President Joe Biden has only been in office for a little over three weeks, but the stars are aligning for a monstrous rally in the stock market.
According to commentary from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, the nation's central bank has every intention of keeping lending rates at or near historic lows through 2023. It'll accomplish this by targeting an historically low federal funds rate of 0% to 0.25% and by purchasing Treasury bonds on a monthly basis. Since bond prices and yields move inversely to one another, buying bonds should help push down long-term yields.
At the same time, the Biden administration isn't being shy about pushing for fiscal stimulus. Biden's $1.9 trillion economic stimulus would come atop the well-over $3 trillion in fiscal stimulus approved during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis in 2020.
Now that companies will have abundant access to cheap capital, the red carpet will be rolled out for growth stocks. In particular, the following five sizzling growth stocks look to be the perfect additions to investors' portfolios for a Biden bull market.
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Okta
The potential for exceptional economic growth in the years to come should provide a huge boost to the cybersecurity industry and companies like Okta (OKTA -0.65%). Keep in mind that cybersecurity solutions aren't simply an optional feature anymore. With more businesses than ever moving their data into the cloud, cybersecurity in all forms has become a basic-need service.
Okta's specialty is leaning on its cloud-native identity-verification platform to detect threats. Okta's vast portfolio of products utilize artificial intelligence to grow smarter over time at identifying these human and robot-based threats. Best of all, since it was created in the cloud, Okta's solutions can more effectively respond to hacking attempts than on-premises security solutions.
The other thing investors will love about Okta is that 95% of its revenue is derived from high-margin subscription revenue. Subscriptions tend to produce predictable cash flow and are an important tool with regard to client retention.
After growing sales at an estimated 40% in 2020, Okta has the ability to double its sales roughly every three years this decade.
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EverQuote
The insurance advertising industry is huge. However, it's just beginning to scratch the surface with regard to utilizing the web as a tool to attract new customers. EverQuote (EVER 5.46%) is an online insurance marketplace where prospective customers can compare pricing and purchase policies. Over the next couple of years, digital insurance ad spend is going to handily outpace traditional insurance industry spending. That alone could make this a sizzling growth stock.
The beauty of online insurance marketplaces is that they're a win-win for everyone involved. Consumers get the ability to quickly peruse policies and prices. As for insurers, they get access to motivated shoppers at a potentially cheaper rate than broad-based advertising would offer.
Although EverQuote generates most of its revenue from auto insurers, it's used acquisitions to expand into new verticals. This includes home and renters insurance, as well as life and health insurance. Between 2016 and 2019, these newer verticals averaged compound annual sales growth of 127%.
EverQuote is the type of company that'll thrive in a price-competitive marketplace under the Biden administration.
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Zoom Video Communications
Another growth stock that could be looking for an encore performance with Biden in the White House is web-conferencing giant Zoom Video Communications (ZM 0.05%).
There's no denying that Zoom was a core beneficiary of the COVID-19 pandemic last year. With the traditional work environment upended, businesses large and small turned to web conferencing to have discussions and advance projects. After beginning 2020 with a midpoint full-year forecast of $910 million in sales, Zoom is likely to have generated $2.58 billion in revenue by year-end. (The company will report its fourth-quarter operating results on March 1, 2021.)
What's more, this isn't just new clients driving sales through the roof. In each of the past 10 quarters, the company's net dollar expansion rate has topped 130%. Put another way, existing clients are spending at least 30% more on a year-over-year basis. The ability to retain these clients and scale with them is Zoom's ticket to incredible growth.
We've gotten a taste of what work-from-home looks like, and I can confidently say it's not going away. Zoom controls an estimated 43% of the U.S. web-conferencing market, and that should translate into a market-topping performance over the next four years.
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Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Healthcare stocks also have a chance to really thrive in a Biden bull market. One high-growth company with ample upside is specialty-drug developer Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX -1.02%).
While there are hundreds of drug developers that investors can choose to buy, what separates Vertex from the pack is its overwhelming success in creating multiple next-generation treatments for patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). CF is a genetic disease characterized by thick mucus production that can obstruct the lungs and pancreas.
The newest treatment from Vertex is combination therapy Trikafta, which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration a cool five months ahead of its scheduled decision date. It easily met its primary endpoint in late-stage clinical trials (an improvement in forced expiratory volume compared to a placebo), and it tackles the most common CF gene mutation. Though it typically takes newly launched drugs at least a year to hit $1 billion in annual sales, Trikafta achieved this mark in a matter of months.
Vertex is very profitable, has a history of clinical success in tough-to-treat indications, and hasn't been shy about its plans to go shopping in the immediate future to broaden its portfolio.
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Alphabet
Fifth and finally, a big rebound in the U.S. economy with Biden in office should be music to the ears of advertising-giant Alphabet (GOOG 0.74%) (GOOGL 0.55%) -- the company behind internet search engine Google and streaming-platform YouTube.
It's no secret that advertisers will pull back on their spending during periods of economic turmoil. Thankfully, recessions are measured in mere months or quarters, whereas periods of expansion usually last many years.
When it comes to advertising on search platforms, Google is the kingpin. According to GlobalStats, Google's share of worldwide search-market share has ranged between 91% and 93% over the trailing year. This gives it exceptional ad-pricing power and makes it the preferred source for search-focused advertising.
But it's not just search that's driving Alphabet's growth. YouTube has become one of the three most visited social platforms in the world, and cloud-infrastructure services provider Google Cloud is the company's fastest-growing segment. Fourth-quarter sales at Cloud jumped 47% from the prior-year period, with the segment now sporting an annual revenue run rate north of $15 billion.
Since cloud margins usually trounce ad margins, Cloud should play a big role in expanding Alphabet's operating cash flow in the years to come.
