Economic uncertainty in 2022 triggered a gut-wrenching downturn in the stock market. The S&P 500 is down 17.8% from its previous high, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 31.2%. Some growth stocks endured even greater losses. For instance, Cloudflare (NET +3.49%) and CrowdStrike (CRWD +3.16%) have seen their share prices plunge 78.5% and 54%, respectively, leaving both stocks trading near 52-week lows.
Some Wall Street analysts see these price drops as a buying opportunity. Sterling Auty of MoffettNathanson has a price target of $114 per share on Cloudflare, which implies a 201% upside from its 52-week low of $37.91. Similarly, John DiFucci of Guggenheim has a price target of $270 per share on CrowdStrike, which implies a 124% upside from its 52-week low of $120.50.
To be clear, Wall Street's price targets consider a relatively short time horizon, and no one -- not even the smartest investors -- can predict the future. For that reason, price targets should never be taken too seriously. But the strong bullish sentiment surrounding Cloudflare and CrowdStrike is still noteworthy.
Is it time to buy these two discounted growth stocks?
NYSE: NET
Key Data Points
1. Cloudflare: Cloud computing
Cloudflare operates a global cloud platform that improves the performance and security of business-critical applications while eliminating the need for costly on-site network hardware. In a nutshell, Cloudflare makes the internet faster and safer, and its platform architecture and capacity for innovation afford the company a significant competitive advantage.
Cloudflare interconnects with every major internet service provider and cloud vendor, and its servers are positioned around the world to maintain data connectivity within 50 milliseconds for 95% of internet users worldwide. As a result, Cloudflare is the fastest cloud provider in North America, Australia, Japan, and the majority of South America and Europe. But the company also differentiated itself through product innovation. Last year, Forrester Research named Cloudflare Workers the leading edge development platform, citing a stronger current offering and a stronger growth strategy than any rival.
Financially, Cloudflare reported impressive results in the third quarter. Its customer count increased by 18% to 156,000, and the average customer spent 24% more over the past year. In turn, quarterly revenue climbed 47% to $254 million, and the company generated $43 million in cash from operations. As a point of clarification, that meager cash flow may worry some investors, but given the massive market opportunity, management plans to run the business near breakeven for the foreseeable future.
On that note, Cloudflare puts its total addressable market at $125 billion in 2023, and the company recently set a medium-term financial target of achieving $5 billion in annualized revenue in five years. For context, Cloudflare just crossed $1 billion in annualized revenue, so management's forecast implies 38% growth through 2027. That optimistic outlook should give investors confidence.
Shares currently trade at 14.4 times sales -- a bargain compared to the three-year average of 41.7 times sales. That's why this growth stock is worth buying today, though investors should not count on triple-digit returns in the next year.
NASDAQ: CRWD
Key Data Points
2. CrowdStrike: Cybersecurity
CrowdStrike specializes in cybersecurity. Its Falcon platform comprises 22 modules that span multiple industry verticals. But every module is delivered through a single software agent that can be installed without a system reboot. Those unique qualities create a compelling value proposition: Businesses can replace point solutions with CrowdStrike's broad product portfolio, and they can implement those products without system downtime.
Also noteworthy, CrowdStrike is the leader in corporate endpoint security, managed detection and response, and threat intelligence. That competitive advantage allows its platform to crowdsource data on an unmatched scale, which makes its artificial intelligence (AI) models uniquely effective in detecting threats, according to management. That further enhances the value proposition for customers.
Not surprisingly, CrowdStrike is growing like wildfire. In the most recent quarter, revenue climbed 58% to $535 million and free cash flow soared 84% to $136 million. But investors have good reason to believe that momentum will continue. Management puts its addressable market at $75 billion in 2023, but CrowdStrike's product pipeline could push that figure to $158 billion by 2026.
For instance, the company recently launched its extended detection and response (XDR) module, a product that blends security signals from cloud workloads, endpoint devices, email systems, networks, and more. CrowdStrike also integrates data from third-party vendors like Cloudflare and Zscaler to supercharge its AI engine. Collectively, XDR accelerates workflows by enabling security teams to investigate threats from a single console. For context, corporate endpoint security and XDR accounts for about $13 billion of CrowdStrike's market opportunity, and its leadership in endpoint security should fuel adoption of its XDR product.
Currently, shares trade at 15.4 times sales, an absolute bargain compared to the three-year average of 36.4 times sales. That creates an attractive buying opportunity for patient investors. Just don't count on triple-digit returns in the near term.
