The market's been rallying back this summer, but not all growth stocks are playing along. Several companies have been staying back, failing to participate in the market's long overdue bounce after months of pain.
Match Group (MTCH -0.78%), Freshpet (FRPT 0.36%), and Twilio (TWLO -1.59%) are all trading within 10% of their 52-week lows. Let's take a closer look at why they're in the market's doghouse, and asses their chances of getting back out again. If you have $5,000 to invest, these look like attractive "buy the dip" opportunities.
Image source: Getty Images.
Match Group
When viable COVID-19-tackling vaccines became available early last year it should've been a dinner bell -- or perhaps even a mating call -- for Match Group. The industry leader in online dating is the company behind Tinder and dozens of other matchmaker apps, but it couldn't make a love connection with investors. The stock slipped 13% last year, and in 2022 the shares have surrendered more than half of their value.
The stock hit a new two-year low last week after posting disappointing financial results. Revenue rose 12% for Match Group's second quarter, just shy of Wall Street targets. The thing is that the top line would've risen 19% -- and topped market expectations -- if it weren't for the strengthening dollar against international currencies. Match Group did surprise the market with a small loss, but it should snap back this quarter.
Match Group isn't feeling romantic right now. Tinder is looking for a new CEO, and the revenue per paying user at the flagship app declined slightly. However, a 10% increase in revenue per paying user across the balance of its other apps finds the metric for all of Match Group climbing 3% over the past year. The number of paying users for all of Match Group's properties has climbed 10% to 16.4 million premium lovebirds. Guidance calls for a flat second half of the year in terms of revenue growth, but for the current quarter at least that outlook has an 8% hit on foreign exchange translations baked into the forecast. Match Group stock is down 57% since the start of last year, and like someone who just broke up after a long relationship, the shares are due for a rebound.
Freshpet
Freshpet came within 4% of hitting a new low on Tuesday after posting mixed financial results. The provider of premium refrigerated pet food -- presented in stand-alone displays in a growing number of grocery stores, mass market retailers, and pet supply chains -- checked in with a 34% increase in net sales for the second quarter. The top-line results were nearly in line with market expectations, but the stock took a 15% hit after posting a much larger-than-expected deficit for the period.
An inflationary surge in food costs and a ramp-up in marketing expenses squeezed margins. Freshpet's net loss nearly tripled pitted against the prior year's showing. The good news is that a lot of the headwinds appear to be temporary. Inflationary pressures are already starting to ease. It also expects to open a new facility next month that will take its total production capacity north of $1 billion, justifying the uptick in marketing costs.
Like online dating stocks that have surprisingly languished lately, pet food stocks have also been poor performers. We took in pets early in the pandemic. Aren't we going to spoil these new puppies and kittens for years? If Freshpet can get its costs back in line it should recover from the recent setback.
Twilio
Let's close with Twilio. The leader of in-app communication solutions is still growing at a healthy pace. Revenue rose 41% in last week's quarterly update, ahead of expectations. Bottom-line results also clocked in better than analysts were targeting.
Twilio got tripped up with its guidance. The midpoint of its outlook for the current quarter calls for 31% year-over-year growth in revenue. Most companies would be happy sporting gains north of 30%, but this is significant deceleration. Twilio's platform is holding up just fine, but many of its customers -- particularly in crypto, social networking, and consumer on-demand enterprises -- are experiencing slowdowns this summer. With Twilio still the dominant player in its promising niche it's hard to bet against the fallen market darling. This feels more like a buying opportunity than the time to throw in the towel.
Match Group, Freshpet, and Twilio may be out of favor right now, but they still are growth stocks with promising long-term prospects. They all closed within 10% of their recent lows on Tuesday, but that also means that there's plenty of upside if headwinds become tailwinds again.
