This year's bear market has created great opportunities for long-term investors. A number of high-quality growth stocks are suddenly available for discount prices. Consider adding these industry leaders to your portfolio to unlock gains.
1. MongoDB
MongoDB (MDB -2.41%) operates a popular database platform. Its tools are important for software development and analytics, so investors should be confident in sustainable demand for that industry's products. Even more exciting, MongoDB's cloud-based version is gaining steam among customers, which should help to fuel growth for the next few years.
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Despite all of that growth potential, the stock has taken a beating. It's down more than 70% year to date and nearly 20% over the last month. MongoDB was one of many growth stocks that have been crushed despite delivering strong operating results. The company reported 53% revenue growth last quarter, with its cloud product growing more than 70%. It's roughly breaking even in terms of free cash flow, so it's not a case of a business that's bleeding money for the sake of growth.
Rising interest rates have scared investors away from expensive growth stocks. MongoDB's price-to-sales ratio was above 35 to start the year, which is difficult to justify. However, there's significantly less risk for long-term investors now that the stock's price-to-sales ratio is below 10.
MDB PS Ratio data by YCharts
Investors haven't been thrilled with MongoDB's outlook. The company expects to continue posting net losses, and difficult global economic conditions could threaten to curb its growth rate in the short term. Wall Street estimates currently call for a significant slowdown in sales growth for next year. There's also the threat of serious competition from the likes of Microsoft (MSFT -1.27%), Oracle (ORCL -0.97%), and Amazon (AMZN -2.56%). That's a tough combination in today's risk-averse market.
Still, MongoDB's growth trajectory far outpaces the global economy and most other stocks, even if it slows down a lot. This is one of the cheapest entry points in MongoDB's history, and investors who are bullish about the industry should consider the opportunity.
2. CrowdStrike
CrowdStrike (CRWD -3.90%) has established itself as one of the emerging powerhouses of the cybersecurity industry. CrowdStrike's niche is cloud-delivered endpoint security, which is in high demand as cloud computing becomes important for businesses in nearly every industry. Any business that allows customers and employees the ability to share data on their network needs to address the threats to that data. That's where CrowdStrike stakes its claim, and it's recognized by multiple third parties as an industry leader in endpoint security. That momentum is propelling the company to exceptional growth rates -- its recurring revenue expanded nearly 60% last quarter.
Despite that, the stock is down more than 30% year to date and nearly 15% over the past month. Once again, investors are fleeing from expensive growth stocks that are likely to slow down due to macroeconomic conditions. Despite dropping significantly, CrowdStrike's forward P/E ratio is still around 75, and price-to-sales remains above 17. As such, this wouldn't really count as being "on sale" for many investors. Nonetheless, this might be the last chance to get on board before things take off again.
CrowdStrike is still expected to grow more than 30% annually, so its valuation isn't outrageous on a growth-adjusted basis. It's normal to pay a premium for this sort of upside. The company also boasts a 124% net dollar retention rate, which means that it is retaining customers and expanding those relationships. That's great news for long-term holders, and it's evidence of a growing economic moat.
3. The Trade Desk
The Trade Desk (TTD -4.34%) is a media-buying platform that allows advertisers to communicate with consumers and optimize campaign results through analytics. The platform has impressed during a difficult period for the digital advertising industry. The company reported 30% growth and impressive market-share gains in its most recent earnings report. That's even more impressive in light of the struggles endured by competitors like Meta Platforms (META -4.13%) and Alphabet (GOOGL -1.23%). The Trade Desk also isn't struggling to maintain profitability -- it's maintained wide profit margins and produced more than $300 million in free cash flow so far this year.
Despite all of that, the stock is caught up in tough conditions for growth stocks and widespread concerns about economic weakness. The Trade Desk has fallen more than 50% year to date and nearly 15% over the past month. It still has a forward P/E ratio around 57, but its high growth rate results in a very reasonable PEG ratio.
The Trade Desk is likely to experience operational challenges in the short term, but it's in a phenomenal position for long-term growth. Now that its price has dropped, long-term investors have an opportunity to buy a growth industry leader at a reasonable valuation.
