When the page turns on 2021 in just 10 days, it'll almost certainly go down as another successful year for the broad-market indexes. Through this past weekend, the benchmark S&P 500 had gained 23% year to date, which is well above its historic average annual return.
But it's been a bit of a mixed year for growth stocks. While the FAANG stocks have held up well, quite a few of the high-growth innovators that thrived during the pandemic were pummeled this year. If you're looking for high-quality, beaten-down growth stocks to invest in, the following five could soar in 2022.
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Nio
Once an electric vehicle (EV) darling on Wall Street, China-based EV manufacturer Nio (NIO 2.30%) lost its charge this year. Through Dec. 19, shares of the company were lower by 38%.
Nio has been plagued for roughly half the year by supply chain issues (specifically semiconductor chip shortages) tied to the pandemic. However, with these supply issues beginning to resolve, Nio has a clear path to quickly boost its EV output and perhaps even push toward recurring profitability by the end of next year.
In November, we received a pretty big clue that supply chain issues weren't holding the company back any longer. Deliveries for the month hit 10,878, which works out to more than 130,000 EVs on an annual run rate basis. With the company aiming to introduce three new vehicles next year, as well as lift its annual run rate to 600,000 EVs by year's end, Nio's shares could well be electric.
Furthermore, don't overlook the importance of its battery-as-a-service (BaaS) program, which allows EV buyers to charge, swap, and upgrade their batteries. The BaaS service charges a recurring monthly fee and reduces the initial purchase price of Nio EVs. In exchange for giving up near-term revenue, the BaaS program will secure high-margin, long-term, fee-based revenue, and it'll provide added incentive for buyers to remain loyal to the Nio brand for a long time to come.
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Fastly
Edge cloud services provider Fastly (FSLY -1.12%) has been something of a train wreck in 2021. As of this past weekend, shares were lower by 53%, year to date.
Fastly's woes are the result of bigger-than-expected operating losses as headcount and marketing expenses ramped up, as well as a service outage in June that caused the company to lose a handful of customers. Though the luster may be temporarily removed from this pandemic highflier, the long-term growth thesis remains firmly in place.
Fastly is arguably best known as a content delivery network specialist. Its job is to ensure that content reaches end users as quickly and securely as possible. To that end, adjusted gross margin continues to hover around a juicy 60% (plus or minus 3%), and the company's total customer count keeps heading higher. With few exceptions, existing clients are consistently increasing their spending by a double-digit percentage on a year-over-year basis.
Fastly also happens to be a clear and obvious beneficiary of growth in the metaverse -- the next iteration of the internet that allows users to interact in 3D virtual environments. One of the most critical aspects of making the metaverse tick will be reducing latency. In other words, minimizing lag in data-driven virtual worlds will be key, and Fastly should be up to the task.
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Cresco Labs
Marijuana stocks started 2021 with a bang, but they've been an utter buzzkill since February. This is especially true for U.S. multi-state operator (MSO) Cresco Labs (CRLBF -4.11%), whose shares have fallen 32% this year.
Cannabis stocks like Cresco bolted higher earlier this year on the idea that newly elected President Joe Biden and a Democrat-led Congress would legalize pot at the federal level, or at worst pass cannabis banking reforms. Unfortunately, none of this has come to fruition and pot stock investors watched their early-year gains go up in smoke. Thankfully, federal legalization isn't a requirement for large-scale MSOs to thrive.
Cresco currently has 45 operating dispensaries, with many focused on high-dollar markets (Florida) or limited-license states (like Illinois and Ohio). Regulators in limited-license markets purposely cap the number of dispensary licenses issued in total, as well as to a single business. Since Cresco doesn't have a huge retail presence, this license limitation actually works in its favor. It's able to build up its brands and garner a loyal following without being overrun by a larger MSO.
What's more, Cresco Labs is the industry leader in wholesale cannabis. It holds a coveted cannabis distribution license in California, the leading market for weed sales in the world. This license allows the company to place its proprietary pot products into more than 575 dispensaries throughout the Golden State. Wholesale could be Cresco's key to reaching recurring profitability in 2022.
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Teladoc Health
Another popular pandemic play that's been beaten down in 2021 is Teladoc Health (TDOC 0.30%). The United States' leading telehealth provider has seen shares dive 51% this year, and at one point they fell more than 70% from their February 2021 all-time high.
The concerns with Teladoc center on its wider-than-expected losses following the acquisition of applied health signals company Livongo Health, as well as skepticism that its growth rates are sustainable with the worst of the coronavirus pandemic (perhaps) in the rearview mirror. However, neither of these issues disrupts or alters the long-term thesis for Teladoc.
For instance, Teladoc is completely changing the way personalized care is administered in the United States. It's offering a more convenient way for patients and doctors to connect, and making it much easier for physicians to keep tabs on chronically ill people. Ultimately, virtual visits can improve patient outcomes and lower healthcare costs, which is music to the ears of health insurers. Perhaps this is why Teladoc averaged 74% annual revenue growth in the six years leading up to the pandemic.
The buyout of Livongo is also a key differentiator. Livongo leans on artificial intelligence to send tips and nudges to people with chronic illnesses to help them lead healthier lives. Thus far, it's primarily been focused on people with diabetes. Looking ahead, Livongo will target its services to include those with hypertension and weight management issues. Teladoc and Livongo being able to cross-sell their services should make this among the fastest-growing healthcare companies this decade.
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A fifth beaten-down growth stock with the potential to soar in 2022 is social media platform Pinterest (PINS 0.43%). Shares are down nearly 45% this year, as of last weekend.
Pinterest's miserable performance in 2021 can be explained by its monthly active user (MAU) figures. After delivering blistering MAU growth throughout the pandemic, the company's second-quarter and third-quarter MAU figures have sequentially declined. This drop from a peak of 478 million MAUs at the end of the first quarter to 444 million MAUs by the end of Q3 hasn't sat well with Wall Street.
But there's another side to this story. Reset the binoculars to look at MAU growth over the past four or five years, and you'll see that user growth is still within historic norms. More importantly, Pinterest is generating incredible sales growth from monetizing its user base. Even though MAUs increased less than 1% in the third quarter, average revenue per user (ARPU) globally rose 37%, with international ARPU skyrocketing 81% from the prior-year period. This plainly shows that advertisers will pay big bucks to get their message in front of Pinterest's users.
There's also a clear path for Pinterest to become a force in e-commerce this decade. Since its users freely post about the things, places, and services that interest them, there's no guesswork as to what they like. This allows merchants to effectively target their ad dollars at motivated shoppers. As long as Pinterest can keep users engaged, it'll be the perfect e-commerce middleman.
