Internet of Things is one of the biggest paradigm shifts in the human history. According to General Electric, Industrial Internet of Things will have a market share of a whopping $60 trillion during the next 15 years. Financial services and data firm IHS projects that there will be over 30.7 billion IoT devices in 2020. Internet of Things industry is still relatively in its early stages, with guaranteed growth prospects. Now is the best time to invest in IoT to make money from this sector. Here are the 4 best IoT stocks you should buy in 2017.
Cisco
Cisco is swiftly shifting away from its traditional hardware and networking equipment business to IoT and Cloud. According to its own projections, there will be a total of 50 billion connected devices by the end of 2020. The company recently acquired apps development company AppDynamics for a whopping $3.7 billion. The company has also bought Jasper Technologies, an Internet of Things company, for $1.4 billion. Jasper’s platform enables users to analyze data, track performance and get detailed insights about big data chunks. The company also provides a platform to create smart IoT applications. Cisco has also partnered with car company Hyundai to work on smart cars and connected cities projects. In the third quarter, Cisco’s IoT business grew by 11. Given the fact that Cisco excels in network security equipment and solutions for Big Data and Cloud, there would be a big demand for its systems in the IoT domain in the coming months. Cisco’s stock has gained over 31% in value over the last 12 months.
Skyworks Solutions
Skyworks Solutions is a Massachusetts-based semiconductor company which makes smartphone chips. The firm made a significant transition towards connected homes, medical, mobile, smart energy in 2016. The company will leverage its market share in global wireless connectivity industry in the future. Skyworks projects to deliver 10 billion annual integrated shipments by 2021, according to ABI Research. Last year, the company launched its platform to deliver next-gen wireless solutions for IoT devices. Skyworks’ chips will be used in set-top boxes and media gateways, which are hubs of smart home and IoT devices. The company also has a massive grip in 4G and 3G chips that are used widely in IoT devices.
Sierra Wireless
Sierra Wireless is a Canadian company whose entire business model revolves around Internet of Things. The company makes embedded wireless modules that let machines communicate with each other. The company’s balance sheet shows $96 million in cash and absolutely no debt. It has around one-third of the embedded wireless module market. Sierra also spends heavily on R&D, the necessary part of any IoT ecosystem. Analysts think that its research will lead to groundbreaking IoT technologies in the future, which would make its stock price soar. The company recently acquired France-based mobile virtual network operator MobiquiThings for 14 million Euro. MobiquiThings offers a connectivity technology for IoT devices in various sectors including transportation, security, retail and health care.
Qualcomm
Qualcomm is a pretty famous company whose stock is almost guaranteed to go up in the coming years. Its recent acquisition of NXP Semiconductor (NASDAQ:NXPI) is hailed as one of the smartest deals in the recent history. NXP excels in making secure chips for connected devices. Given the rising anxiety about the security of IoT devices, Qualcomm has a high chance of selling its Cloud and IoT security solutions and devices to the Enterprise. It is also important to note that Qualcomm holds highest number IoT patents, which shows its plans for the future.
