The tech sector has come under pressure this year due to rising bond yields. And with yields continuing to climb on Friday night, it looks set to be another tough day for the sector on Monday.
While this is disappointing, when the dust settles it looks like there will be some very attractively priced shares for investors to consider. Two to consider when the volatility eases are named below:
Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)
Appen is the global leader in the development of high-quality, human annotated datasets for machine learning and artificial intelligence.
Its shares have come under notable pressure in recent months for a couple of reasons. One is the aforementioned rise in bond yields, the other is its underperformance in FY 2020 due to COVID-19.
In respect to the latter, Appen's growth underwhelmed in the second half of FY 2020 after many tech giants put major machine learning and artificial intelligence projects on hold because of the pandemic.
However, given the growing importance of artificial intelligence for big businesses (and governments), these projects are expected to commence once trading conditions return to normal. So much so, management is forecasting strong operating earnings growth in FY 2021.
In light of this, the recent weakness in the Appen share price could be a buying opportunity for investors. One broker that believes this is the case is Ord Minnett. It recently upgraded its shares to a buy rating with a $24.75 price target. This compares to the current Appen share price of $17.85.
Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN)
The Kogan share price is now trading 46% lower than the 52-week high it reached in October. This is despite the company revealing exceptionally strong sales and profit growth during the first half of FY 2021.
For the six months ended 31 December, the ecommerce company delivered a 97.4% increase in gross sales to $638.2 million and a 250.2% lift in adjusted net profit after tax to $36.5 million.
This was driven by the accelerating shift to online shopping caused by the pandemic. This underpinned a 76.8% increase in Kogan active customers to 3 million and strong demand for its Kogan Marketplace and Exclusive Brands segments.
While its shares were richly valued at their peak, they appear attractively priced following their pullback.
Credit Suisse, for example, estimates that they trade at 25x FY 2021 earnings. Which, given Kogan's strong long term growth potential, appears more than fair.
The broker feels this is the case and has put an outperform rating and $20.85 price target on its shares. This compares to the current Kogan share price of $13.80.
