The stock markets just recorded their worst first half of the year since 1970. The biggest fallout of this bear market has been in growth stocks, with share prices of some falling by half or even more.
Since growth stocks trade at high premiums, it's not surprising to see them fall fast when the markets turn choppy, especially on fears of an economic slowdown. Yet not all deserved to be punished so hard and the market could soon recognize what a steal some of the growth stocks are at current prices. Here are three such beaten-down growth stocks that could rally in the second half of 2022.
One of the cheapest growth stocks to buy
It's been a tumultuous year for the auto industry. The semiconductor chip shortage has worsened, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has thrown supply chains out of whack, raw material prices have shot up, and higher interest rates threaten to dig a deeper hole in automakers' pockets.
Not surprisingly, Ford (F -3.01%) stock has struggled to find a bottom this year, having lost almost 46% of its value in the first half. Yet despite the challenges, Ford's traditional vehicle sales are bucking the industry downturn, and sales of its electric vehicles have exploded in recent months.
Three things should help Ford stock rebound in the coming months. First is robust demand for traditional vehicles, particularly F-Series pickup trucks and Ford SUVs. In May, F-Series was the only pickup truck brand in the U.S. to report growth in sales -- they rose 6.9% year over year.
The second is the resumption of Mustang Mach-E sales. Ford recalled and halted sales of the all-electric SUV in mid-June because of an overheating concern, and that hit its stock price. Ford, however, could fix the issues within the next few weeks, and once it does, sales of Mach-E should take off again. The Mustang Mach-E is a hot seller, with its sales jumping 166% year over year in May to record monthly highs.
Image source: Ford.
Third, and most importantly, is Ford's all-electric F-150 Lightning pickup trucks. Since Ford just started delivering the pickup truck in May, it should start adding value to its top line in the second half of 2022. Ford has more than 200,000 reservations for the F-150 Lightning and is expanding its production capacity to meet demand.
Fears of a recession have hit Ford's stock price, but the company has more demand than it can meet right now. That's a great "problem" to have, and I see no reason why Ford's stock should languish at a measly price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 0.33 for long.
This industry leader will realize synergies from its deals
It's no secret that tech stocks have been the worst hit in this year's bear market. While some ultra-growth stocks hit all-time lows, Salesforce (CRM -7.28%) stock has been a bit more resilient, losing about one-third of its value in the first half of 2022. Salesforce is a force to be reckoned with and its ample growth opportunities should help the stock rebound.
Salesforce's customer relationship management (CRM) software helps businesses empower their sales teams to focus on boosting retention and sales. It's an industry with exponential growth potential as more companies strive to automate customer management and maximize profitability.
Salesforce has been the market leader for nine years with an unassailable lead. In 2021, Salesforce dominated 23.9% of the global CRM market. The next four large competitors combined had a lower market share.
Salesforce is an acquisitive company, and while a series of deals has put pressure on its margins, the company anticipates it will unlock greater value from big-ticket acquisitions like Slack and steadily improve margins. Salesforce expects to generate roughly $31.8 billion in revenue for the fiscal year ending Jan. 31, 2023, versus $26.5 revenue in the last fiscal year. It'll be a record year for the company, and by 2026, Salesforce hopes to rake in $50 billion in sales.
With this kind of sales growth potential, this software-as-a-service stock could be among the first to rebound.
No more downside for this high-growth stock
Shopify (SHOP -2.04%) stock has been battered this year. The end of COVID-19 lockdowns has dampened e-commerce growth and investors fear rising competition in a slowing market won't bode well for Shopify.
While it's true that Shopify's growth is decelerating, it's unfair to expect any digital business to continue the hypergrowth of the pandemic. A normalization was inevitable and much of the slowdown is baked into Shopify's stock price.
One reason Shopify's operating margin could disappoint is its Deliverr acquisition. It's a near-term pain for long-term gain, as Deliverr will enable Shopify to take on Amazon by allowing its merchants to offer Amazon Prime-like one-day and two-day deliveries. It could hugely incentivize more sellers to do business on Shopify.
SHOP Revenue (TTM) data by YCharts
Shopify's revenue growth in the first quarter wasn't nearly as bad as the markets made it out to be -- its revenue grew 22% year over year, backed by a 16% growth in its gross merchandise volume.
Importantly, Shopify expects much stronger revenue growth in the second half of the year. Of course, it still may not see the kind of growth this year that it saw in 2021, when its revenue grew 57%, but even growth in the 20-percent range doesn't warrant the low valuation Shopify stock is trading at right now. To put that into context, Shopify generated record sales in the trailing 12 months, but its stock is trading at a P/S ratio of only 8, or less than one-third of its five-year average P/S ratio.
