There's something especially alluring about the potential to achieve a 10x return. Mutual-fund manager Peter Lynch called such investments 10-baggers. He found quite a few of them during his time leading Fidelity Investments' Magellan Fund.
But Lynch is one of the most successful investors ever. Can investors who aren't legends buy potential 10-baggers now?
I think so. And it doesn't have to take decades to generate 10x returns. Here are three stocks that may be able to turn $100,000 into $1 million by 2030.
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1. MercadoLibre
What do you get when you cross three huge opportunities with a fast-growing and underserved region? MercadoLibre (MELI -1.79%). The company stands as the leader in Latin American e-commerce, digital payments, and logistics with a market cap below $60 billion.
I view MercadoLibre as one of the top growth stocks to buy for 2022. The stock is down more than 40% from its 52-week high, despite its business continuing to fire on all cylinders. My prediction is that it will rebound strongly this year.
However, I'm even more excited about MercadoLibre's prospects throughout the rest of this decade. Investment-firm Morgan Stanley expects the e-commerce market-penetration rate in Latin America will double by 2025 and continue growing rapidly afterward. MercadoLibre will be the obvious winner if this projection is right -- both with its e-commerce and logistics services.
There are also millions of people in Latin America who don't use banking services or have only limited banking services. MercadoLibre's MercadoPago payment platform provides a great solution for these individuals. I think that digital payments will become a much bigger business for the company and help it potentially deliver a 10x return by 2030.
2. Unity Software
ARK Invest founder Cathie Wood believes that the metaverse could be worth trillions of dollars. Matthew Ball, CEO of venture-capital firm Epyllion, projects that the metaverse opportunity could reach $30 trillion over the next 15 years. If they're anywhere close to being right, Unity Software (U 2.04%) could easily turn an initial investment of $100,000 into $1 million by the end of this decade.
Unity isn't a company that's in the limelight all that much. However, its software was used to develop more than 700 of the top 1,000 mobile games. Unity's platform is No. 1, by far, in creating interactive, real-time 3D content.
The rise of the metaverse should lead to a lot more of this content. That presents a massive opportunity for Unity -- one that the company fully intends to seize. CEO John Riccitiello said in Unity's third-quarter conference call that the company's goal is for between 60% and 80% of metaverse content to be built with its software.
Riccitiello's range seems attainable based on Unity's past track record. If the metaverse delivers on its potential, it's not hard to envision Unity's market cap increasing from the current $37 billion to at least $370 billion by 2030.
3. Twist Bioscience
Twist Bioscience (TWST -2.38%) ranks as one of the most intriguing biotech stocks on the market. The company specializes in making synthetic DNA. This DNA is used in a variety of ways, including drug development and research.
Twist estimates that the addressable market for its synthetic DNA is around $1.8 billion annually. It believes there's at least another $1 billion per-year opportunity in tools for next-generation sequencing (NGS) sample preparation.
I don't think those markets are enough to make Twist a 10-bagger by 2030. However, the company is focusing on another area that could enable its stock to deliver a 10x or greater return over the next few years: DNA data storage, which presents a $35 billion opportunity. And DNA holds the potential to store data more cost-effectively for longer periods of time than other alternatives.
Twist has a long way to go on this front. But the company is making progress, including confirming that it can synthesize DNA on a 1-micron chip.
I think that Twist can get the costs of DNA data storage near $100 per terabyte. If it reaches this milestone, this stock should be a surefire 10-bagger.
