7 Tech Stocks On The Cusp Of Groundbreaking Developments

Open the digital floodgates

• Verint Systems (VRNT): Verint brings much-needed CX solutions for companies wanting to distinguish themselves.
• Pure Storage (PSTG): Rising data demands may also increase the need for Pure Storage’s namesake business.
• PagerDuty (PD): PagerDuty could rise on its ability to minimize organizational downtime.
• Get ready to do some ‘DD’ on these other enticing tech stocks.

Let’s face it – the main reason why you’re considering tech stocks that are poised to benefit from groundbreaking developments is high growth potential. Sure, you can always buy large-capitalization enterprises. Their predictable businesses offer a higher likelihood of success. However, that success will be mitigated in terms of upside magnitude.

Think of these stalwarts as hitting for singles in a baseball game. Such small-ball tactics may yield a higher batting average. Nevertheless, you’re unlikely to generate big scores as often as if you decided to swing for the fences. That’s the market equivalent of high-growth-potential tech stocks. You’re really going for it with every swing.

You should expect some losses, embarrassing ones even. But while you’re committed to hacking away, you open the possibility of more home runs.

Of course, you want to conduct serious due diligence (or DD) before engaging in this type of strategy. And by DD, I’m talking serious research. These ideas may be steppingstones for finding compelling breakthrough tech stocks.

Verint Systems (VRNT)

Falling under the information technology sector, Verint Systems (NASDAQ:VRNT) primarily provides customer engagement solutions. By leveraging artificial intelligence and other advanced analytical protocols, it helps organizations improve interactions with their clients. This field is known as customer experience or CX. In addition, Verint plays a key role in helping organizations improve workforce performance.

As we enter a challenging economic environment, CX could become a differentiator among sector rivals. Therefore, Verint could be one of the breakthrough tech stocks thanks to its optimization and performance-accelerating services.

Even better, the company’s accomplishments aren’t just in the domain of the theoretical. In the past four quarters since the first quarter of this year, Verint’s earnings per share landed at 70 cents. That was above the collective consensus view of 66 cents, yielding an earnings surprise of 4.45%.

By year’s end, analysts see EPS rising by 6.59% to $2.91. On the top line, sales could hit $936.17 million, up 2.8%. In the following year, revenue may reach $985.14 million, up another 5.2%.

Pure Storage (PSTG)

Operating mainly in the field of information technology (IT), Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) delivers data storage solutions using flash memory technology. It’s main claim to fame is efficient, high-speed storage solutions. Given the rise of data and its underlying analytics, there’s never been a greater need for fast, reliable storage than the present juncture.

Again, companies looking for an edge may turn to Pure Storage for help improving overall efficiency and work performance. It’s not surprising, then, that the company has been a consistently strong financial performer. In the past four quarters, PSTG posted an average EPS of 42 cents, beating out the consensus view of 33 cents. This yielded an earnings surprise of 28.1%.

Now, a key drawback for PSTG stock is that it trades at 7.01X trailing-year sales. That’s noticeably above the print seen between Q1 2023 and Q1 2024 of 4.49X. However, analysts see revenue rising by 10.7% to $3.13 billion by year’s end. In the following year, sales could pop up to $3.55 billion, an improvement of 13.3%. Thus, PSTG ranks among the breakthrough tech stocks to consider.

PagerDuty (PD)

Operating in the software space, PagerDuty (NYSE:PD) is another important player in the IT sector. Mainly, the company provides a platform for real-time operations and incident management. Basically, it helps enterprise-level clients address any incidents as effectively as possible. On a fundamental level, unnecessary downtime is a business killer. That’s why PD could be one of the breakthrough tech stocks because it helps keep organizations running smoothly.

What’s even more attractive about PagerDuty is the underlying financial performance. In the past year since Q1 2024, the company delivered an average EPS of 19 cents. This figure easily eclipsed the consensus view of 13 cents, resulting in an impressive earnings surprise of slightly over 46%.

Another enticing element of PD stock? Shares trade hands at 4.41X trailing-year revenue. However, in the past year, the market accepted a multiple of 5.43X. Therefore, PagerDuty can potentially grow into its prior valuation.

By year’s end, analysts project sales to hit $473.66 million. That’s up 10%, making PD one of the tech stocks poised for groundbreaking developments.

