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For the last several years, tech stocks have been one of the favorite targets of the market alarmists. In 2021, we've already had a couple of hard selloffs in technology stocks.

In the most bullish of bull markets, investors still get those articles forecasting that the end is nigh. It seems permabears can always find some reason to believe the market is going to crash. And truthfully they only have to be right once for your portfolio to be in a world of hurt.

But this is not one of those articles. The market is volatile, but market timing is a fool's errand.

However, you have to be a next-level optimist if you don't have any concerns about what's happening with the economy. And once you acknowledge those concerns, it doesn't take much to consider how that could affect the broader market and more narrowly the stocks in your portfolio.

This concern brings us to this article's focus on tech stocks. This is a resilient sector that continues to reward growth-oriented investors. But that doesn't mean all tech stocks are the same. (Have a look at Eric Fry's latest Smart Money newsletter for his take on tech stocks driving critical trends into 2022.)

And, of course, there are some stocks that are more prone to those gut-wrenching drops than others. The ones that don't are the ones that you should watch.

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That's the focus of this article. Using the stock's 2021 performance along with analyst sentiment, here are seven tech stocks that are likely to resist any market selloff.

• Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)
• ON Semicoductor (NASDAQ:ON)
• Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO)
• Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT)
• PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL)
• Cirrus Logic (NASDAQ:CRUS)
• RingCentral (NYSE:RNG)

Tech Stocks To Resist Any Market Selloff: Microsoft (MSFT)

I was trying to stay away from "big tech" companies, but it's difficult to not include Microsoft on this list of tech stocks. Recently, Microsoft overtook Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) to become the world's most valuable company.

The company was a pandemic winner with its Teams collaboration software. But the company has continued to thrive even as the economy reopens. That's largely due to the growth in its cloud computing business.

And as Dana Blankenhorn wrote for InvestorPlace, Microsoft is also angling to become a leader in the developing metaverse via a partnership with Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA). In short, the company has many catalysts and its most recent earnings report showed that it is firing on all cylinders.

Microsoft delivered a strong earnings report in October. Subsequently, analysts continue to raise their price target for the stock which is already up 48.7% in 2021. And if investors needed one more reason to believe MSFT stock will weather any selloff, they can look at the company's quarterly dividend which has increased for the last 12 years and now pays out $2.24 per year.

ON Semiconductor (ON)

Few things predict stock price growth as positive earnings. ON Semiconductor just delivered its sixth-consecutive quarter in which it beat analysts' earnings expectations.

Since that Oct. 31 report , over a dozen analysts have increased their price target for ON stock. The combination of positive earnings and analyst upgrades is always a bullish indicator.

An earnings report tells you the "what." Equally important is the "why." In the case of ON Semiconductor it is a significant supplier for electric vehicles (EVs).  Specifically the Arizona-based company's custom foundry business provides image sensors and power semiconductors. Both of these chips will remain in high demand as manufacturers begin to roll-out these vehicles.

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The company also has significant exposure to the ongoing 5G rollout and the Internet of Things (IoT) sector.

The stock did go through a sharp selloff in April, but otherwise ON stock has been a stellar performer that is up 76% in 2021.

Tech Stocks To Resist Any Market Selloff: Broadcom (AVGO)

Another semiconductor company that makes my list of tech stocks that are likely to survive a market selloff is Broadcom. AVGO stock is up over 25% in 2021 (26.5% as of this writing).

The company provides chips for data centers as well as for the networking, software, and industrial markets.

Broadcom has beaten on the top and bottom lines for the last five consecutive quarters. And it has strong, growing free cash flow (FCF) that topped $3.43 billion in the last quarter, an 11% quarterly increase. Plus, investors can enjoy an attractive dividend which has grown for 10 consecutive years with a three-year growth rate of 177.75%.

The company is trading at the upper end of is 52-week range and is bumping up against the consensus price of analysts. However, the company recently received two bullish upgrades and is scheduled to report earnings in early December. Another strong report should bring more optimistic analyst sentiment and a likely higher price for AVGO stock.

Applied Materials (AMAT)

I won't even begin to say I understand the ins and outs of quantum computing. But I know this much. It may be one of the must-own sectors of the next decade. According to Quince Market Insights, the global quantum computing market is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.4% between 2021 and 2030.

If that comes to pass, companies will need faster, more powerful semiconductors, which is the bullish narrative for Applied Materials. The company is a key supplier to the semiconductor industry and recently introduced its eBeam metrology system which provides patterning control over logic and memory chips.

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InvestorPlace contributor Ian Bezek described the company's position well when he wrote, "In a gold rush, you want to be the person selling shovels. Applied Materials should be one of those for the quantum computing industry."

AMAT stock is bumping up against its 52-week high. However, the stock has climbed approximately 20% in the last month. And an earnings report in mid-November could be a catalyst that moves the stock higher.

Tech Stocks To Resist Any Market Selloff: PayPal (PYPL)

You may be wondering how I can include PayPal on a list of tech stocks that should resist a selloff. PYPL stock itself has dropped nearly 25% in less than a month. The reason I can is because of my conviction that this is a case of a correction that has gone too far.

Yes, the fintech company didn't wow investors with its latest earnings report. And investors didn't like the speculation that the company was looking into buying Pinterest (NYSE:PINS). But right now, investors are selling the news pretty hard.

Since the company reported earnings the analyst community has been bearish with approximately 20 analysts lowering their price target for PYPL stock. But many of these lower price targets are still higher than the consensus price target of $288 and are significantly higher than the stock price as of this writing which is $204.37.

It's possible that a broader market selloff could send PYPL stock lower. However, in volatile times, investors usually seek out quality stocks and the fundamentals of PayPal will eventually remind investors of why they liked it in the first place. And now they can get the stock on sale.

Cirrus Logic (CRUS)

Cirrus Logic stock is down 5% for the year. However, analysts look ahead, not behind. So when the consensus opinion of analysts is that a stock price may increase 33% over the next 12 months, that's something investors will want to take note of. That's the case with CRUS stock.

The semiconductor company provides integrated circuits for portable audio products and non-portable audio and other products. This is a category that includes smartphones. Strong demand for these products is driving the company's revenue and earnings.

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On a year-over-year basis, revenue was up 34% and earnings were up 44%. Since the earnings report, two analysts have reiterated their ratings and one gave the stock a $114 price target which is nearly 10% higher than the consensus target of $105.

Tech Stocks To Resist Any Market Selloff: RingCentral (RNG)

Along the same lines as Cirrus Logic, RingCentral is another darling of the analyst community. The company just delivered an earnings report that showed the developer of cloud communication solutions continues to thrive.

Earnings of 36 cents per share blew away the estimate for negative earnings per share of 59 cents and were 38.5% higher on a YOY basis. The same was true of revenue which came in at $414.6 million, a 36.6% YOY increase.

Since the earnings report, four analysts have raised their price target for RNG stock. Another analyst reiterated their buy rating. And the single analyst that reduced their price target still has the stock trading higher than the consensus price target.

RNG stock is trading significantly below is 52-week high. The stock sold off sharply at the beginning of the year as investors anticipated that remote workers would soon be returning to the office. That still hasn't materialized as expected, and as investors see that it's become a catalyst for the stock.

On the date of publication, Chris Markoch 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.

Chris Markoch is a freelance financial copywriter who has been covering the market for seven years. He has been writing for InvestorPlace since 2019.

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