You might not like what I'm about to say, but stock market crashes and corrections are a natural part of the investing cycle and the price you pay to take part in the greatest wealth creator on the planet.
Last week, investors were once again reminded that a stock market crash or correction can occur without warning. But the good news is, every single crash in history has proved an opportunity to buy into high-quality stocks at a discount. That's because the broader market rises over the long-term and eventually puts all sizable corrections the rearview mirror.
With that being said, you don't need to start with a fortune to make game-changing wealth on Wall Street. If you have, say, $1,000 at your disposal that won't be needed to cover emergencies or pay bills, that's more than enough to buy into the following three explosive stocks during a stock market crash.
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Okta
While I'm not a big fan of changing up your investing game plan due to a short-term correction, it's pretty evident that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is going to push businesses and consumers online with increased frequency in the months and years to come. That represents a massive opportunity for cybersecurity companies like Okta (OKTA -0.69%) that are going to be tasked with protecting enterprise data.
Okta's secret to success is the company's broad suite of identity verification solutions. Okta's product portfolio is designed to grow with its clients. That's important because the juiciest margins for Okta can be had from existing clients spending more. In one of the most challenging quarters in decades for the U.S. economy, Okta manage subscription revenue growth of 44%.
Okta is also going to benefit from identity verification being a basic-need service. No matter how well or poorly the economy is performing, criminals and robots designed to steal enterprise data don't take a day off. This provides Okta with cash flow stability to go along with its mammoth cash pile of $2.5 billion, as of the end of July.
Investors should count on tech stocks like Okta to deliver consistent double-digit growth.
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Alexion Pharmaceuticals
Another explosive growth stock that investors can buy with confidence during a stock market crash is drug developer Alexion Pharmaceuticals (ALXN).
Alexion stands out from the crowd for one big reason: It's an ultra-rare-disease drug developer. While there's plenty of risk in developing therapies to treat a very small patient pool, the rewards can be enormous, if successful. Alexion rarely faces any competition in the indications it targets, and health insurers offer little pushback on high list prices since there are no other treatment options. It's the perfect formula for success.
Alexion is also benefiting from its innovation. For more than a decade, it's relied on its blockbuster drug Soliris as its profit driver. However, with concerns mounting about exclusivity, Alexion developed Ultomiris as its replacement. Ultomiris only needs to be administered once every eight weeks, as opposed to every two weeks with Soliris. In the most recent quarter, Alexion reported a more-than-tripling in Soliris' sales to $289 million, with Ultomiris becoming the new standard-of-care for patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria.
Because rare-disease patients require their medicine regardless of how the U.S. economy is performing, Alexion's cash flow is rock-solid.
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Broadcom
When the next stock market crash arrives, don't overlook chipmaker Broadcom (AVGO 3.84%), which should be riding high on two major catalysts for at least the next five years.
The hook for investors when it comes to Broadcom is the company's production of 5G wireless chips and other accessories currently being used in next-generation smartphones. Telecom companies are in the process of rolling out wireless infrastructure upgrades across the country. This won't happen overnight, meaning Broadcom should see a steady uptick in demand for its smartphone solutions for years to come. Remember, this is the first significant upgrade to wireless download speeds in a decade, so don't underestimate consumer and enterprise demand during this tech upgrade cycle.
Broadcom will also benefit from the aforementioned push online and into the cloud by businesses. With the traditional work environment upended by the COVID-19 pandemic, and consumers favoring the online buying process, demand for data storage via data centers should continue to climb. As a provider of connectivity chips used in data centers, Broadcom should see healthy growth for its products.
Though Broadcom's sales growth isn't going to cause any jaws to drop, its scale and improving operating efficiency should allow profit growth to handily outpace revenue expansion.
