Investors have a number of tech trends that they can play. This year, AI stocks have been all the rage. But other parts of the tech space are big and steady winners, even if they don’t get the headline attention. One such area is in cybersecurity plays. Data breaches are on the rise. And companies with the skills to reduce or mitigate the impact of a breach can see growing returns. Best of all, these companies tend to have a steady business model based on the recurring revenue of providing ongoing monthly services. One big winner isPalo Alto Networks (PANW). Shares are up 24 perce...

The stock market is made up of sectors. Some of them are in favor at any given moment. Others are out of favor. Buying out of favor sectors can lead to big gains when the trend shifts. Investors can also sour on a sector that has performed well recently, on the logic that it may be time to change. But some sectors are less susceptible to change than others. One such sector is agriculture. There’s always demand for food. And there are often many factors leading to higher or lower output for a given crop in a given year. Yet fearful traders may be overlooking the opportunity inDeere...

The market’s rally higher this year has been driven largely by tech stocks. While the market has pulled back a bit overall, many companies and sectors have been laggards. There’s still some residual concerns that are now creating a value today. One sector is the media space. Fears of a slowing economy and declining ad spending hit the sector hard last year. So far, it’s been slow to recover. But buying a diversified player here can lead to solid returns.Comcast (CMCSA) is an industry leader for the media space. And it’s well diversified with a suite of intellectual properties, theme ...

The latest Fed meeting minutes suggest the central bank may continue to raise interest rates. However, the steady increases of the past year are over. With interest rates likely near, if not at, their cycle peak, some investments look better than others. Fixed income could perform well here, as prices on assets like bonds will rise as interest rates move lower. But it’s also likely that we’ve seen the worst of the selloff in defensive parts of the market, such as utility stocks. That’s because utilities tend to be bond-like investments, given their low growth profile and steady cash ...

The past few months have seen retail stocks underperform on concern that consumers have been slowing their spending. The latest retail sales data indicates that consumers are fine overall. If anything, they’re just cutting back on spending unless they can get a big bargain. Investors looking at the retail space should focus either on companies that can offer big, regular sales, or on big box stores that cater to consistent demand. Home improvement chainHome Depot (HD) is in the latter category. Consumers need to maintain their homes, even if they can’t always get a big sale to buy...

Value investors can have a tough time when it comes to investing. They can recognize that a company is trading at a discount to its value. But short of taking it private, it’s hard to get that value unlocked. It takes time and patience. Recently, a proposed merger agreement led to a rejection by the company that was set to be taken private at a premium to where its shares traded. Typically, a rejection would mean shares would trend lower. In this case, they moved higher. The market now sees upside in the company’s shares if they go private. The company?U.S. Steel (X). CompetitorCl...

The market may not like the fact that inflation’s decline this year has started to stall out. While inflation does look likely to start showing signs of staying in the 3-4 percent range, some investments fare better than others in an inflationary environment. The best investment for this scenario is for a company that offers a service and can raise prices far higher than inflation. It’s also best if they don’t have anything to physically manufacture and produce. The winner here is insurance companies, particularly in the property and casualty space. Auto insurance rates jumped over 2...

While stocks can trend higher or lower for long periods of time, they will occasionally take a breather. That can provide a buying opportunity for investors, particularly for great companies pulling back. Over the long haul, buying a great company on a drop can lead to better returns than buying high and hoping to sell higher. Traders who wait for companies to come off of overbought conditions get the reward of market outperformance for their patience. ChipmakerNvidia (NVDA) has been a runaway winner this year. But shares have now pulled back more than 10 percent from their all-time ...

Companies that succeed over the long term continue to find new ways to offer value to their customers. Some of that value can come from providing new products and services that compliment existing ones. Other companies offer better value with a higher quality user experience, with better service and interest. No matter what the specifics are, companies that continue to find new ways to drive customer satisfaction will continue to see customers return time and again. RetailerTarget (TGT) has been working to increase sales by offering curbside pickup. Now, the company is rolling out an...

Some sectors of the market are cyclical, moving in and out of favor with investors. Typically, a stock that gets overbought will see a big correction. And stocks that get oversold will come roaring back. In today’s market, looking for oversold opportunities looks like a good way to buck a possible market pullback after a strong run this year. Investors who buy such companies may see some volatility, but could make big returns in a few months to a year. One oversold stock looking to move higher isParamount Global (PARA). The media giant has posted improved streaming subscriber numbers...