Tech stocks have had a difficult year so far — and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite is on track to notch its third straight quarter of losses this week. Investors may be fleeing the sector in droves, but Barton Crockett, senior research analyst at Rosenblatt Securities, said the sell-off is an opportunity for long-term investors to buy the dip. “Stay away from the losers,” Crockett told CNBC’s ” Street Signs Asia ” on Tuesday. “I think the real opportunity to invest is to look longer term, and to buy good businesses that are being offered to you now at very reasonable valuations and people who are winners in the various secular battles and evolutionary battles in technology,” he added. One such “winner” that Crockett likes is Alphabet , which he described as a “good story” that will be “here today and tomorrow.” He said he believes the company has an “evergreen” position in the search segment, while its YouTube business is “very strong and well positioned” to capitalize on the growing preference for short-form videos. Alphabet also has a “great position” in cloud and has a “great equity portfolio” with stakes in companies such as self-driving project Waymo, he added. Read more Asset manager reveals what’s next for stocks — and shares how he’s trading the market As the pound slides, Goldman and others reveal the UK stock market’s likely winners and losers Credit Suisse says now’s the time to buy two green hydrogen stocks — and gives one over 200% upside Shares of Alphabet are down 32.2% this year, in line with the Nasdaq’s decline. But the stock has outperformed all its peers in the FAANG (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google) grouping except Apple . While there is a “very real probability” of a slowdown in Alphabet’s financials, given its global exposure, the stock trades at a “not much greater multiple than the market with a much greater business behind it,” according to Crockett. “It isn’t going to be immune to the cycle, but it’s something you’ll be happy to own over the long term … This is the type of stock that I think you would look to accumulate if you have got any kind of timeframe and willingness to invest beyond the [current] economic cycle,” he added. ‘Be choosy’ Despite the challenges of the current investing climate, Crockett said investors should remain exposed to tech. “You have to have the fortitude to ideally absorb some of the near-term gyrations for a long-term return,” he said. He acknowledged several unknowns for the retail investor — such as the scale of a recession and whether one had been priced into stocks. “I think the only way to hedge it is to have some exposure to high quality names throughout the cycle and to buy them when they are on sale, which I think you have with something like Alphabet,” he said. “You can be choosy. You don’t have to buy everything.”
