Technology stocks have taken a shellacking in 2022. The Federal Reserve has started raising interest rates, which lowers stock prices because future cash flows are discounted at higher rates.
Meta Platforms (META 0.68%) and DocuSign (DOCU -3.09%) have been no exception. Their stock prices have fallen considerably off their highs. However, the sell-off has arguably gone too far, making Meta Platforms and DocuSign ready for a bull run.
Meta Platforms claims nearly half the human population as users
Meta Platforms is down a whopping 56% off its highs. The company is facing several headwinds that are slowing revenue growth, including privacy policy changes by Apple and competition from short-form video site TikTok. Those headwinds have caused Meta's growth rate to slow to 7% in its most recent quarter, a far cry from its compounded annual growth rate in the last decade of 41.3%.
Given those challenges, it can be easy to forget that Meta Platforms boasts 2.9 billion daily active users across its social media apps (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger). Admittedly, the sites are free to join and use, but that shouldn't take away from the impressiveness of reaching nearly 3 billion daily active users. Consumers have many options for free entertainment these days; the fact that Meta sustains such a massive scale highlights that folks find great value in the company's apps.
META PE Ratio data by YCharts
The near term will be challenging, but Meta's stock has arguably overreacted to the bad news. It's trading at a price-to-earnings of 12.7 and a price-to-free cash flow of 11.9. According to those metrics, Meta's stock is as cheap as it's been in the last five years.
DocuSign offers advantages to signers and enterprises
DocuSign is another tech stock that's ready for a bull run. Like Meta, the company faces near-term headwinds, but for different reasons. The electronic signature service provider thrived at the pandemic's onset as many businesses looked to avoid person-to-person contact. Unsurprisingly, that boosted revenue for DocuSign. As economies reopen and workers return to the office, that tailwind is fading for DocuSign.
Still, the company was thriving even before the outbreak. From 2016 to 2019, sales expanded from $250 million to $701 million. Signing documents electronically is far more convenient than in person. Folks no longer have to drive to an office to put pen to paper. From the enterprise perspective, it saves the cost of printing documents, storage, and staff expense to support document signing. Moreover, electronic records are more efficiently searchable. These benefits will likely support DocuSign's revenue growth even after the pandemic.
DOCU Price to Free Cash Flow data by YCharts
Like Meta, Docusign is selling at a price-to-free cash flow near its lowest in the last five years. Investor concern over the near-term headwinds appears to be overdone, making DocuSign one tech stock ready for a bull run.
