• Wall Street has started its annual look-ahead predictions for next year, and Wedbush Securities is bullish on several themes, including continued growth from Apple(NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft(NASDAQ:MSFT), Alphabet(NASDAQ:GOOGL)and other big tech companies.
• Analyst Dan Ives believes that some of the recent volatility the stock market has seen is no more than a "painful digestion period [along with Omicron fears]," as earnings estimates now factor in a hawkish Fed and some stretched valuations for tech stocks. However, Ives is bullish on tech stocks for next year.
• As part of his prediction list, Ives believes Apple (AAPL) will unveil its long-awaited and oft-speculated AR/VR headset Apple Glasses in the summer, which will "result in another major growth catalyst for the stock" as the world's most valuable company continues to monetize its user base.
• Ives also thinks that the broader NASDAQ(COMP.IND), represented by the Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1(NASDAQ:QQQ), is likely to hit 19,000 by the year-end, up from around its current level of 15,400, as the digital transformation between businesses and consumers continues. He adds that the underlying growth prospects for the broader tech sector are between two and three times the normalized or historical patterns.
• The metaverse, an idea that has been bandied about for nearly 30 years, seems poised to move from hype to reality, Ives suggests, as companies like Meta Platforms(NASDAQ:FB), Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOGL) and Microsoft (MSFT) invest "billions" of dollars over the next year in this space, with "significant" amounts of merger activity likely to come.
• Ives also thinks that the cloud arms race will stay heated, as the entrants go after $1 trillion in spending over the next decade. He believes that more than 50% of workloads will be on the cloud by the end of 2022, up from 43% currently, largely benefiting Amazon(NASDAQ:AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT) and Google (GOOGL), followed by Oracle(NYSE:ORCL)and IBM(NYSE:IBM).
• Cybersecurity budgets appear poised to increase sharply next year, Ives predicts, rising 21% in 2022, or about 1% above a "robust" year in 2021. As such, he believes companies like Zscaler(NASDAQ:ZS), Tenable(NYSE:TEN), CyberArk(NASDAQ:CYBR), Varonis(NASDAQ:VRNS), Sailpoint(NYSE:SAIL), Fortinet(NASDAQ:FTNT)and Palo Alto Networks(NASDAQ:PANW).
• Despite what is likely to be a rising interest rate environment, tech companies will likely continue to spend and acquire in significant fashion next year, Ives believes. Cerence(NASDAQ:CRNC), Matterport(NASDAQ:MTTR), Varonis (VRNS), Rapid7(NASDAQ:RPD)and Sailpoint (SAIL) are the analyst's top five M&A candidates for next year.
• On the macro front, Ives thinks that the chip shortage, particularly out of Asia, will "significantly moderate" in the first half of the year. Apple (AAPL) and the chip companies - Ives did name any specific ones - are the "best springboard bets to benefit from this key dynamic easing."
• Keeping in-line with broader ideas, Ives thinks that the regulatory environment in the U.S. and Europe will be a threat to the big-tech companies around anti-trust and monopoly concerns, but instead of structural changes, it is likely to largely wind up in the companies being fined, and potentially hampering their ability to buy or acquire other companies.
• Ives also thinks that Chinese tech companies will continue to be a "very treacherous" space for global investors, as the government continues to crack down on companies. As such, this could result in more dollars coming out of Chinese tech stocks and rotating into U.S. tech stocks.
• Lastly, Ives thinks Apple (AAPL) will reach a $3 trillion market cap next year, to be followed thereafter by Microsoft (MSFT).