Has the omicron-fueled sell-off already run its course? Maybe or maybe not. Given Tuesday's sharp rebound, at the very least it's clear that investors aren't willing to simply throw in the towel at the first sign of trouble. The market is open for business as usual -- even if the current volatility is a bit unusual.
Yet not all stocks have fully recovered. Here are four great growth companies that were beaten down a bit by the recent market sell-off, making them relative bargains to new investors.
Palantir Technologies
It's not a household name, but Palantir Technologies (PLTR 0.56%) plays a crucial role in helping organizations handle the deluge of digital data they've been collecting for years now. A bunch of competitors operate in this arena, but Palantir's solutions are more than a means of turning information into insights. They go further, melding digital data with front-line activities like product deliveries, resource allocation, and even medical care.
Palantir's target market isn't just companies. It actually offers the sort of solutions that governments and their agencies need to be fully effective. For instance, the UK's National Health Service tapped Palantir to help manage its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the execution of its mass-vaccination effort.
This sort of higher-level capability can be utilized by a wide array of organizations, and they're increasingly doing so. Analysts see sales growing nearly 30% next year following this year's 40% increase. While the company is not profitable yet, progress is being made on that front -- making the shares' 26% slide this past month an even more compelling reason to consider jumping in.
Fortinet
Palantir may not be turning a profit yet, but cybersecurity specialist Fortinet (FTNT -2.17%) certainly is. The company has produced $435 million worth of operating income through the first three fiscal quarters of 2021, up 20% year over year, and is en route to what analysts expect will be a 17% gain in full-year earnings. Next year could be even better with forecasts of 19% revenue growth. At the same time, earnings per share are projected to reach $3.91 this year and $4.61 in 2022.
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With cybersecurity concerns abounding, there's little reason to think demand for these products will stop growing anytime soon. In fact, it could accelerate as the scope of the true risk continues to come into view. Cybersecurity Ventures estimates that cybercrime will cost the world around $6 trillion this year alone and -- assuming nothing is done to mitigate it -- that cost will grow at an annual pace of 15% to $10.5 trillion by 2025.
In other words, nobody can afford to simply do nothing; the world will have to invest in cyberdefense. So organizations will increasingly need solutions like Fortinet's zero trust network, which ensures that remote employees are connecting to a network securely, or its network firewall, which has earned the Gartner consultancy's top accolades for 12 years in a row. And that's just a sampling of how Fortinet has managed to grow its sales and profits so well.
While the shares have rebounded somewhat, they are still down 10% from their high last month.
Enphase Energy
Speaking of technologies the world is going to need for many years to come, add Enphase Energy (ENPH 0.62%) to your list. The solar power outfit is in the right place at the right time -- namely, on the cusp of explosive demand for renewable energy with solar at the forefront. The Solar Energy Industries Association predicts that in the United States alone solar-power production capacity will more than triple over the next 10 years, making it the country's fastest-growing source of electricity over that time frame.
That said, it's important to note that Enphase Energy's value isn't as a solar panel manufacturer; for better or worse, that area has evolved into a commodity-type business. Rather, Enphase's edge within the fast-growing solar power market is its technology. The company's combination of power inverters, system management apps, and power-storage solutions solves many of the biggest problems that corporations and consumers will face as they transition to solar power.
Plus, Enphase has over 400 patents or pending patents to help keep it (and its hardware) ahead of the competition. So with the stock down some 20% from its high, investors would do well to take a closer look.
DexCom
Finally, investors on the hunt for growth stocks may want to consider DexCom (DXCM 0.10%), a maker of continuous glucose monitoring systems (GMS) used by diabetics. The stock is anything but cheap, trading at nearly 200 times this year's expected per-share profits. But this is a company that deserves premium pricing.
That's because of its technology. While it's not the market leader -- that honor still belongs to Abbott Laboratories -- never say never. DexCom's G6 system is the world's "first real-time, integrated CGM that is authorized to work interoperably with a range of connected insulin pen and closed loop system partners." Translation: It's a very flexible device that allows users to integrate other tech and help diabetics better manage their condition.
With its leading-edge G6 system, DexCom should be able to grow at a healthy pace in the highly fragmented and fast-growing glucose monitoring field. Global Market Insights estimates this segment will grow at a 10% annual clip through at least 2027 as more and more diabetics graduate from using the much less convenient finger pricks and paper test strips.
Analysts expect DexCom's revenue will grow 27% this year and 22% next year. That, together with a stock that is still 15% off the highs it reached in mid-November, makes for an investment well worth investors' attention.
