Are you looking for some beaten-down stocks to buy and hold right now? A couple of options that should be near or at the top of your list are Teladoc Health (TDOC +7.21%) and Shopify (SHOP +3.09%).
Their valuations are less than half of what they were at the start of the year, and they make the S&P 500's decline of 20% look incredible by comparison. In the back half of the year, however, I expect these stocks to turn things around. They could be great buys, not just for the remainder of 2022, but also for the long haul.
NYSE: TDOC
Key Data Points
1. Teladoc Health
Telehealth company Teladoc Health has been making some positive strides in recent years to grow its business and partner with key companies. In 2020, it acquired chronic-care company Livongo Health to expand its reach by serving more customers. It's also partnered with Amazon so that its service could be used on the tech-company's voice-activated device, Alexa. In addition, it has launched Teladoc Health Solo, which works with Microsoft's Teams communication software to make it easier for healthcare organizations to deliver care.
The payoff from these moves, however, is still to come. Teladoc had to write off $6.6 billion in goodwill in its first-quarter results, due to its acquisition of Livongo, which destroyed the company's bottom line. Meanwhile, Teladoc's growth rate has also been slowing down in recent quarters:
TDOC Revenue (Quarterly YoY Growth) data by YCharts.
There are multiple questions for Teladoc as it heads into earnings. But regardless of how it does over the most recent three-month period, the long-term trajectory is what looks promising for Teladoc.
The industry is growing, with some analysts projecting growth rates for the global telehealth industry of more than 30% for several years. More conservative analysts forecast growth that's closer to 19%. Either way, this is a sector that's just starting to heat up as telehealth makes it easy to stay on top of chronic care with quick check-ins from a physician where an in-person visit may not be necessary.
Teladoc is already a dominant company in the sector and has been generating positive free cash flow in three of the past four quarters. If it can continue to keep that up, it could put itself in a great position to pursue another acquisition and invest in its business even further.
To get its shares going in the back half of the year, the business needs to do what it's been doing in recent periods -- continuing to grow. And that's likely to happen as demand for its services could rise amid inflation as companies and individuals look for more flexible, low-cost care options. UnitedHealth Group, for instance, is integrating virtual care more into its business, encouraging patients to opt for virtual visits before seeking out an in-person trip to the doctor's office. Meanwhile, Teladoc's primary care service, Primary360, is still in its relatively early stages; it was less than a year ago that the company rolled out the service to health plans and employers. With multiple catalysts out there for Teladoc, it could be due for some stronger growth numbers later this year, which could send the healthcare stock soaring.
NASDAQ: SHOP
Key Data Points
2. Shopify
E-commerce platform Shopify is in even worse shape than Teladoc. It has been an epic fall from grace for the once-popular growth stock. Its stock is down more than 80% from its 52-week high, and all the company did was admit a slowdown was taking place.
Shopify is trading at levels last seen in 2019, when it was generating $1.6 billion in revenue. That year, its operating cash flow was also $70.6 million. Fast forward to today, and the company has generated $315.2 million in operating cash over the trailing 12 months and its sales have totaled more than $4.8 billion. Its business is much bigger and more popular than it was back then.
Shopify's sales did slow down in the first quarter of 2022, with revenue of $1.2 billion for the period ending March 31 rising by just 22% year over year. But even at that run rate, this is still a company that could be on track to generate close to $5 billion in revenue this year. At less than nine times sales, the stock is trading at a much smaller premium than the more than 20 times revenue it was trading at back in 2019. And that multiple could improve as Shopify seeks to expand its business.
Earlier this year, the company reached an agreement with Chinese-based JD.com that would make it easy for Shopify's merchants in the U.S. to sell in China. This month, it completed its acquisition of Deliverr, a fulfillment technology provider which can help merchants scale their businesses through its logistics platform.
These are some recent changes that Shopify has undertaken that can pay off for the business by allowing merchants to reach more people more efficiently. Investors should be careful not to count out Shopify. Although it's struggling today, it's still looking for ways to add value for its users, and that can pay off in some improved quarterly results later this year.
