"According to the Spectrem Group, which recently polled the country's wealthiest people, they're the most optimistic they've been in months," says Marc Lichtenfeld.

The contributing editor to Investment U explains, "Let's take a look at 3 stocks that millionaires (and aspiring ones) should pay attention to: Apple (AAPL), Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) and Varian Medical Systems (VAR).

"And according to Fidelity, 83% of millionaires surveyed said the financial crisis did not shake their confidence in investing. And of those who said they'll invest more money in the stock market, nearly 60% of them plan to buy technology stocks. And just under half expect to acquire pharmaceutical and healthcare stocks.

"Our stock selection is based on assessing the investment criteria of various legendary investors, ranging from Ben Graham to Marty Zweig," explains John Reese.

The editor of Validea newsletter continues, "In this case, our latest feature on Western Digital (WDC) is based on the strategy of Peter Lynch. Indeed, the stock scores a 100% rating based on our Lynch model.

"Western Digital Corporation designs, develops, manufactures and sells hard drives. Its hard drives are used in desktop computers, notebook computers, and enterprise applications such as servers, workstations, network attached storage, storage area networks and video surveillance equipment.

"Marvell Technology (MRVL) delivered disappointing results for its fiscal Q4 2011 (ended January 2011), as well as even more disappointing guidance for its fiscal first quarter," notes tech sector expert Paul McWilliams.

The editor of Next Inning newsletter continues, And to make matters worse, it had one of the poorest conference call presentations that I've ever heard from a major semiconductor company. Nevertheless, we are adding to our position. Here's why.

"Buoyed by strong operating momentum, the technology sector earns high marks in our Quadrix® stock- rating system," says Richard Moroney.

The editor of Dow Theory Forecasts explains, "Our favorite picks in the tech sector -Altera (ALTR), Apple (AAPL), IBM (IBM) and Texas Instruments (TXN) - share some favorable qualities.

➤ December-quarter results: All four topped consensus estimates, producing double-digit growth in per- share profits. Revenue also exceeded expectations.

"Chip stocks have always been tough to invest in, as the group has vicious ups and downs," observes Mike Cintolo.

Nevertheless, explains, the editor of Cabot Top Ten Weekly, "Nvidia (NVDA) is one of the hottest stocks out there because investors think it might have the next big thing in the chip world-dubbed Tegra 2.

"Despite the volatility in the chip sector, history shows that many chip firms can produce huge gains if they have a unique new product that's serving a mass market (or, sometimes, a new market ... like camera cell phones back in the early 2000s).

"Taiwan's economy and its stock market should post solid growth in 2011; we also see warming relations between the island of Taiwan and mainland China," suggests global specialist Yiannis Mostrous.

The editor of The Silk Road Investor explains, "Technology should be a major beneficiary of these near-term themes and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) is our favorite stock for exposure to the technology turnaround.

"Demand for notebook computers remains solid and mobile phones are expected to sell strongly during the Chinese New Year holiday this week, which will lead to inventory restocking.

"QuickLogic (QUIK) recently reported fourth quarter revenue slightly below its revised guidance, and forecast that Q1 new product revenue would be down roughly $100K," notes tech sector specialist Paul McWilliams.

In his Next Inning newsletter, he explains, "Both are clearly disappointing pieces of news. However, as I see it, the disappointment ends there, and I continue to own these shares.

"The semiconductor company makes products that enable customers to add new features, extend battery life and enhance images on mobile and consumer products.

"Is Apple ((AAPL) undervalued? We expect the company's earnings to grow at a rapid 24% pace during the next five years," says J. Royden Ward who believe the tech stock meets the criteria for a long-term value investment.

The editor of Cabot Benjamin Graham Value Letter explains, "At 14.7 times our one-year forward EPS estimate, shares are clearly undervalued. Indeed, we consider AAPL to be low risk.

"Apple develops, manufactures and markets personal computers and consumer electronic products. Exciting new products portend continued rapid growth in future years.

"Microsoft (MSFT) recently released its fiscal second-quarter results; we felt results were really quite strong, with solid gains in most segments and good cost discipline," says Geoffrey Seiler.

The editor of Bullmarket.com explains, "If these results were from another company, the stock likely would have gotten a lift. But Microsoft is the Rodney Dangerfield of companies: it doesn't get the respect it deserves.

"Microsoft reported net income of $6.63 billion, or 77 cents per share, compared with $6.66 billion, or 74 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Sales grew by 5% to $19.95 billion from $19.00 billion.

"The growth in hand held devices such as the iPhone and iPad has led to a surge in flash NAND demand," suggests Ian Wyatt.

The editor of Top Stock Insights explains, "As a result, there is a lot to like about component supplier Micron Technology (MU). Last year, the company gained market share and became the world's third-largest NAND supplier.

"Micron had a terrific first quarter financial report. Revenue increased by 28% to $2.2 billion from $1.7 billion in 2010. Operating income also increased by a wide margin, surging to $390 million from $201 million last year.

"Apple (APPL) recently reported quarterly sales and profits that exceeded Wall Street's expectations by a country mile," notes dividend reinvestment expert Chuck Carlson.

The editor of The DRIP Investor explains, "The company's humongous cash haul begs the question -- when will Apple start to pay a dividend.

"Revenue rose 71%, while profits jumped 75% to $6.43 per share, beating the consensus earnings estimate by a whopping $1.03 per share.

"MIPS Technologies (MIPS) fell sharply after announcing its quarterly results; nevertheless, we think the long-term bullish thesis is intact," says tech sector specialist Paul McWilliams.

The editor of Next Inning explains, "It appears that Wall Street is focusing on slicing and dicing pennies rather than taking time to understand the story. Here's our assessment.

What we want from MIPS are license deals in its focus market (it signed three new licenses in the mobile sector last quarter), increasing unit royalties (it reported royalty on a record 173M units, up from 157M last quarter and 126M one year ago).

"Don't worry about whether the iphone will beat the Android, or the Galaxy the ipad; rather, you should buy the maker of chip machines for mobile devices," says Frida Ghitis.

The contributing editor to Global Investing explains, "Spun off from Phillips, ASML Holdings NV (ASML) -- a quiet high tech star -- is the world leader making lithography system machines for chipmaking by the semiconductor industry.

"We recommend broad portfolio diversification is a core tenet of our investment approach; however, we think the tech sector in particular presents some attractive opportunities, especially in the large-cap arena," says value investor John Buckingham.

The money manager and editor of The Prudent Speculator explains, "One stock we particularly like for the coming year is Cisco Systems (CSCO).