Tech stocks are primed to surge another 15% as election results seem likely to ease regulation risk, Wedbush says
- Tech stocks are thriving on expectations for a divided government in 2021. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives thinks the sector can rally another 10% to 15% by 2021.
- A Biden presidency and Republican-controlled Senate is the "Goldilocks election outcome" for tech names, Ives said.
- A divided government would likely block Democrats' efforts to more strictly regulate tech giants.
- A Biden administration would take a softer tone to trade relations with China and ease pressures for tech stocks operating in both countries, Ives said.
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Tech stocks are some of the biggest winners in the market's post-election rally, and Wedbush analyst Dan Ives says the sector has much more room to run before the new year.
Wall Street is largely preparing for a divided government after forecasting a blue wave in recent months. The likely outcome, while impeding plans for near-term stimulus, erased Democrats' chances to raise corporate taxes, strictly regulate industries, and reverse other Trump-administration policies.
A divided government is the "Goldilocks election outcome" for tech names, particularly the mega-caps that recently fueled indexes' best days in months, Ives said in a Thursday note. The sector stands to rally another 10% to 15% before the year is out, he added.
"With a nirvana election scenario and fundamental drivers for tech names gaining momentum, we continue to be bullish on owning the secular growth stories for 2021," Ives wrote.
A Republican-held Senate tanks the chances of major legislative efforts to reform antitrust law. A blue wave could've led to increased scrutiny of major tech firms and their competition. A split Congress is positioned to ignore such concerns, which "posed the biggest risks to tech stalwarts with a ripple impact across the sector," Ives said.
The Justice Department's lawsuit against Google looms large, but is more a long-term threat than something that shapes today's market landscape, he added.
Should former Vice President Joe Biden win the presidency, tech names can benefit further from an easing of US-China trade relations, according to Wedbush. The Trump administration's aggressive trade policies and tariffs cut into some tech firms' margins over the past two years. A Biden presidency would likely "take a softer tone" in decoupling supply chains between the two economic superpowers, Ives said.
"This would be a major bullish sign for the likes of Apple, Cisco, and semi names which are caught in the crossfire on this ongoing US/China battle with 5G front and center," Ives said, adding some piracy and intellectual-property theft issues would linger.
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