Stocks to buy

Given the current market conditions, this May presents great buying opportunities for tech stocks.

Investing in tech plays can allow you to tap into the growth potential of the tech industry. Historically, this part of the market has always done well.

Hence, many investors retired comfortably after making a nice haul in the late ’90s and early aughts in tech. As a result, there is much money to be made through investing in this lucrative area.

However, as you consider your investment options, you’ll want to pay attention to the best tech stocks. These are the companies with the best operating profiles and attractive long-term prospects.

In 2023, monitoring the tech stocks set to perform well is essential. The tech sector has seen impressive growth in recent years, and many experts predict this trend will continue in 2023. That is especially true with the Federal Reserve easing up on interest rate hikes.

By investing in these tech stocks now, you could set yourself up for strong returns in the future.

When seeking the top tech stocks to purchase in May, it’s essential to consider several factors. Primarily, concentrate on tech growth stocks with a promising outlook, which possess a substantial potential for long-term growth.

These stocks are optimal for investors who intend to keep their shares for a significant duration. By researching and selecting the best tech stocks, you could position yourself for solid returns in the months and years ahead.

FTNT Fortinet $61.58
WDAY Workday $184.21
MSFT Microsoft $305.67

Fortinet (FTNT)

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Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) is a promising tech growth stock to consider for investors seeking the best tech stocks to buy in 2023, as its convincing performance in recent quarters has caught the attention of many analysts as a top tech stock pick.

Its latest earnings report on Feb. 7 had impressive results. They achieved their third consecutive quarter of faster earnings growth, causing much attention. Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) followed up on Feb. 14 with a buy rating and a $73 price target for the security software firm.

Fortinet’s quarterly profit rose by 76% to 44 cents per share, with revenue climbing 33% to $1.28 billion. Revenue reached $4.42 billion for the year, a 32% increase. The total billings rose to $5.59 billion, up 34%.

CEO Ken Xie attributes the market share gains to the company’s cost-effective approach to cybersecurity. Fortinet has reduced management costs and overall ownership expenses for companies by using integrated and single-platform cybersecurity with FortiASIC technology.

In conclusion, Fortinet’s impressive financial results and cost-effective approach to cybersecurity make it an attractive tech stock pick for investors looking to buy in 2023.

With the growing importance of cybersecurity in the current digital landscape, Fortinet’s performance and innovative solutions are likely to position it for continued success.

Before moving to the next section, consider checking out this article from my colleague Muslim. He highlights some other great cybersecurity plays worth considering.

Workday (WDAY)

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Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) is a solid contender for investors seeking the best tech stocks to buy in 2023, as it continues to deliver solid growth and revenue results, making it a top tech growth stock pick for many analysts.

Workday’s stock surged following the release of its financial report for the third fiscal quarter, which concluded on Oct. 31, 2022. The provider of enterprise cloud applications for finance and HR departments reported solid gains in revenue, which boosted shareholder confidence.

Compared to the same period the previous year, Workday’s revenue for the quarter grew by 20.5% to reach $1.6 billion, driven by a 22% growth in subscription revenue.

The company’s total subscription revenue backlog surged by 28.5% to $14.1 billion, indicating sustained long-term commitments from subscribers. Workday’s operating cash flow crossed the $400 million mark, slightly improving from the previous year’s levels.

Things slowed down in the latest quarterly results. Revenue rose 19.63%, a decent return but slower than a quarter ago. Net income fell 71.59%, leading to a few headaches. Still, the company handsomely beat analyst expectations.

Despite heightened uncertainty in the current macroeconomic landscape, co-CEOs Aneel Bhusri and Chano Fernandez maintain that companies pursuing digital transformation initiatives will continue to prefer Workday’s finance and HR software to enhance efficiency.

Workday’s expanding capabilities in artificial intelligence and machine learning should strengthen it once the economy rebounds.

Microsoft (MSFT)

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Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a highly profitable and promising tech growth stock that investors seeking the best tech stocks to buy in 2023 should consider. As a result, many analysts consider it one of the top tech stock picks for the future.

The stock is trading near all-time high levels, partly due to its partnership with OpenAI. An extra $10 billion investment is part of the company’s strategy to acquire a 49% stake in OpenAI.

Microsoft’s Bing search engine powered by ChatGPT is also gaining market share, competing against Alphabet’s Google search engine.

The surging demand for high-performance computing power to train large language models using generative artificial intelligence technology is driving growth.

The increasing adoption of AI-based applications across enterprises will also potentially become a robust growth driver for Microsoft’s Azure cloud.

The company has launched the Azure OpenAI Service to cater to this demand, which empowers its customers to utilize large language models for diverse enterprise-grade use cases.

In summary, Microsoft is highly profitable and generates substantial free cash flow, making it an attractive investment opportunity for patient investors.

If you want to continue reading about Microsoft, here is a great article from Josh. He spotlights the stock with six other great tech plays.

On the publication date, Faizan Farooque did not hold (directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.

Faizan Farooque is a contributing author for InvestorPlace.com and numerous other financial sites. Faizan has several years of experience in analyzing the stock market and was a former data journalist at S&P Global Market Intelligence. His passion is to help the average investor make more informed decisions regarding their portfolio.