No two ways about it: It's been a challenging year on Wall Street.
Since the curtain opened on 2022, the iconic Dow Jones Industrial Average and broad-based S&P 500 have both fallen by a double-digit percentage. Meanwhile, the growth stock-fueled Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC -2.05%) has declined by a peak of 31% since hitting its record-closing high in November. This sizable drop in the Nasdaq plainly places the index in a bear market.
Image source: Getty Images.
For short-term investors, bear markets can be quite scary due to the unpredictability and velocity of downside moves. But for patient investors, they represent the ideal opportunity to pounce on innovative growth stocks trading at a discount. After all, every notable decline in the major indexes, including the Nasdaq, has eventually been wiped away by a bull market.
If you have cash at the ready that won't be needed for bills or emergencies, the following five growth stocks stand out as exceptional deals that you'll regret not buying on the Nasdaq bear market dip.
The first growth stock begging to be bought by opportunistic investors is social media up-and-comer Pinterest (PINS -1.55%). Despite being hammered by fears of an advertising downturn should a recession arise, Pinterest has all the tools and intangibles necessary to persevere over the long run.
While Wall Street has been focused on Pinterest's monthly active user (MAU) count -- which has been steadily growing if you examine MAUs over a five-year period -- I'd suggest you pay closer attention to the monetization of existing MAUs. Even though Pinterest's first-quarter report highlighted a 9% decline in yearly MAUs (this is tied to an uptick in COVID-19 vaccination rates and people spending less time in their homes and online), average revenue per user rose 28% globally, with ARPU growth notably higher in international markets. This demonstrates that advertisers are willing to pay a premium to get their message in front of users.
The other important factor to recognize is that Pinterest isn't going to be hurt by Apple's iOS privacy changes. Whereas most social media companies rely on data tracking to help advertisers target their message, the entire premise of Pinterest's platform is for users to willingly share the things, places, and services that interest them. It presents everything merchants want to know about users on a silver platter.
Image source: Getty Images.
Ping Identity Holdings
Cybersecurity stock Ping Identity (PING) is the second sensational growth stock investors can confidently buy on this Nasdaq bear market dip. Even though Ping's first-quarter loss on the heels of higher operating expenses failed to impress Wall Street, there are clear-cut catalysts capable of driving this company's valuation significantly higher.
On an industry basis, cybersecurity has evolved into a basic necessity service. No matter how well or poorly the U.S. economy is performing, hackers and robots don't take time off from trying to steal enterprise data.
On a company-specific level, Ping Identity is leaning on artificial intelligence to help its cybersecurity solutions quickly identify and respond to threats. This differentiating factor should allow Ping to provide superior identity verification and monitoring to on-premise solutions.
What's more, the company is successfully transitioning to a cloud-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform. Its SaaS offerings grew 68% in the first quarter to nearly a quarter of its total revenue. Pushing SaaS solutions should lead to a juicier gross margin and a sustainably high customer retention rate.
Image source: Getty Images.
PayPal Holdings
Leading fintech stock PayPal Holdings (PYPL 0.34%) is yet another sensational growth stock that's ripe for the picking with the Nasdaq in a bear market. In spite of near-term inflationary pressure hitting lower-income households, two key data points show that PayPal is here to stay, and will almost certainly thrive.
To begin with, the total payment volume (TPV) traversing PayPal's platform continues to climb. With much of the company's gross profits tied to fees, rising TPV is indicative of broader digital payment adoption, as well as larger businesses utilizing its services.
But what I find even more impressive as a shareholder is the increased engagement among existing users. The average active account completed 40.9 transactions over the trailing-12-month period ended Dec. 31, 2020. But over the trailing 12 months through the end of March 2022, active accounts completed an average of 47 transactions. It's evident that digital payments growth is still in the early innings.
With PayPal valued at a historically cheap forward-year earnings multiple, now looks like the perfect time for investors to strike.
Image source: Getty Images.
Cresco Labs
U.S. marijuana stocks can offer sensational long-term growth at an amazing value. One of the top pot stocks you'll regret not buying on the dip, regardless of whether or not cannabis reform gains steam on Capitol Hill, is multi-state operator (MSO) Cresco Labs (CRLBF -4.76%).
One of the aspects that makes Cresco Labs so interesting is its tendency to push into limited-license markets. While some of the company's 50 operating dispensaries at the end of March were located in high-dollar markets, much of Cresco's expansion hinges on limited-license states where regulators purposely limit the retail footprint of MSOs. Targeting these states allows Cresco a fair chance to build up a loyal following.
Arguably even more intriguing is Cresco's industry-leading position in U.S. wholesale cannabis. Although Wall Street typically dismisses wholesale weed due to its low margins, Cresco's access to more than 575 dispensaries in California, the No. 1 pot market in the U.S., provides more than enough volume to make it worthwhile.
Cresco is in the midst of a big acquisition that'll dramatically increase its retail footprint and should make it a highly profitable marijuana stock by 2023.
Image source: Getty Images.
Salesforce
A fifth sensational growth stock you don't want to miss is customer relationship management (CRM) software provider Salesforce (CRM -0.57%).
CRM software is used by consumer-facing businesses to build on existing relationships and boost sales. Use cases include overseeing online marketing campaigns, handling product and service issues, and running a variety of predictive analyses to determine which products and services to market to clients.
Global CRM software sales are expected to grow by a low double-digit percentage through at least the midpoint of the decade. According to data from IDC, Salesforce has been the global CRM spending leader for nine consecutive years. Further, it accounted for almost 24% of worldwide CRM solutions spending in 2021, which is more than four times higher than the next-closest competitor.
In addition to the company's organic success, investors can thank CEO Marc Benioff for orchestrating a handful of earnings-accretive acquisitions, including MuleSoft, Tableau Software, and Slack Technologies. These deals are expanding the company's ecosystem and providing Salesforce with new cross-selling opportunities.
