billion. And the company's EPS increased 453.1% year-over-year to $2.71.

HPQ's revenue is expected to increase 3.2% year-over-year to $65.55 billion in its fiscal 2022. The company has an impressive earnings surprise history; it beat the consensus EPS estimates in each of the trailing four quarters. Also, its EPS is expected to increase 10% in the current year. Furthermore, the stock has gained 55.3% in price over the past year and 50.2% year-to-date.

HPQ's POWR Ratings reflect this promising outlook. The stock has an overall B rating, which equates to a Buy in our proprietary rating system. Also, the stock has a B grade for Value and Quality.

In addition to the POWR Rating grades I've just highlighted, one can see HPQ's ratings for Growth, Stability, Momentum, and Sentiment here. The stock is ranked #7 in the Technology - Hardware industry.

Seagate Technology Holdings plc (STX)

Based in Dublin, Ireland, STX provides data storage technology and solutions in Singapore, the United States, the Netherlands, and internationally. The company offers hard disk drives (HDDs) and a range of electronic data storage products. STX provides its solutions under the Seagate Ultra Touch, One Touch, and Expansion product lines, also under the LaCie and Maxtor brands.

This month, STX launched its new Exos X20 20 TB and IronWolf Pro 20 TB conventional magnetic recording (CMR)-based hard disk drives (HDDs). These HDDs should enable organizations to maximize the value of their data by increasing mass-capacity data storage capabilities.

STX's revenue increased 34.6% year-over-year to $3.12 billion for its  fiscal first quarter ended October 1, 2021. The company's net income grew 124.8% from its year-ago value to $544 million. Its EPS rose 152.7% from the prior-year quarter to $2.35. Also, the company's cash and cash equivalents came in at $991 million during the period.

STX's revenue for its fiscal 2023 is expected to be $12.28 billion, representing a 1.7% year-over-year growth. The company has surpassed the consensus EPS in each of the trailing four quarters. Its EPS is expected to increase at the rate of 4.2% next year. The stock has surged 41.2% in price over the past nine months and 69.7% over the past year.

It is no surprise that STX has an overall B rating, which equates to a Buy in our POWR Rating system. Also, the stock has a B grade for Quality and Growth.

Click here to see the additional POWR Ratings for STX (Value, Momentum, Stability, and Sentiment). STX is ranked #21 in the Technology - Hardware  industry.

NetApp, Inc. (NTAP)

Incorporated in 1992, NTAP in Sunnyvale, Calif., is a cloud-led, data-centric software company that provides cloud data services, storage systems, and software. NetApp Cloud Volumes, NetApp Keystone, and AFF All-Flash Array are some of the company's featured products. NTAP also provides assessment, design, consulting, and implementation services. 

Last month, NTAP acquired CloudCheckr, a cloud optimization platform that provides cloud visibility and insights and optimizes cloud resources. This acquisition should extend Spot by NetApp's FinOps and SecOps offerings by combining critical cost visibility, analytics, and reporting from the CloudCheckr platform with continuous cost optimization and automation services from Spot by NetApp and continues NetApp's investment in the innovation and growth of the Spot by NetApp portfolio.

NTAP's net revenues increased 10.6% year-over-year to $1.57 billion for its fiscal second quarter ended October 29, 2021. The company's gross profit grew 13.5% from its year-ago value to $1.06 billion. Its net income rose 63.5% from the prior-year quarter to $224 million. Also, the company's EPS increased 60.7% year-over-year to $0.98.

Analysts expect NTAP's revenue for its fiscal 2022 to be $6.3 billion, representing 9.7% growth year-over-year. The company has an impressive earnings surprise history; it beat the consensus EPS estimates in each of the trailing four quarters. Also, its EPS is expected to grow 24.4% in the current year. Its stock price has increased 47% over the past year.

NTAP's POWR Ratings reflect this promising outlook. The stock has an overall B rating, which equates to a Buy in our proprietary rating system. Also, the stock has an A grade for Quality.

In addition to the POWR Rating grades I have just highlighted, one can see NTAP's ratings for Growth, Value, Stability, Sentiment, and Momentum here. NTAP is ranked #2 of 3 stocks in the A-rated Technology - Storage industry.

Click here to check out our Cloud Computing Industry Report for 2021

DELL shares were trading at $59.12 per share on Tuesday morning, up $0.37 (+0.63%). Year-to-date, DELL has gained 61.33%, versus a 25.66% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

Priyanka is a passionate investment analyst and financial journalist. After earning a master's degree in economics, her interest in financial markets motivated her to begin her career in investment research.

More...