Uncertain Times May Mean Opportunity With Asana Stock

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When it comes to shares in Asana (NYSE:ASAN) over the past month, you can say it’s been a story of one step forward, one step back. A much better situation than one step forward, two steps back of course. But it’s definitely frustrating that the ASAN stock rebound was thwarted once again by something outside its control.

Asana (ASAN) logo displayed on a cellphone

Source: rafapress / Shutterstock.com

I’m talking about the geopolitical crisis with Russia and Ukraine that’s currently dominating the headlines. It may have little to do with the workforce-management software provider’s fundamentals. However, this uncertainty, coupled with the existing rate hike uncertainty, brought a quick end to this stock’s attempted recovery last month.

After zooming back from just above $45 per share, up to the low $70s per share, Asana gave back this partial rebound. In a matter of days, it fell back to the high $40s per share. While it’s inched up a bit since then, it may seem as if macro issues will continue to weigh it down for now.

You may at first see this as a reason to skip out on it for now. Yet based on its still-solid long-term prospects, plus another bullish factor?

You may want to reconsider your decision.

Why ASAN Stock Can’t Seem to Recover

With Asana’s recent roller coaster ride, there’s good news, and there’s bad news. First, the good news. The performance of its underlying business has played a minimal role in its rocky performance so far this year.

In other words, it’s overarching issues that are causing ASAN stock to make wild swings. A lack of clarity on how the Federal Reserve plans to raise interest rates leaves investors unsure how to proceed. One day they’re cycling out of the sector, the next they are jumping back into it.

With the geopolitical issues, for now it seems that the Western world has found an effective way to respond. Still, it’s too early to say whether there will be any blowback from putting the squeeze on the Russian economy.

As neither of these issues directly affects Asana, it may be clear skies ahead for shares once these issues clear up. The bad news? These issues may not clear up within a week, or even within a month. It may be awhile before all the fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) that’s holding back this and other high-quality tech names finally dissipates.

Keep Your Focus on the Long-Term Picture

It’s easy to focus too much on the possibility of short-term losses, while discounting the chances of long-term gains. What happens if you employ this way of thinking in how you position your investment portfolio? In the long-run, you miss out on a lot of opportunities.

That may be the case here with ASAN stock. You may worry that its valuation of 20.7x projected sales for this fiscal year (ending January 2023) is too high. But its rate of projected growth may be enough to sustain it, as shares ride out today’s market conditions. As for its potential to appreciate in value over a longer timeframe? When today’s concerns and issues pass, its operating performance will resume being its main driver.

All things considered, there’s more than enough in place for it to continue delivering the types of results necessary to get itself back toward past highs. For one, Asana operates a software as a service (SaaS) that is in high demand. The increase in worker productivity produced by its coordination software more than pays for itself.

This explains why, per its last earnings release (covering the quarter ending Oct. 31, 2021), the company reported very high year-over-year (YoY) revenue growth (70%). Not to mention, another big jump in its large-customer count. As of the end of the third quarter FY22, it had 739 large customers, up 132% YoY. Going after a total addressable market (TAM) that’s well over 100x its annual revenue, it’s going to be awhile before this type of growth slows down in a material way.

The Bottom Line on ASAN Stock

As I hinted at above, there is another bullish indicator with this stock: a heavy amount of insider buying. Co-founder and CEO Dustin Moskovitz has backed up the truck when it comes to Asana shares, to the tune of $1.1 billion. If that’s not a sign you should ignore how the crowd’s been acting about it, I don’t know what is.

Again, issues not directly impacting its performance, but impacting the market’s performance, could continue to weigh on the company. Even if its upcoming earnings release (scheduled for after the close on Mar. 9) comes in ahead of expectations.

Nevertheless, with a key insider buying up shares hand-over-fist, and a business set to remain in high-growth mode for years to come, you may want to take a look at ASAN stock.

ASAN stock earns a “B” rating in my Portfolio Grader.

On the date of publication, neither Louis Navellier nor the InvestorPlace Research Staff member primarily responsible for this article held (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.

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