If investing for your future is one of your intended New Year's resolutions, it might be a good idea to act now instead of waiting for the calendar to flip to the next page. There are some beaten-down tech stocks out there with operations that are mostly performing beyond expectations.
We can thank the Federal Reserve and its recent warning to expect up to three interest-rate hikes in 2022 for the poor performances. These stocks are way down, partly because higher interest rates are bad news for stocks, in general. High-growth stocks get extra-rough treatment because it's easier to build up a new business with easy access to cheap capital.
All three of these high-growth stocks have what it takes to overcome rate rises that may or may not happen in 2022. Here's why they could outperform no matter what the Fed throws at us next year.
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SoFi Technologies
SoFi Technologies (SOFI 3.69%) shares have fallen around 34% over the past month. The latest drop brings the volatile fintech stock down to around 41% from the all-time high it reached in January.
SoFi stock has been pummeled over the past month because its early investors took some of their money off the table. On Nov. 15, the company told investors that 50 million shares, or around 6% of all SoFi's existing shares, would be sold in a non-dilutive secondary offering. A few days later, Chamath Palihapitiya sold 15% of his stake in SoFi in order to free up some capital for other ventures.
This is an excellent opportunity to buy a top fintech stock at a relative discount. The stock tumbled, but the business is stronger than ever. SoFi boasted it had 2.9 million members on Sep. 30, 2021, which was a gain of 96% year over year.
Optionality is what makes this stock so attractive for long-term growth investors. SoFi got its start in 2011 by helping indebted college graduates refinance their student loans. It's still an important part of the business, but new checking accounts and credit cards drove 79% of new-member growth in the third quarter.
At the end of September, only around 13% of the company's 2.9 million members had refinanced student loans with SoFi. It's hard to imagine accelerating growth from a bank already growing members this quickly, but it could happen in 2022. A new banking charter is expected any day now and could open a lot more doors for this already successful fintech.
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StoneCo
StoneCo (STNE 5.01%) shares are down by around 46% over the past month. Now the stock is more than 82% below the all-time high mark it set this spring.
Shares of this Brazillian fintech were hit hard in response to a disappointing third-quarter earnings report that missed expectations. Weak underwriting and an overreliance on a flawed national registry system used to collateralize loans led to some heavy losses.
StoneCo's mission is to serve Brazillian entrepreneurs at a disadvantage due to their size and geography. Recent underwriting blunders aside, it's been incredibly successful. If we exclude temporary coronavoucher payments, the total payment volume processed in the first nine months of 2021 soared 50.5%, compared to the previous-year period.
Once adjusted for non-cash items, like the giant write-down for misguided loans, the company reported 238 million reais ($41.9 million) of free cash flow during the third quarter. As the leading payment processor for small- and medium-sized businesses in Brazil, StoneCo will most likely return to profitability in 2022. It won't happen overnight, but patient investors will probably get to see the stock price return to its former glory.
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Amyris
Amyris (AMRS -33.33%) shares were beaten down severely following a disappointing third-quarter earnings report. Since the beginning of November, the synthetic-biology company has lost around 65% of its value.
Amyris produces high-value ingredients for health and beauty products in giant fermentation vats using proprietary microorganisms. Unfortunately, revenue from producing ingredients for other businesses is highly unpredictable and fell 30% year over year in the third quarter.
The company blamed supply-chain issues and sharply rising expenses associated with new-product launches for a loss from operations that widened from $55 million in the second quarter to $87 million in the third quarter. Investors can look forward to Amyris' bottom line entering positive territory soon. A new ingredients plant in Brazil is expected to begin producing early next year, and a new consumer-goods production facility in Reno, Nevada is expected to come online by the middle of 2022.
Just like its synthetic-biology peers, Amyris breeds specialized microbes that turn simple feedstocks such as sugar cane into high-value ingredients. Instead of relying on fickle third-party demand, though, Amyris is quickly becoming a leading health and beauty product business with its own brands. Biossance is already a popular line of skin moisturizers from Amyris, and more lines are growing quickly.
During the third quarter, Amyris launched a new cosmetic brand called Rose, in partnership with Rosie Huntington-Whitely, and JVN Hair, in partnership with Jonathan Van Ness. Sales of consumer brands during the week following Thanksgiving exceeded $10 million, which was more than double the company's performance a year earlier.
With lower internal expenses and soaring demand for its sustainably sourced products, this company's stock could deliver huge returns to patient investors in 2022 and beyond.
