Are you considering following the investing crowd that likes to "sell in May and go away?"
Don't be so quick to embrace the axiom. While there's some statistical support for the investing theory that stocks don't perform well between May and October, a small handful of horrific years skews the average summertime return downward. In a normal, bullish environment, the next few months could be just as progressive as any other time of year. And for the right stocks, things could be even better.
With that in mind, here are three great growth stocks to buy this month not despite their recent stumbles, but because of them.
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1. Entegris
Last month, for the first time in seven quarters, Entegris' (ENTG -4.08%) reported earnings that fell short of analysts' consensus estimates. Its Q1 top line came up short of expectations as well, though it did grow by 24% year over year. The company's Q2 guidance for earnings per share in the range of $0.77 to $0.82 on revenue of between $530 million and $545 million is more or less what analysts were modeling, and well up from year-ago earnings of $0.60 per share and sales of $448.4 million. But investors couldn't get past the earnings miss, perhaps wondering if this supplier to the technology market is being stymied by the chip shortage that's working directly against outfits like Texas Instruments and Intel.
It's a worry, however, that erroneously overlooks the true dynamic of a tight supply of semiconductors.
See, the shortage is linked to incredible demand. This means Entegris is doing just as much business as it was doing before the pandemic disrupted supply lines, which is a lot. Indeed, if anything, the company is enjoying stronger demand as chipmakers and users of technological components attempt to offset the shortage by optimizing their production yields and improving existing technologies; that's where an advanced materials and process solutions company like this one can make a big difference. As my fellow Motley Fool contributor Lee Samaha explained last week, investors should "think of the current boom as pulling forward a year of sales for Entegris."
That thesis is borne out in the numbers. Despite last quarter's disappointing results, analysts believe the company is on pace to grow revenue by nearly 17% this year, with profits improving by nearly 25%.
2. Align Technology
Align Technology (ALGN -0.98%) may not be a household name yet, but there's a good chance someone you know is using or has used its product. It's one of the top companies making and marketing invisible dental braces. You may know it better as Invisalign.
The coronavirus created significant logistical problems for the company as dental offices contributed to the contagion-reduction effort by largely limiting themselves to emergencies and must-do procedures. Unlike its competitor SmileDirectClub, Align Technology's Invisalign solution requires a trip to a dentist to have one's teeth scanned; it's not offered through a so-called SmileShop or through the use of an at-home dental impression kit.
Consumers do seem to prefer having their personal dentists involved in this sort of work, however. With the COVID-19 pandemic abating and dental practices inching back toward normal operations, Align's first-quarter revenue was not only up 62% year over year, but reached a record-breaking $895 million. Analysts are expecting comparable growth levels for the rest of this year, and while sales growth should eventually slow down, the market's still looking for double-digit percentage top-line growth through next year. Profit growth should be even better.
The stock price is off 7% from last week's high, but that sell-off looks more like a little profit-taking than a warning sign. The undertow here is still plenty bullish.
3. The Trade Desk
Finally, add The Trade Desk (TTD -4.42%) to your list of growth stocks to buy before we get much further into the month of May.
For the unfamiliar, The Trade Desk offers the advertising industry a cloud-based software platform that helps optimize digital ad-buying. More than just a way to purchase programmatic and traditional advertising inventory, it incorporates campaign management tools and consumer data to ensure advertisers get the most bang for their buck.
Not only has the pandemic not been a problem for the company, it has arguably accelerated The Trade Desk's growth. Last year, revenue grew by 26%, nearly doubling per-share operating profits. The analyst community anticipates sales growth of 35% this year, with the rebounding economy spurring stronger spending on marketing. While these same analysts are calling for an earnings lull in 2021, know that this company hasn't failed to top earnings estimates in any quarter since 2017. The current consensus outlook may still underestimate what's actually in store.
What's curious is the stock's relatively poor performance since it peaked in December. While much of the 28% price pullback since then can be chalked up to profit-taking stemming from the 600% run-up from last year's low to December's high, it's not as if the company isn't doing incredibly well.
Given this backstory, it's not difficult to think shares of this growth stock are closer to a major low than not.
