There’s no way to frame it: We’re in the throes of a bear market. If your stock or stocks are outperforming the indices, congratulations. There aren’t many doing so. If they are positive on the year, even better, as there are even less of those stocks (outside of energy). Instead, many names are down so much they have become oversold stocks.
I want to make an important point: Oversold conditions can become even more oversold in the coming weeks and potentially months. Just like in a bull market, overbought stocks can become even more overbought. It’s why traders shouldn’t sell stocks short just because they have rallied a lot.
In that context, investors shouldn’t buy stocks simply because they have fallen a lot. As growth investors can attest, down 40% or down 50% can quickly turn into down 70% or down 80%.
That said, the companies that have promising platforms, strong businesses (and ideally both) should be combed over amid this bear market. In the face of all this selling, these oversold stocks become hidden gems.
Ticker | Company | Current Price |
DIS | Disney | $96.84 |
SHOP | Shopify | $367.89 |
NFLX | Netflix | $185.69 |
Oversold Stocks to Buy: Disney (DIS)
Disney (NYSE:DIS) is being dragged down with the rest of the streaming space, like Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU). However, that doesn’t seem reasonable, especially with Disney stock down more than 50% from its all-time high.
Overall, in the space of just a couple of years, the company has built a robust streaming platform with Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+. For just Disney+ alone, the company has 137.7 million subscribers. In all, the company has more than 205 million direct-to-consumer subscribers.
There is a future in video consumption and clearly, Disney has firmly staked its position near the top. Outside of streaming, though, it has one of the world’s most successful hospitality businesses with its Parks and Experiences unit. Now that the economy is getting back into full swing, travel is booming and the parks are coming back to life. Combined with its streaming unit, Disney has built a formidable multi-pronged business for the very long term.
Furthermore, earnings and revenue are roaring back to life, with full year 2022 estimates calling for 92% and 34.5% growth, respectively. So, if we revisit the Covid low near $80, bulls may want to look very closely at this stock.
Shopify (SHOP)
High-growth stocks have been the focal point of the bear market. Investors should take care when buying the dips in downtrends, but Shopify is in an interesting situation after more than 80% and ahead of its 10-for-1 stock split.
In turn, the stock has been hanging around $300 lately, which was support in 2019 and the low during the Covid-19 selloff. From that perspective — that of technical analysis — Shopify has a reasonable risk/reward setup.
Upon further inspection, other qualities are popping up as well. For instance, analysts expect 25.6% revenue growth this year, then 30.3%, 27.5% and 20.6% revenue growth in each of the next three years through 2025.
On top of that, Shopify has positive earnings and is growing its bottom line significantly faster. Granted, these are just estimates and Shopify still faces headwinds. But after such a big pullback, many of these risks seem accounted for. Thus, as a seemingly oversold stock, SHOP stock is one to watch.
Oversold Stocks to Buy: Netflix (NFLX)
Another streaming giant, Netflix has been discarded as if it’s a worthless asset with a terrible platform. Netflix may have been a terrible value proposition near $700, but now trading near $185, we have to reevaluate things.
Netflix is forecast to generate just 9.2% revenue growth this year and next year, while earnings are forecast to be down slightly this year. On the plus side, analysts still expect the firm to generate roughly $11 per share in profit, leaving NFLX stock trading at…16 times earnings. Can that be right?
That’s right! The stock that has been notoriously flamed for its nose-bleed valuation for years is now suddenly cheaper than the S&P 500. Its earnings may not be the same quality as Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT), but at this price, we need to seriously examine Netflix.
The company doesn’t have robust growth at the moment, but it’s an undisputed champion of streaming video. With 222 million paying households worldwide, Netflix simply shouldn’t be ignored. If Netflix cracks down on password sharing and/or incorporates ad-based revenue — either on its own or via a tie-up with Roku — then there could be notable long-term value here.
On the date of publication, Bret Kenwell held a long position in ROKU. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.