The meme stock craze has made stocks popular for one of the worst reasons -- popularity. In recent years, stocks like GameStop and AMC Entertainment benefited from a social media-induced feeding frenzy despite uncertain growth prospects.
Nonetheless, other meme stocks are on increasingly solid footing amid innovations and rapid revenue growth. To this end, stocks such as Palantir Technologies (PLTR 1.38%), MongoDB (MDB -3.09%), and SoFi Technologies (SOFI -10.48%) could not only benefit from meme-driven hype but also build on gains once the fanfare subsides.
1. Palantir
Around the time of its 2020 IPO, Palantir's big data capabilities drew the attention of meme investors. Its potential to help with tasks ranging from preventing security breaches to tracking the spread of COVID-19 made the stock popular before the 2022 bear market sent it into the single digits.
But thanks to the hype surrounding artificial intelligence (AI), investors have bid the stock higher by about 150% from its December low. Its AI capabilities with its established platforms gained that attention initially. Additionally, the release of its new AI platform, AIP, may have further boosted the stock as Palantir touted its new capabilities related to large language models.
Fortunately for investors, the financials have improved along with Palantir's AI offerings. In the first quarter of 2023, revenue of $525 million grew 18%. This has fallen short of the 24% revenue increase in 2022 and the 41% surge in 2021.
But unlike those past years, Palantir is now profitable. In Q1, Palantir earned its second quarterly profit, reporting a generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) net income of $17 million. It also forecast a positive net income for the year.
Admittedly, the gains have made Palantir a pricier stock, with its price-to-sales (P/S) ratio now at 16. But considering Palantir's value proposition for its customers and its ability to apply AI, its stock looks to be on track for long-term gains.
2. MongoDB
Meme investors may have also picked a winner in MongoDB as it seeks to makeover databases. The proliferation of data has yielded new types of information, such as videos, text messages, and stock tickers. The relational database, which first appeared in the 1970s, cannot handle such workloads.
MongoDB addresses this problem. Its cloud-based Atlas database can support and process such data, increasing efficiency for its users.
The platform now claims over 43,000 customers as of the end of the fiscal first quarter of 2024 (ended April 30). This number rose by 16% over the previous year. Also, almost 1,800 of those customers spend more than $100,000 annually on the platform, and that part of its customer base grew by 28%.
That helped the company revenues of $368 million in fiscal Q1, a 29% yearly increase. And while it still reported a net loss of $54 million, that is down from a $77 million loss in the year-ago quarter.
Unfortunately for prospective buyers, those numbers were so strong that MongoDB stock climbed nearly 28% following the announcement. That places the stock at 20 times sales, a level that could induce a near-term pullback. Nonetheless, considering the need for its Atlas database and the rapid growth, MongoDB will likely benefit from years of growth as companies look to update their databases.
3. SoFi Technologies
Admittedly, SoFi may look like the last meme stock investors should buy in some respects. It came about when a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) purchased the company in June 2021. While that led to an initial pop in the stock, SoFi would fall as low as $4.24 per share in 2022.
Also, its one-time primary source of income, student loan refinancing, nearly dried up when the government announced a moratorium on student loan payments.
However, SoFi has attracted massive growth as it acquired a bank charter and fintech platforms like Galileo and Technisys, effectively making the company the "AWS of fintech." Moreover, an end to the student loan moratorium came about from the recent agreement between the congressional Republicans and President Joe Biden to raise the debt ceiling. This brings back a key revenue stream that should spur SoFi to higher growth.
Growth is already robust. In the first quarter of 2023, revenue of $472 million rose 43% compared with year-ago levels. This occurred as the number of financial services products rose to more than 7.1 million versus 4.7 million in Q1 2022. Additionally, between the revenue increase and the slowing growth in noninterest expenses, SoFi's loss fell to $34 million from $110 million one year ago.
Finally, even after the stock surge over the last month, the P/S ratio is only 4. Considering the company's rapid revenue growth, that sales multiple indicates SoFi stock is a bargain.