DigitalOcean (DOCN)

Headquartered in New York City, DigitalOcean (NYSE:DOCN) is another IT specialist; specifically, the company is involved in the cloud-computing industry. DigitalOcean provides cloud infrastructure services to small and medium-sized businesses, offering innovative solutions for deploying various applications. What makes it a compelling opportunity is the force-multiplier effect. Essentially, DigitalOcean helps smaller companies level the playing field with their larger rivals.

Investors should be on the lookout for DOCN stock because it’s been quietly stringing together solid performances. In the past year since Q1 2024, the enterprise posted an average EPS of 44 cents. This beat the collective consensus view of 38 cents, yielding an earnings surprise of 15.4%.

Another highlight is the valuation. Right now, the market prices DOCN stock at 4.35X trailing-year sales. However, the prior one-year metric stood at 5.47X. Thus, it’s possible that DOCN could grow into its prior valuation.

Fiscal 2024 sales could reach $769.65 million, per covering experts. If so, that would imply a growth rate of 11.1% against last year’s haul of $692.88 million. Therefore, DOCN is easily one of the tech stocks to put on your watch list.

Five9 (FIVN)

Falling under the software infrastructure industry, Five9 (NASDAQ:FIVN) offers cloud-based contact center software. This solution enables customer service teams to provide superior service through automation protocols and AI. As mentioned before, CX is rising in importance. Entering into a challenging economic cycle, enterprises must distinguish themselves from the competition.

Superior CX could be a gamechanger. Five9 provides that opportunity, making FIVN one of the tech stocks to watch closely. On the financial front, the company offers an even more impressive profile. In the past four quarters, Five9 delivered an average EPS of 53 cents. This handily beat the average consensus view of 42 cents, yielding an earnings surprise of 27.1%.

Now, the wild thing here is that in the prior year, FIVN stock traded hands for 6.06X sales. However, right now, the market prices the equity at only 3.37X. Therefore, much room for value expansion exists.

Enticingly, analysts anticipate that fiscal 2024 sales may hit $1.06 billion. That would imply a growth rate of 15.9%. Next year could see revenue of $1.25 billion or up 18.8%.

Stride (LRN)

Operating in the education and training services industry, Stride (NYSE:LRN) offers online education programs for K-12 students. One of its main calling cards is the ability to facilitate flexible and personalized learning experiences. Naturally, the Covid-19 crisis put the spotlight on online education. Further, the U.S. needs to be competitive in the educational front to stay level with rival nations.

Stride may not provide all the answers but it could play a major role in educating students for the future. Considering that tomorrow’s workplace paradigm could be significantly digitalized, Stride may be one of the most relevant tech stocks. It’s not just narrative talk either. In the past year, Stride posted an average EPS of $1.07. This screamed past the consensus view of 82 cents.

Relative to the prior year’s average, LRN stock does trade at a premium of 1.54X sales. However, that’s not bad considering that the aforementioned average came out to 1.13X. Further, analysts see continued growth ahead. Fiscal 2024 sales could hit $2.03 billion, up 10.6% from the prior year. And fiscal 2025 revenue may reach $2.19 billion, up 7.5%.

Elastic (ESTC)

Conducting business in the IT sector, Elastic (NYSE:ESTC) provides search-powered solutions for enterprise data and analytics. This service facilitates real-time insights and decision-making guidance. Increasingly, companies aren’t just looking for data crunching. Rather, they need immediate utility from their analytics. With Elastic, its enterprise-level clients may enjoy a massive edge over their competitors.

One of the clear benefits of ESTC stock is not just about the narrative. Rather, the company brings home the goods. In the past four quarters, Elastic posted an average EPS of 30 cents. This was above the consensus view of 22 cents, yielding an earnings surprise of 50.65%.

Now, it must be stated that ESTC stock trades at a premium at 9.3X revenue. Further, in the past year, this metric landed at 7.23X. Therefore, investors may be tempted to wait for a better entry point. That’s not a bad idea at all.

However, it must also be stated that analysts see this year’s revenue hitting $1.48 billion. That’s up 16.6% from the prior year. Also, the following year could see sales soar to $1.73 billion, up 16.8%.

This post originally appeared at InvestorPlace.

On the date of publication, Josh Enomoto did not have (either 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.

Category: Stocks