Growth stocks are supposed to...grow. It's right there in the name. The problem is that growth can come in fits and starts. And sometimes, it comes with downturns in share prices.
Those downturns can provide opportunities for investors who have a long-term perspective. Of course, the stocks that have fallen on hard times must still have strong prospects. The good news is that in many cases, previous high-flying stocks that tumble lower still do have the potential to bounce back. Here are three such beaten-down growth stocks to buy right now.
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Pinterest (PINS +2.58%) reported its second-quarter results last week. The social media stock promptly plunged close to 20%. It's now down 34% from the peak set earlier this year.
Investors were disappointed that Pinterest's monthly average users (MAUs) in the U.S. fell 5% year over year. Its global MAUs rose, but only by 9%. That's well below what analysts expected.
There was plenty of good news, though. Pinterest's second-quarter revenue more than doubled year over year. Average revenue per user (ARPU) soared 89%. The company also posted a solid profit.
Most importantly, Pinterest's underlying long-term prospects remain strong. The company is coming off an unusual year, to say the least, with the COVID-19 pandemic fueling ginormous growth. One disappointing quarter for user growth isn't a good reason to give up on Pinterest.
Pinterest's platform is still highly popular. The company continues to make solid progress toward increasing the monetization of the platform. Now appears to be a great opportunity to buy the stock at a significant discount.
Teladoc Health
Teladoc Health (TDOC +7.21%) is down nearly 50% below its highs from earlier in 2021. As is the case with Pinterest, some investors are worried about Teladoc's slowing growth rate.
However, the virtual care provider's recent Q2 results were better than you might think. Teladoc's big net loss was mainly related to acquisition-related expenses. Key metrics including revenue per member per month and utilization continue to improve.
There are several potential growth drivers for Teladoc in the near future. The company's major agreement with large health insurer HCSC should boost revenue beginning early next year. Teladoc also has new products such as Primary360 for personalized primary care that should be attractive to customers.
The virtual care market is still only in its infancy. Teladoc is the market leader and is solidifying its position by broadening the scope of its products and services. My view is that this stock should be a big winner over the long run.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX 0.46%) shares have fallen 16% below the January high for the biotech stock. There are a couple of reasons why Vertex's performance has been underwhelming.
First, the company missed Wall Street's earnings estimate for the fourth quarter of 2020. Second, Vertex's experimental alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) drug VX-864 wasn't effective enough in a phase 2 study to advance into late-stage testing.
However, there are also several reasons to buy Vertex right now. The company's cystic fibrosis (CF) drug Trikafta/Kaftrio should generate solid sales growth outside of the U.S. Vertex also has some promising pipeline candidates, notably including CTX001, the gene-editing therapy it's developing with CRISPR Therapeutics to treat rare blood disorders beta-thalassemia and sickle cell disease.
Thanks to its virtual monopoly in the CF market, Vertex's cash stockpile continues to grow. Look for the company to use its money to make more business development deals that further bolster its pipeline beyond CF.
