Information Technology, as a sector, has performed quite well during the coronavirus pandemic. Stocks like Gartner Inc are up more than 50% since the March market crash. Gartner is a provider of research, tools, and other strategic information that allows CIOs and IT leaders of companies to make well-informed decisions. Gartner is among the best IT stocks to buy now.
Gartner’s Historical Stock Performance
Gartner Inc stock closed at $128.13 on 23rd October 2020. It is up 1.26% for the past month but down almost 18% for the year 2020. On a 5-year basis, the stock is up 41%. However, on a 3-year basis, the stock is only up 2%. Interestingly, the stock does not pay any dividends as of 2020. Since the March market fall, the stock has performed quite well and stayed up with the growth in the S&P500 index as well, which has also risen by more than 50%.
The Future outlook for the Best IT Stocks To Buy Now
During the company’s Q22020 earnings call, Gartner’s CEO Eugene Hall said, “Total Research revenues were up 8% over this time last year. And while the selling point remains challenging, we did see modestly better trends in June than in the first two months of the quarter.” As the economic situation improves, the overall business sentiment will also look up. Gartner has about 4.5 months of revenue visibility as of August 4th, when the earnings call took place.
During the earnings call, Mr. Hall also said, “We continue to expect total CV to decelerate through the year. CV changes earlier in the year have a larger impact to full year Research revenue growth. There is a lag effect on Research revenue, so slower CV growth exiting this year will lead to slower Research revenue growth in 2021.” For IT stocks like Gartner, the effects of the pandemic may linger for a few more quarters before pre-pandemic level growth can come back.
