The stock market has been in a bit of a slump lately, and growth stocks have been the main driver of the declines. The tech-heavy Nasdaq has been the worst performer of the three major indices (by far), and some excellent growth stocks have fallen by 10%, 20%, or more from their recent highs.
However, broad market pullbacks like this are good opportunities to shop for bargains. So, here are three stocks in particular -- all of which I own in my personal portfolio -- that look like excellent values for patient long-term investors right now.
Image source: Getty Images.
Unanswered questions have hurt this social media stock
Down by about 40% from its 52-week high, social media company Pinterest (PINS 1.78%) looks like an interesting opportunity right now.
The reason for the decline is simple. The company's U.S. user base actually declined year over year, as more people than expected disengaged from the platform due to the economic reopening. And to be sure, this is a concern worth watching. Whether user growth will resume later in the year or not is a big question mark hanging over the company.
However, it's important to realize that while user growth is certainly important, the real opportunity is monetizing the current user base, particularly in non-U.S. markets. Pinterest's international users make up about 80% of the total, but the average international user generates just 7% of the revenue of the average U.S. user.
Pinterest has done a great job of narrowing the gap (it was just 5% as recently as the third quarter of 2020), but there's still a big opportunity here. And if Pinterest can double or triple its international monetization, it would likely be a big win for investors.
This insurance disruptor has a massive opportunity, despite short-term headwinds
Lemonade (LMND 2.12%) has been one of the worst-performing stocks in my portfolio lately and is down by more than two-thirds since reaching its all-time high in January. And to be fair, there are some good reasons. For example, bad winter storms led to higher-than-expected losses for the insurance company in recent quarters, and we don't yet have a timetable for the rollout of Lemonade's promising car insurance product.
However, Lemonade is a leading disruptor in an industry that really needs to be disrupted, and it's doing a better job than its competitors. By focusing on younger customers and low-cost renters insurance, Lemonade was able to build a customer base of more than 1 million people faster than any of the household name legacy insurers were able to.
Most of them love the company's product and service, and will eventually graduate to (more expensive) homeowners insurance, and whenever Lemonade Car -- the auto insurance product -- rolls out, Lemonade has a massive and satisfied group of drivers to sell it to.
This company can dominate a $2 trillion industry
Real estate services company Zillow (ZG 1.75%)(Z 1.88%) is down a staggering 60% from its 52-week high, and there's simply no good reason for the decline. The company's core business is still growing rapidly, with 70% year-over-year revenue growth in the second quarter, and is quite profitable.
However, the real reason I added Zillow to my own portfolio recently is because of the massive potential of Zillow Offers, the company's iBuying business. In a nutshell, iBuying refers to companies buying homes directly from owners, making some cosmetic repairs, and reselling them directly to sellers. This eliminates the biggest pain points from the home selling process (showings, negotiations, etc.) and allows the seller to control the timeframe.
There are roughly 6 million homes sold annually in the United States, and at the current median sale price, this translates to more than $2 trillion in volume. Zillow's 229 million unique monthly users and its head start in algorithmically valuing real estate (the Zestimate) give it a big advantage over competitors. We recently learned that iBuying is starting to gain serious traction, reaching a 1% share of the housing market for the first time, and if this trend continues, Zillow's current $22 billion valuation could end up seeming very cheap.
Be patient with stocks like these
As a final thought, while it can be tempting to buy stocks like these with the hope that they'll quickly rebound to their recent highs, that's the wrong way to approach them. I have absolutely no idea what their stock prices will do in the next few weeks or months, and it's entirely possible they could go down more -- say, if they miss third-quarter earnings expectations.
However, these are three well-run businesses with fantastic growth opportunities, and I'm quite confident that investors who are willing to wait will be glad they bought at these levels. Just be prepared to ride out a bit of a roller coaster ride in the meantime.
