The past 19 months have been historic for Wall Street and investors. They've witnessed the quickest decline of at least 30% in history for the broad-based S&P 500, and reveled in the strongest bounce-back from a bear-market bottom of all time. Since hitting its trough in March 2020, the benchmark index doubled.
But according to some Wall Street analysts and investment banks, the upside potential for a number of supercharged growth stocks is just beginning. Based on the highest issued price forecast from Wall Street, the following four high-growth companies could see their shares gain 105% to as much as 192% over the next year.
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Tesla Motors: Implied upside of 105%
The first supercharged stock that could more than double over the next 12 months, according to one technology-focused firm, is electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Tesla Motors (TSLA 12.06%). Elazar Advisors offers the Street-high price target of $1,591, which implies up to 105% upside for the already richly valued auto stock.
Tesla is at the center of what looks to be a no-brainer growth opportunity. Developed markets worldwide are aiming to battle climate change, and promoting the use of EVs is one of the most demonstrable ways to reduce fossil fuel use. While it remains to be seen if semiconductor chip shortages will adversely affect the company's output, as of now Tesla looks to be on track to deliver more than 800,000 EVs this year. With two additional gigafactories in the works, Tesla's vision of building and delivering millions of EVs annually is within reach.
Investors also have to be pleased with the company's blowout second-quarter operating results. For more than a year, Tesla had relied on selling renewable energy credits or one-time asset sales to generate a profit. The June-ended quarter marked the first time Tesla produced an operating profit just from selling EVs.
However, a $1,591 price target in 12 months is probably asking a bit much. Looking past the growing likelihood that chip shortages will adversely affect Tesla's output, the bigger issue for the company is that more established automakers are spending big on EV and autonomous research. General Motors and Ford Motor Company are expected to dole out $35 billion and $30 billion, respectively, to each launch 30 new EVs worldwide by 2025. There's a very good chance that what competitive advantages Tesla does hold, with regard to battery capacity, range, and power, will dissipate within the next couple of years.
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Western Digital: Implied upside of 145%
Another supercharged growth stock that offers some very sneaky value is storage solutions specialist Western Digital (WDC -0.53%). Analyst Mehdi Hosseini of Susquehanna International reiterated his company's buy rating on Western Digital in early August, which also comes with a price target of $140. If this forecast proves accurate, shares of Western Digital could soar 145% over the coming year.
The beauty of Western Digital's operating model is that it offers shorter-term and long-run catalysts. Over the next six to 12 months, the company should benefit from a still young video game console replacement cycle and an increase in demand for notebooks and personal computers. New consoles tend to hit the market every five years, with each successive generation requiring beefed-up storage capacity. Meanwhile, the pandemic has confined some workers and students to their homes, which has lifted demand for PCs.
As a shareholder of Western Digital, I'm far more excited about the company's long-term opportunity in data centers. With hybrid work environments thriving and businesses pushing more data into the cloud, the need for storage is greater than it's even been. Over time, I expect we'll see data centers shift to NAND flash solutions, which should give Western Digital quite the margin boost.
The biggest concern for Western Digital has long been the potential for storage solution oversupply. But over the next 12 months, global supply chain shortages might be its biggest threat. If tech and industrial companies continue to run into supply chain issues, Western Digital probably has no chance of hitting Susquehanna's lofty price target.
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Trulieve Cannabis: Implied upside of 192%
With few exceptions, Wall Street believes the needle is pointing markedly higher for most U.S. marijuana stocks. In particular, analyst Pablo Zuanic of Cantor Fitzgerald sees significant upside for multistate operator (MSO) Trulieve Cannabis (TCNNF 2.03%). If Zuanic's Street-high target of $81 hits the mark, Trulieve could nearly triple over the next 12 months.
The biggest differentiating factor for Trulieve is the company's approach to expansion. Whereas most MSOs have been planting their flag in over a dozen legalized states, Trulieve has, until recently, almost exclusively focused its efforts on medical marijuana-legal Florida. It recently opened its 91st dispensary in the Sunshine State.
By canvassing Florida, the company was able to effectively build up brand awareness without having to spend a fortune on marketing. As a result, Trulieve has been profitable on a recurring basis for over three years, and it's gobbled up approximately half of the Sunshine State's dried cannabis flower and oils market share.
Looking further down the road, Trulieve's biggest catalyst is the acquisition of MSO Harvest Health & Recreation, which officially closed this past Friday, Oct. 1. As a combined company, Trulieve now has 149 operating dispensaries in 11 states.
However, the real treasure of this deal is the 15 dispensaries Harvest Health was operating in its home market of Arizona. The Grand Canyon State voted to legalize adult-use cannabis in November 2020 and commenced sales two months later. Arizona is a potential billion-dollar market, and Trulieve is now in the driver's seat.
An $81 price target is probably too aggressive over the next year, but I do foresee ample long-term upside for Trulieve Cannabis.
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Roku: Implied upside of 107%
Lastly, at least one lesser-known Wall Street entity sees streaming television platform Roku (ROKU 0.15%) more than doubling in value over the next 12 months. According to Cannonball Research, Roku is forecast to hit $650 a share.
Although Roku operates under two segments, Platform and Player, it's the Platform division that's the company's biggest growth driver.
To begin with, Roku should continue to benefit from ongoing cord-cutting and traditional content-provider avoidance. A report issued by NScreenMedia.com in the first quarter found that the number of U.S. homes with cable, satellite, or telco TV had declined from 96.9 million in the first quarter of 2017 to just 75.6 million by Q1 2021.
Meanwhile, the number of homes without cable, satellite, or telco TV more than tripled to 50.4 million in the early portion of 2021, compared to 2014. This is a plain-as-day opportunity for Roku to hook new users with streaming content that they can control.
More importantly, Roku sits at the center of a digital programmatic ad revolution. Advertisers are wising up and shifting some of their budget away from traditional content providers in favor of streaming service providers. As its number of active accounts grows (55.1 million, as of June 30), so does the appeal of advertising with Roku.
The latest quarter delivered a 46% year-over-year increase in average revenue per user, which is incredibly impressive considering that streaming hours on the platform grew by a more modest 19% from the prior-year period.
The company has international ambitions, too. Since users only need a Roku streaming device to get started, the company has begun looking to some of Europe's biggest markets (U.K., France, and Germany) as its next big opportunity.
As with Trulieve, the arrow looks to be pointing higher with Roku, although hitting Wall Street's loftiest price target in a year is unlikely.
