Bank of America has revealed some of the top technology companies best positioned heading into April. The investment bank said investors should buy the weakness of companies such as Microsoft. Other stocks rated Buy by Bank of America and screened by CNBC Pro include Meta Platforms, Apple, PicPay Holdings, and Payoneer Global. PicPay PicPay was recently initiated with a Buy rating by analyst Mario Pierrie. Bank of America says the Brazilian fintech company, which trades on the U.S.’s Nasdaq after its IPO at $19 a share in January, has a “compelling growth story” with about 43 million active users on its platform, the investment bank wrote. According to Pierry, PicPay has the unique ability to serve businesses of various sizes. “Revenue growth should also be supported by new areas such as services for small and medium-sized enterprises,” he said. PicPay also offers a wide range of credit services, which should help increase profits for existing customers. “We rate PicPay a buy due to strong earnings momentum (supported by existing customer monetization and increased operating leverage), but the valuation multiple is at a discount relative to its Latin American and global peers.” Bank of America said investors should buy the dip even though its stock price fell about 39% in March. Microsoft analyst Tal Riani resumed coverage of the Windows and Xbox parent company earlier this week, saying Microsoft is firing on all cylinders. The bank sees Microsoft as a key beneficiary of artificial intelligence in both applications and infrastructure. Liani added that demand for Microsoft’s Azure cloud infrastructure platform remains strong. “We believe Microsoft is well-positioned to generate sustained mid-double-digit growth over the next three years, led by the continued adoption of our Azure cloud infrastructure platform, our cloud-based Office 365 productivity suite, and a growing number of AI solutions and services,” he said. Riani has a price target of $500 per share and says Microsoft stock still has room to play. Bank of America said its stock price has fallen 30% in the past six months, but remains attractive at current levels. According to the bank, there is still room for investment in Payoneer, a financial payment platform. Analyst Aditya Buddhavarapu initiated coverage of the stock with a Buy rating earlier this week. Bank of America sees many positive catalysts, including multitrillion-dollar growth opportunities and solid cash generation. “Payoneer’s positioning serves a very large addressable market, with (total business-to-business addressable market) approximately $6 trillion and marketplace payments volume approximately $300 billion,” he wrote. Buddhavarappu set a price target of $6 per share, saying the stock’s current price is too attractive to ignore. Payoneer is busy “building its outer moat,” the analyst said of Payoneer’s potential upside. The stock has increased 11% in the past month. Metaplatform: “The biggest catalyst for the stock remains the launch of Avocado, and while we’re disappointed in the delay, we believe there are other AI-based consumer services in development (not necessarily dependent on Avocado), including an AI video creation tool, Agentic, search, and subscriptions, that could launch later this year.” Apple: “Our buy rating on Apple is driven by 1) the need for the latest hardware to enable Gen AI capabilities; F25 and F26; Based on the expected strong iPhone upgrade cycle, 2) higher growth in services revenue, 3) higher margins due to increased proprietary silicon, 4) recurring capital returns, 5) AI capabilities that can drive increased ownership by institutional investors, and 6) risk around manageable legal issues.” PicPay “Emerging verticals further strengthen the attractive growth story. …Revenue expansion should also be supported by new verticals such as small business services.” Although the valuation multiple is cheap relative to its Latin American and global peers, we rate PicPay a Buy due to strong earnings momentum (supported by monetization of existing customers and increased operating leverage). ” Microsoft is “a major beneficiary of AI monetization…We believe Microsoft is well-positioned to generate sustained mid-double-digit growth over the next three years, led by its Azure cloud infrastructure platform, cloud-based Office 365 productivity suite, and continued adoption of a growing number of AI solutions and services.” Payoneer “Multi-trillion dollar market opportunity – building the outer moat.” Payoneer Positioned to serve a very large addressable market with ~$60 trillion in B2B TAM and ~$300 billion in marketplace payments, Payoneer’s point of differentiation is its combination of (i) broad regulatory coverage and partner rails, and (ii) an account-centric experience tailored to SMB workflows.
