Want to have a really happy new year? Invest now in stocks that are likely to really take off in 2022. Granted, that's easier said than done. There's no way to know for sure which stocks will perform well in the future.
However, you can get some ideas from the analysts getting paid big bucks to research companies from top to bottom. Here are three growth stocks that will skyrocket 50% or more in 2022, according to Wall Street.
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1. Sea Limited
The consensus 12-month price target for Sea Limited (SE 4.77%) reflects an upside potential of 89%. Sea wasn't too far away from achieving that target in October. However, the stock has plunged more than 40% from its high -- in part due to the company badly missing Q3 earnings expectations but mainly because of the overall sell-off of growth stocks.
Sea's past success has been primarily driven by its Free Fire mobile game. Although Free Fire was launched four years ago, it's still the highest-grossing mobile game in India, Latin America,and Southeast Asia, according to App Annie. It has also been the highest-grossing mobile battle royale game in the U.S. for three consecutive quarters. Sea expects even more growth as it rolls out new features.
But don't think of Sea Limited as just a video game stock. The company's Shopee e-commerce platform dominates in the Southeast Asia and Taiwan markets. It's also made significant headway in Latin America.
Sea also has SeaMoney. It's a top digital payments and financial services provider in Southeast Asia. In the third quarter of 2021, SeaMoney's total payment volume more than doubled year over year.
Gaming, e-commerce, and digital payments are all strong growth markets. There aren't many companies that have the potential to win in all three, but Sea Limited could.
2. Teladoc Health
Teladoc Health's (TDOC 3.53%) shares are down more than 50% year to date. But Wall Street thinks this virtual care leader could rebound in a major way in 2022. The consensus price target for Teladoc reflects an upside potential of nearly 66%.
Why has Teladoc fallen so much? One main factor is that some investors thought that the end of COVID-19 lockdowns would lead to slowing growth. While Teladoc did experience some slowing, its business continues to perform very well.
The company's near-term prospects look quite good. Teladoc's contract with HCSC, the fifth-biggest health insurer in the U.S., goes into effect in January 2022. Primary360, Teladoc's virtual primary care service, also continues to gain momentum.
Teladoc's long-term prospects should be even better. We're still only in the early innings of the adoption of virtual care. Sure, there are other companies competing against Teladoc. However, the company has a wider moat than you might think as the largest player in the industry.
3. PayPal
PayPal Holdings (PYPL 1.77%) has fallen more in recent months than it has since the fintech stock first traded publicly as a stand-alone entity in 2015. Analysts think this decline will be only temporary, though. The consensus price target for PayPal is 50% higher than its current share price.
Wall Street's optimism could be well-founded. PayPal ranks as the most accepted digital wallet in the world. More than 75% of the top 1,500 biggest merchants allow customers to pay with PayPal. As e-commerce grows, so will PayPal.
New features should enable PayPal to gain even more momentum. The app's cryptocurrency wallet has been a big hit. PayPal plans to launch high-yield savings to the app in early 2022.
PayPal's Venmo mobile payment app should also enjoy a significant boost next year. Amazon.com will allow customers to make purchases with their Venmo accounts beginning in 2022.
