For the past two months, Wall Street and investors have been given a not-so-subtle nudge to remind them that crashes and corrections are a normal part of the investing cycle. That's especially true of the growth-driven Nasdaq Composite, which was bordering on bear market territory to begin the week.
But where there's downside volatility, there's almost always opportunity for long-term investors. That's because every single crash or correction throughout history has eventually (key word!) been erased by a bull market rally.
It's an especially smart time to consider investing in Nasdaq 100 stocks. The Nasdaq 100 is comprised of 100 of the largest nonfinancial companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange. The following trio of Nasdaq 100 stocks can be confidently bought hand over fist in March.
Image source: Getty Images.
Airbnb
For patient investors, one of the most exciting growth stocks they can buy in March is stay-and-hosting platform provider Airbnb (ABNB -2.37%).
As you can rightly imagine, the wind was knocked out of Airbnb's sails during the initial stages of the coronavirus pandemic. Domestic lockdowns and a non-uniform response by countries to COVID-19 made traveling difficult throughout the world. Even though the pandemic hasn't been put into the rearview mirror, Airbnb's core business has recovered immensely.
Last year, Airbnb crossed the 300 million mark in terms of nights and experiences booked. To offer some idea of how quickly the company's stay-and-hosting marketplace was growing prior to the pandemic, bookings more than quintupled between 2016 and 2019 to 272 million.
Amazingly, the company surpassed 300 million bookings in 2021 with only around 4 million global hosts. This represents just a fraction of the approximately 1 billion households worldwide. Once homeowners do the math on the cash flow potential of joining the Airbnb marketplace, I would expect the platforms' host count to grow significantly.
Perhaps the most eye-popping aspect of the Airbnb story is that long-term stays (28 days or longer) are the company's fastest-growing segment. Since COVID-19 disrupted the traditional workplace, we've witnessed a rise in the number of remote workers who aren't tethered to any one location. These remote workers could become the foundation that sustains Airbnb's superior growth rate for years to come.
Let's not overlook the company's Experiences segment, either. Experiences refers to Airbnb's partnership with local experts who lead travelers on adventures. This segment is still in its infancy. I would imagine Airbnb will look to partner with businesses in the transportation and food industries to garner a larger piece of the travel spending pie over time.
In other words, the company's path to becoming one of the world's largest publicly traded stocks within a few decades is back in focus.
Image source: Getty Images.
Walgreens Boots Alliance
Despite the Nasdaq 100 being dominated by high-growth companies, there are a handful of value stocks that are just begging to be bought. Topping that list might just be pharmacy chain Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA -1.12%).
Normally, healthcare stocks are highly defensive and can withstand even the worst economic shocks. Since we can't control when we get sick or what ailment(s) affect us, demand for prescription drugs, medical devices, and healthcare services remains fairly steady. But for pharmacy chains like Walgreens, foot traffic makes up the lion's share of revenue. When COVID-19 sent most U.S. states into temporary lockdown, it curtailed a significant amount of consumer spending.
The good news is that the operating weakness Walgreens has endured following these short-term mitigating measures is your opportunity to buy a moneymaking stock on the cheap.
As a shareholder of Walgreens Boots Alliance, there are three catalysts that excite me. First, the company has reduced its annual operating expenses by more than $2 billion a year ahead of schedule. This suggests the company's operating margins should demonstrably improve.
Second, Walgreens has been spending aggressively on a number of digitization initiatives. Even though physical stores will continue to generate the bulk of the company's sales, management understands that a larger online presence is necessary to improve customer convenience and lift organic sales growth.
And third, the partnership between Walgreens and VillageMD is exciting. The duo expects to open more than 600 full-service health clinics in over 30 U.S. markets by the end of 2025. Having physician-staffed clinics is a differentiator that should drive repeat business and funnel patients to Walgreens' pharmacy.
With shares valued at less than 10 times forecasted earnings for fiscal 2022, and the company doling out a 4% yield, Walgreens Boots Alliance is ripe for the picking.
Image source: Getty Images.
Palo Alto Networks
The final Nasdaq 100 stock to buy hand over fist in March is cybersecurity specialist Palo Alto Networks (PANW -2.48%).
Whereas most tech stocks are cyclical and dependent on a growing domestic or global economy to thrive, this isn't the case with cybersecurity stocks any longer. No matter how well or poorly the economy or stock market are performing, hackers and robots don't take a day off from trying to steal sensitive data. This makes cybersecurity solutions a basic need service that's more important than ever, especially with businesses shuffling their data into the cloud in the wake of the pandemic.
What makes Palo Alto Networks so interesting is the company's ongoing business transformation and affinity for making bolt-on acquisitions.
Concerning the former, Palo Alto has decisively shifted its focus to subscription-based security solutions. While it hasn't abandoned firewall products, subscription revenue as a percentage of total sales has been steadily expanding for years. Subscription revenue isn't prone to the ebbs and flows seen with firewall product sales, and should produce substantially higher margins over time.
The company's next-gen security solutions are also nimbler and able to offer superior protection for the company's clients. According to company estimates, next-gen security annual recurring revenue is expected to nearly triple from $1.18 billion in 2021 to an estimated $3.25 billion by 2024.
Palo Alto's bolt-on purchases have also been key to its success. Although it can take time to incorporate so many small acquisitions, these buyouts are expanding the company's product and service portfolio, as well as introducing it to new audiences of small and medium-sized businesses.
With a sales growth rate that could top 20% annually through at least mid-decade, Palo Alto Networks checks all the appropriate boxes for growth-seeking investors.
