The stock market has been choppy in 2022, driving the major market indices lower. At the same time, many excellent companies have seen their market value decimated, often for no better reason than a sudden investor distaste for growth stocks with lofty valuations. In this category, smart investors can find fantastic investments for the long haul.
Roku (ROKU -2.91%) and The Trade Desk (TTD -4.31%) are two of the most obvious no-brainer buys in this market. Here's why you should consider these stocks while they are stuck in Wall Street's bargain bin.
These great stocks are on sale? Alright! Image source: Getty Images.
Skyrocketing sales
At first glance, these stocks look incredibly expensive. Roku trades at 62 times free cash flows and 96 times earnings today. Meanwhile, The Trade Desk is changing hands at 54 times free cash flows and 254 times earnings. These valuation ratios are enough to drive any value hound off the rails, leaving these overpowered growth stocks to a different class of investors.
And I mean it when I call Roku and The Trade Desks overpowered. Here's how their sales have developed over the last five years, with sleepy retail giant Walmart added as a low-growth point of reference:
TTD Revenue (TTM) data by YCharts
Slumping stock charts
Both of these companies continue to deliver robust business results. Roku's first-quarter sales rose 28% year over year, driven by strong global demand for the company's media-streaming software platform and a thriving ad sales business. The Trade Desk's first-quarter update showed 43% higher sales as the company is establishing itself as the default choice for highly targeted ad campaigns.
Despite these muscular reports, The Trade Desk's shares have fallen 14% in the past month while Roku stock dropped 17% lower. Zooming out to the past six months instead is even more painful, especially when compared to Walmart's unshakable chart:
Add it up, and you get two no-brainer buys
What we are looking at here is a marketwide retreat from growth stocks, especially those with lofty valuation ratios and other symbols of high-risk investments. The stock market started running hot in the summer of 2020 and the rebound from the initial coronavirus-based panic started to feel both rushed and overdone last fall. Pointing to concrete concerns such as high inflation readings and global difficulties in manufacturing and shipping operations, many investors couldn't be bothered with high-octane growth stocks anymore.
So here we are, with top-shelf companies like Roku and The Trade Desk relegated to Wall Street's bargain bin. There is nothing wrong with these businesses and their long-term growth opportunities, but the stocks are on fire sale anyhow. So The Trade Desk and Roku may not look cheap by traditional value-investor metrics, but they still strike me as fantastic discounts right now.
