Three technology stocks benefited from an upward revision on Wall Street last week: Microsoft (MSFT +2.38%), Palantir (PLTR +5.17%)And Marvell Technology (MRVL +0.25%). Marvell is up 224% year to date, while Palantir is up 17% and Microsoft is lagging behind. S&P500That’s a gain of 14%.
All three have solid catalysts and could be solid long-term investments, but Marvell offers the best value.
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Microsoft
On October 5, Melius Research analyst Ben Reitzes upgraded Microsoft from hold to buy with a price target of $665. This implies an upside of around 25% from the current share price.
Amid growing concerns over AI security, the analyst believes Microsoft’s cybersecurity offerings will benefit from the adoption of AI agents. During the company’s fourth-quarter earnings conference call in July, CEO Satya Nadella highlighted the benefits of Agent 365. It extends security tools to AI agents, and nearly 40 million agents are already registered on the platform, reflecting the advantage Microsoft derives from its long-standing relationships with leading companies.
Azure, the cloud backbone for Microsoft’s AI services, continues to enjoy growing demand. Revenue from Azure and other cloud services grew 43% year over year during the fiscal fourth quarter of 2026, which ended in June, and management said demand still exceeds capacity.
The stock trades at 27 times forward earnings, based on estimates for fiscal 2027. The consensus analyst estimate calls for earnings to grow at an annualized rate of 15% in the coming years. This represents a reasonable price/earnings/growth (PEG) multiple of 1.8x.
The main risk is that growth depends on how quickly Microsoft can add capacity to data centers, a process that requires heavy spending and could weigh on margins and profits. Still, a slightly higher P/E and continued business growth puts the $665 price target within reach for next year, with more gains in store for investors holding for the long term.
Today’s change
(5.17%) $10.27
Current price
$209.05
Key Data Points
Daily scope
$198.30 -$209.58
52 week range
$106.37 -$209.58
Volume
37.6 million
Average flight
33.5 million
Gross margin
84.80%
Palantir Technologies
On October 8, Goldman Sachs analyst Gabriela Borges upgraded Palantir from neutral to buy with a price target of $230. This implies an upside of around 10% from the current share price.
Palantir shares have surged about 65% in the past three months, but the analyst sees further upside potential as companies seek to control their own data and AI models. This is expected to increase demand for Palantir’s custom applications from each enterprise customer.
This builds on trends Palantir is already seeing. Palantir’s Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) allows businesses to build and run AI models using their proprietary data. This is one of the main factors that appeals to potential customers who want to have full control over their data and do not want it to be used to train another company’s AI models.
Management’s full-year 2026 forecast calls for revenue of about $8.1 billion, up about 82% from 2025. Analysts expect annualized earnings growth of 53% in the coming years. However, it trades at a forward earnings multiple of 123, or a PEG multiple of 2.3x. I hold Palantir in my portfolio, but I don’t expect it to hit the analyst’s price target in the near term. Marvell offers a better valuation compared to expected growth.
Today’s change
(0.25%) $0.68
Current price
$275.28
Key Data Points
Daily scope
$267.70 -$283.78
52 week range
$70.69 -$329.88
Volume
15.1 million
Average flight
22.3 million
Gross margin
51.42%
Dividend yield
0.11%
Marvell Technology
If I were adding new money to any of the three right now, it would be Marvell. On October 7, TD Cowen analyst Sean O’Loughlin upgraded Marvell from hold to buy with a price target of $350. This implies an upside of around 27% from the current share price.
This upgrade follows Marvell’s investor day on October 6, 2026, where management highlighted the dynamics of its connectivity business, the chips and optics that move data in AI data centers. O’Loughlin sees the risk from his custom chip business fading. These risks centered on the low margins produced by custom chips and Marvell’s reliance on selling these chips to a few customers.
At the investor day conference, CEO Matt Murphy raised the company’s revenue outlook for fiscal 2028 to around $20 billion. He said the shift from AI training to inference and the use of agents would lead to increased demand for connectivity equipment, with optics already accelerating, supporting the analyst’s thesis.
Marvell is also well-positioned to capture a growing share of AI infrastructure spending through its custom silicon business. These are chips designed for specific tasks, such as cloud giants’ AI workloads. This business is expected to grow from $1.5 billion in revenue in 2025 to $12 billion by fiscal 2029.
The stock trades at 65 times 2027 earnings estimates, with analysts expecting annualized earnings growth of 49% over the next few years. Marvell offers the lowest PEG ratio of the three at 1.3x. This could allow the stock to reach the analyst’s price target over the next year, while creating the potential for excellent returns for an investor who buys today and holds for the long term.
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