3 Top Bargain Stocks Ready for a Bull Run

A bull market isn't like a bus. You can't just wait for the next one to come along. That's why, when a bull run is looming on the horizon, the time to get your investment portfolio in shape is now, not later. History has shown that for every downturn, there's an upswing -- an economic echo, if you will. The bear might still be growling, but the bull is waiting in the wings, ready to charge.

Now, this is not to say that the market will turn around tomorrow, or the day after, but one thing's certain: It will, eventually. And when it does, those prepared investors who had the foresight to hunt for value in the bear market could find themselves sitting rather comfortably. Once the bull kicks into high gear, you're likely to find those juicy discounts have dried up faster than a shallow puddle in the Florida sun. So, while the market keeps us guessing on the exact "when," investors can certainly prepare before the rally begins.

In the spirit of staying ahead of the predictable curve, let's consider three promising stocks that are ripe for the picking. These bargain stocks could be just the ticket for those looking to position themselves for the next big bull run. Now, remember, these aren't just any stocks, these are high-quality, fundamentally sound high-tech businesses trading at very reasonable share prices. These stocks might just become your new best friends when the bull starts to trot.

Data sources: Finviz.com and Motley Fool CAPS on July 25, 2023.

Autodesk

3D design and engineering software expert Autodesk is a rare find in the 2023 stock market. The company is an established authority on artificial intelligence (AI) with generative AI features built into its tools for years -- but the stock isn't soaring this year. Autodesk's prospective investors didn't seem to get the memo when other AI-infused software vendors saw their share prices skyrocket in recent months.

To be fair, Autodesk's AI tools don't have much in common with OpenAI's ChatGPT, which started the market's current love affair with AI stocks. These features are more productive and time-saving than entertaining.

"Things like generative design, they allow us to process designs in parallel at scale, so we can optimize design definition based on a set of criteria and deliver a customer not one optimized solution, but maybe 300 or 400 choices that allow them to make trade-offs between material, mechanical properties, cost, manufacturing time, go-to-market speed," Autodesk product executive Stephen Hooper said at an industry conference in June. "That doesn't deliver like 10% to 15% productivity gain. In many cases, that can be the difference between [400%] or 500% in terms of productivity gain."

I don't know about you, but that sounds like a valuable selling point to me. When Wall Street gets past the honeymoon phase of its AI affair to take a clear-eyed look at which AI systems are delivering real-world business results, Autodesk's valuation should catch up with today's skyrocketing AI entertainers.

Corsair Gaming

As a provider of high-end electronic gaming hardware such as mice, keyboards, and audio headsets, Corsair Gaming took a pummeling in 2022. Supply chain issues restricted Corsair's access to key components and also drove shipping prices higher. At the same time, many gamers preferred to pay their bills rather than save up for premium gaming hardware amid an economic crisis. Corsair's stock plunged 35% lower last year, potentially setting investors up for a strong rebound.

So the company benefits directly as the supply chain issues and inflation-based economic challenges get straightened out in tandem. Share prices are up 27% year to date, but that's not a full recovery. Corsair still trails the S&P 500 index if you measure the performance from the start of 2022 to today.

Corsair's true litmus test will come during the holiday season. If consumers' budget belts loosen up in the fall, there will be plenty of gaming gear swaddled in gift wrap by December. The financial reckoning for those sales will follow in early February, when Corsair reports its fourth-quarter results.

So the payoff for this summer's Corsair investment may be delayed, and there's no need to rush this stock purchase. Still, remember what I said about preparing early? Invest early, invest often.

Roku

Finally, media-streaming technology specialist Roku took a different path to this list. The company is currently unprofitable and cash-consuming, so I can't pin an affordable profit-based valuation ratio on it.

However, I can certainly point out Roku's price-to-sales ratio of just 3.2 times trailing revenue. I should also note that the stock trades 85% below the all-time highs Roku reached two years ago. And before you reach for the smelling salts, let me assure you that Roku is running a perfectly healthy long-term business, happily making heavy investments in product development and marketing efforts even though its advertising-based revenue is running low.

The digital ad market's weakness was a result of the inflation crisis in recent months, and Roku's top line should spring back to healthy growth as soon as advertisers are ready to spend some serious cash on marketing efforts again. Meanwhile, Roku has $1.6 billion of cash on hand but no long-term debt to worry about. The company can afford to muddle through a couple of slow years without slowing down its efforts to build the foundation of future growth. And Roku's stock looks like a no-brainer buy while the skeptics have control over its stock price.