Goldman Sachs’ Top 9 Technology Stock Picks for 2012

Goldman Sachs analysts have revealed their top nine technology stock picks for the 2012 year, reports The Street. Some have six-month price targets as high as 61 percent.

The investment bank consistently updates its conviction buy list. Though technology stocks have lost 4.4 percent of their value over the course of 2011, in this current quarter they are up 2.3 percent.

On Tuesday, the tech sector continued to drag. They have certainly not been invulnerable to the turbulent market volatility. Though, as the economy improves, tech stocks will likely follow suit and Goldman's list is tech-stock center.

Tech stocks have, of course proven quite lucrative in the past (especially when focusing on the glory days of the 1990s).

Jim Jubak of MSN Money says that the true future potential of tech stocks lies within the burgeoning niches of the market.

Here are Goldman's top nine picks:

Aeroflex Holding (ARX): $14 price target with a 61 percent premium.

This company makes instruments used in wireless-communication systems. Though it has lost 47 percent this year and 40 percent over the past 12 months, Goldman stands by this choice.

We maintain our (conviction list-buy) rating as we expect strong growth in 4G wireless to drive results for Aeroflex's test division and make the company an even more attractive (merger and acquisitions) target, the analyst said. Adding, management noted that several companies are considering Aeroflex as an merger and acquisitions candidate, and we expect interest to increase next year.

Apple (AAPL): $520 price target with a 38 percent appreciation potential.

Though Apple's stock fell short of analysts' estimates in September, Goldman believes Apple still has exponential value.

We still expect the company to deliver solid December-quarter results, boosted by iPhone sales momentum, wrote a Goldman analyst.

Revenues of $28 billion and (earnings) of $7.05 (per share) were below our estimates of $29 billion and $7.30 and consensus of $30 billion and $7.38, said the Goldman memorandum. This was an uncommon earnings miss for Apple, which has not missed consensus earnings in years.

EMC (EMC): $29 price target with a 29 percent premium.

This company is a data-hardware and software server specialist, but its clout is in cloud computing and digital data recovery and storage. Between 2006 and 2010, the company's revenue increased at an annual rate of 11 percent.

NCR (NCR): $22 price target with a 30 percent premium.

NCR is at the center of the self-service industry. NCR is the world's largest vendor of ATM machines and software. It also specializes in POS and Retail systems and airline check-in systems. The company's shares are up 5.8 percent this year and 10.5 percent over the past 12 months.

Oracle (ORCL): $39 price target with a 31 percent premium.

Oracle is a leading supplier of database management systems, specializing in business hardware and software systems. Its shares have a market value of $150 billion and in 2010 it acquired Sun Microsystems.

Qualcomm (QCOM): $65 price target with 19 percent return.

Qualcomm develops wireless technology and the world's largest fabless semiconductor producer and the largest provider of wireless chipset and software technology.

Synchronoss Technologies (SNCR): $37 price target with a 29 percent premium.

Synchronoss is the world's leading provider of automation software and cloud technology solutions. The company was founded in 2000 and completed a successful IPO in 2006. In the third quarter of 2011, the company reported 67 percent swell in earnings.

Visa (V): $110 price target with a 21 percent premium.

Visa shares are up 27 percent this year and have upheld an average return rate of 22 percent over the past three years.

VMWare (VMW): $125 price target with a 40 percent premium

VMWare is a global leader in virtualization and cloud infrastructure. It specializes in cloud computing. More than 80 percent of the company is owned by EMC, which is another buy on Goldman's list. VMWare has had an average return of 67 percent over the past three years.

To read the full article from The Street, click here.