A lot of stocks have started to bounce back since this year's fierce sell-off bottomed out (at least temporarily) last month. But some investments have really put the pedal to the metal in climbing higher.
Carvana (CVNA 1.16%), Wayfair (W -1.90%), and Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (RRGB 3.64%) are among the handful of stocks that have gone on to more than triple off their March lows. Let's go over each of these three volatile investments that have pieced together monster rallies over the past few weeks.
A Carvana vending machine. Image source: Carvana.
Carvana
One of last year's biggest winners was Carvana, nearly tripling with its 181% pop in 2019. Selling cars may not seem like an exciting endeavor, but Carvana has been able to disrupt auto retailing with its game-changing approach to selling used cars. Customer-friendly policies and eye-catching nine-story glass-enclosed auto vending machines at some of its locations provide a differentiated experience that's clearly resonating with buyers of secondhand vehicles.
Revenue soared 89% in Carvana's latest quarter, ending its streak of 23 consecutive periods of triple-digit top-line gains. But that's obviously the kind of octane that any car seller would love to be powered by in this iffy climate. Carvana's popularity is refreshing in the moribund industry. It saw an 82% increase in the number of vehicles sold in its latest quarter, and the gross profit per unit continues to expand on a year-over-year basis.
Auto ownership trends aren't kind, and that was the case even before the pandemic slowdown. Cars last longer. Younger potential drivers aren't as passionate about the ownership experience. The popularity of ridesharing apps and improvements in mass transit make having a car less of a priority. Carvana is still taking market share even if the pie itself is shrinking, and that's been enough to see it rolling since shifting out of reverse last month.
Wayfair
Another stock with a monster recovery after last month's sell-off was Wayfair. The online retailer of furniture and other home goods has seen revenue decelerate in five of the past six quarters, but the 26% uptick in its latest report is still a show of strength.
Selling furniture may seem like an old-school business, but Wayfair is a tech company at heart. It mines product data and aggregate customer shopping behavior to serve up the products that you are likely looking for first. From visual search, where folks can take photos of items they're looking for, to computer vision tech that uses augmented reality to embed product images into where you want them to go, Wayfair is more than just an online retailer.
You're probably also spending a lot more time at home, casting a critical eye on pieces you crave or existing furniture you would like to replace.
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers
The last thing one would expect to see on the move is a restaurant chain, especially one like Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, which relies on its dining room experience for a casual-dining approach to dolled-up burgers. Red Robin is feeling the pain of the coronavirus interruption, and that's rough for a company that was starting to turn the corner with positive comps in the months before the shutdown.
Most Red Robin locations are still there for takeout and third-party delivery orders, but business has fallen dramatically. Comps for the second week of April were down a staggering 65%. The big reason Red Robin is singing again is that the stock was pummeled when it tumbled to the mid single digits last month. Despite tripling already, it would have to nearly triple from here to get back to where it was when 2020 started. The sell-off in the stock -- like one of its burgers left cooking for too long -- was simply overdone.
Carvana, Wayfair, and Red Robin may not seem like top stocks, but over the past few weeks, it's hard to find stocks that have been hotter.
