Whether you're new to growth stock investing or you've been doing it your whole adult life, the past year has been extremely challenging. The Vanguard Growth ETF that peaked in late 2021 is still more than 27% below its all-time high.
Despite a terrible year for the major stock market indices, investment bank analysts have a lot of good things to say about their favorite growth stocks. They're so confident about the path forward for these two stocks that the average price target on them suggests big gains could be up ahead.
1. Amazon
You're most likely familiar with Amazon's (AMZN -1.64%) enormous e-commerce operation, but it's the businesses most consumers don't see that grab Wall Street's attention. Encouraged by its leading position in the market for cloud computing services, Wall Street analysts slapped a consensus price target on the stock that suggests it can rise 40.2% in the near term.
In 2020 and 2021, Amazon doubled the strength of its fulfillment network to meet pandemic-driven demand that quickly subsided. The stock's way off from its peak because enormous profits from the early days of the pandemic turned into losses last year.
I'm confident that a long-running trend favoring online shopping will push Amazon's e-commerce operation back into profitability. In the meantime, its cloud computing, and digital advertising businesses are more than capable of picking up the slack. Amazon Web Services reported operating income that soared 23% year over year to $22.8 billion in 2022.
Fourth-quarter sales from Amazon's digital ad business grew 23% year over year to $11.6 billion. Now, it's one of the largest members of a digital ad industry already worth more than $760 billion annually.
Right now, Amazon is trading for just 29.3 times 2021 earnings. That was a great year, but it isn't a high-water mark I expect to last very long. With leading positions in e-commerce, cloud computing, and digital advertising, this stock has everything it needs to deliver market-beating gains to patient investors.
2. InMode
If a giant like Amazon doesn't suit you, consider this up-and-coming provider of medical technology. InMode (INMD -0.06%) develops and markets minimally invasive devices for a variety of cosmetic procedures.
One of InMode's biggest growth drivers at the moment is BodyTite. With a narrow probe inserted beneath the skin, it performs a service similar to liposuction without the need for any incisions or downtime. The increasing popularity of its devices inspired Wall Street analysts to put a price target on this stock that implies a 37.6% gain.
In 2021, InMode's surgery-free devices benefited from pandemic-inspired lockdowns that prevented the performance of more complicated cosmetic procedures. Despite the unwinding of those lockdowns, InMode reported sales that soared 21% year over year during the fourth quarter of 2022.
InMode doesn't compete directly with Botox injections, but they are the most popular type of minimally invasive procedure. AbbVie reported cosmetic Botox sales that grew just 2.6% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2022.
The market for noninvasive aesthetic treatments passed $60 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow by around 15.4% annually through 2030, according to Grand View Research. With a proven ability to grow its share of the enormous market for minimally invasive cosmetic procedures, we can reasonably expect many more years of growth at double-digit annual percentage rates. At recent prices, though, you can buy InMode for just 13.7 times forward-looking earnings expectations.
At this low multiple, long-term investors can beat the market even if its growth rate inexplicably falls by more than half. With a very strong chance to come out ahead, this is one of the best growth stocks you can buy right now.
