Meta Platforms, Netflix, Uber And This Travel Name Down 20% YTD Are Evercore's Top Stocks To Buy Right Now

As technology names remain out of favor, one analyst has identified a handful of buying opportunities in the beaten-down sector.

What To Know: Evercore ISI's Mark Mahaney named his top picks Thursday morning on CNBC's "Squawk Box."

Although the analyst expects advertising to be down in the mid single-digits next year, his top pick is ad-giant turned metaverse play Meta Platforms Inc META, as he sees the ad slowdown being largely priced in with shares down 65% year-to-date.

"Of the big three [advertising] companies, I think it's most in the valuation and most in the estimates for Meta. That's why Meta is one of our top three picks," Mahaney said.

The Evercore analyst also named Netflix Inc NFLX a top pick in the wake of the company's new ad-supported tier. 

"Based on a report we just did this morning, we think there's been pretty good traction for it and I like the service. I like how they've integrated ads into the Netflix experience," he said. 

Mahaney called the streaming company's new ad offering a "brand advertiser's dream." Advertisers want reach and frequency and Netflix delivers, he said.

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Mahaney told CNBC that Uber Technologies Inc UBER and Booking Holdings Inc BKNG round out his list of top stocks to own.

"I like companies that at the beginning of the COVID crisis had their cost structures slashed. That means that as they come out of COVID and into, unfortunately, a recession, they're lean and mean they don't have all this excess," Mahaney said. 

META, NFLX, UBER, BKNG Price Action: Meta was down 2.08% Thursday afternoon, Netflix was down 3.71%, Uber was down 4.8% and Booking Holdings was down 4.1%, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: Brian Penny from Pixabay.