It makes sense to consider which are the best tech stocks to buy as the Nasdaq continues inching upward. The gradual improvement of the leading tech index strongly suggests investors are again confident in the tech sector overall. 

Tech sector confidence is largely a function of prevailing interest rates. Lower rates favor tech companies which assume substantial risk and pursue growth-first strategies. 

Higher rates make borrowing more expensive and consequently rescue the overall appetite for such risk. The Fed is significantly slowing rate hikes, if not pausing them outright. 

The best tech stocks to buy should get a further boost following a convincing performance this year. There are several obvious and not so obvious choices in that category worth buying.

Impinj (PI)

Impinj (NASDAQ:PI) probably isn’t a name many investors immediately think of when considering the best tech stocks to buy. But the provider of RFID technology to companies that have significant commercial application. 

RFID stands for radio frequency identification and allows everyday objects to be identified and organized extremely quickly. Impinj’s RAIN RFID technology allows up to 1,000 objects per second to be identified and has clear logistics applicability. 

Technology that can connect objects to the digital world also has internet of things applications. IoT is a focus area for growth of companies and businesses everywhere. That makes Impinj highly relevant, which is reflected in its rapid growth. 

Impinj sales increased nearly 50% in Q4 and its net loss shrunk from $20 million to $118,000 YoY.   

Coming quarter sales should grow to between $82 million and $85 million. Impinj is establishing a name in the burgeoning IoT space while growing quickly and approaching net gains. The combination of those factors makes it among the more intriguing tech stocks to buy.

Nvidia (NVDA)

Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) isn’t very far away from the average target stock price of $278 assigned by analysts. Trading above $270, it’s nearly fully sold. 

When a stock is close to being fully sold, that’s a time to avoid it. More investors will question valuations, and any influx of investor capital will slow.

But that will not happen with Nvidia even as its market capitalization rises to levels before Fed rate hikes began. Investor interest is instead likely to continue to rise. 

Let’s put some numbers to that idea. Nvidia carried a market cap of $823 billion when it became apparent that the Fed would raise rates. It’s now around $660 billion. Could it test those former highs again?

I think so, and Nvidia’s AI position is the reason. Demand for Nvidia’s H100 gpu is extremely high, with units going for more than $45,000 on eBay. The chips are integral to AI software deployments, making Nvidia extremely relevant. It is certainly possible that Nvidia’s market cap blows past $823 billion, given that AI wasn’t part of the equation when it was that high.

Qualcomm (QCOM)

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) looks like a strong bet among tech stocks currently for a very simple reason: Powerful institutional investors favor the company and its shares. 

Qualcomm sells integrated circuit products used in mobile applications primarily and also licenses its intellectual property. The company grew in 2022 by 19.2% as measured by revenues which totaled $42.96 billion. But 2023 isn’t expected to result in growth for Qualcomm. 

Wall Street expects the company to shrink by a few billion dollars on the top line. Wall Street expects Qualcomm to grow slightly between 2022 and 2024 with $43 billion in sales. 

Why then should investors consider QCOM stock? The reason is institutional power. Institutional investors own 75% of QCOM shares. The top 25 shareholders control 44% of shares overall. Those owners are the same people who head the analyst ratings agencies that assign target prices to Qualcomm. Those analysts have pegged Qualcomm’s target price at $152, well above its current price of $120. 

On the date of publication, Alex Sirois did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.