The bear market has not been fun for anybody and short of investors who are all-in on energy stocks, almost everyone is down on the year. The S&P 500 has touched the down-20% mark, while the Nasdaq composite has fallen more than 30% from peak to trough. Despite the underwhelming performance, it has investors looking for stocks to buy.
Human nature is not that surprising. During times of trouble, it leaves many investors scrambling and hitting the exits. When you think of survival instinct, this is not all that surprising of a reaction. After all, we work hard for our money and to see it evaporate in a matter of weeks is incredibly discouraging — and scary.
However, for the investors that have been around the block before – or those that have some spare cash laying around – they are looking at this as an opportunity to buy rather than a reason to sell.
Those who are looking for stocks to buy have plenty to choose from. Even the best have been under intense selling pressure. And while growth stocks are hated at the moment, they too offer potential long-term upside after declines of 75% or more.
| Ticker | Company | Current Price |
| AMD | Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. | $102.26 |
| SHOP | Shopify Inc. | $369.04 |
| GOOGL | Alphabet Inc. | $2,246.33 |
Stocks to Buy: Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
Despite a bounce from the lows, Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) still remains well below its highs. The stock is currently down 40% from the high and fell as much as 50%.
Even though the share price has been obliterated, the company delivered better-than-expected results. It’s slowly being rewarded for doing so, but that will not likely be the case if the stock market decline continues. Regardless, at least investors know business is still doing well. More importantly, management issued guidance that came in ahead of analysts’ expectations. Estimates continue to call for robust growth.
Revenue is forecast to climb to $25.95 billion this year following the close of its Xilinx acquisition. Next year, estimates are forecast to climb another 14% to almost $30 billion. As for earnings, estimates call for profit of $4.41 a share, with estimates calling for double digit growth next year.
Once a weakness, AMD stock’s valuation is suddenly quite reasonable at 22 times this year’s earnings.
Shopify (SHOP)
Shopify (NYSE:SHOP) has been absolutely demolished, with shares sporting a peak-to-trough decline of 80%. The fall has been something that long-term investors never expected. There’s fly-by-night growth stocks and there’s high-quality growth stocks and many had Shopify in the latter group.
It was thought that stocks like this may fall by 40% to 50% during the tough times. That’s just reality in the world of growth stocks – even the good ones. No one expected this type of haircut, but that’s exactly what we’ve got. Shopify isn’t able to operate quite as well as it once was. However, that doesn’t mean it’s out of luck as a business. It simply means we have to adjust our expectations. After such a beating, I’d say we’ve had quite an adjustment.
The stock may not achieve its all-time high any time soon, but if it were to regain just half of those losses – sending it to about $1,000 a share – it would equate to a 235% from rally from the recent low.
For many investors, that may be a shot worth taking.
Stocks to Buy: Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG)
Last but certainly not least is Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL, NASDAQ:GOOG). I find this one really interesting for a few reasons. First, it is a juggernaut. Its balance sheet is immense, it cash flows $60 billion a year and it owns the two most prized websites in the world: Google.com and YouTube.com.
However, the valuation is what’s most intriguing to me.
Many will compare it to consumer products companies like Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) or Clorox (NYSE:CLX), which trade at much higher valuations than the 20x earnings that GOOGL stock trades at. Some will argue, “How can a company with stronger growth and better financials trade at a lower valuation than a stodgy old consumer staples company with slow growth?” The answer is simple: Quality of earnings.
Put another way, Alphabet’s revenue – and thus its cash flow and earnings – are more at risk during a recession as companies pull advertising spend. We’re seeing this in Snap (NYSE:SNAP) right now, not that two companies compare on a quality basis. Still, one could argue that Alphabet is more vulnerable in a recession versus a company that has more stable and dependable earnings.
Yet, that doesn’t mean Alphabet is a sell.
Oftentimes ad spending is the last thing to go as companies remain desperate for sales. When situations improve, it’s one of the first budgets to come back to life. That’s why I will always consider Alphabet as one of the stocks to buy on any notable declines.
On the date of publication, Bret Kenwell held a long position in SHOP. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.