How to Buy the New Technology Leaders

If stocks like Broadcom(BRCM Quote) and Juniper Networks(JNPR Quote) are the new leaders in the technology sector, when is a good time to buy them?

They're certainly cheaper now than they were six months ago, thanks to the bear market in technology stocks. But as the carnage on Oct. 25 following Nortel Networks' (NT Quote) earnings announcement demonstrated, cheaper stocks can still get a lot cheaper -- and very quickly. Juniper Networks, which closed at $218.13 on Oct. 24, well off its 52-week high of $244.50, quickly dropped another $15 a share, or 7%, on Oct. 25.

We'd all like to own shares of the next-generation technology leaders, but pulling the trigger is hard in a volatile market -- and it might not even be smart. That's why I decided to take a look at the question: How much does it matter that you pick the right emerging technology superstar, if you get the price wrong? ...