Stock picking is challenging for most people. You must look at factors such as financials, valuations, and the state of the business and its industry to forecast a stock's performance. Given the difficulties of making such predictions, it's easy to see why many investors choose S&P 500 index funds or similar investments.
However, from time to time, the market will offer stocks whose value propositions appear almost too obvious to overlook. Such stocks include Palantir Technologies (PLTR 3.73%), Nu (NU 1.66%), and Zscaler (ZS 1.28%).
1. Palantir
Palantir is a no-brainer pick because no other company matches its capabilities. It not only interprets data, but it also makes recommendations based on its analyses. It has also utilized AI in this process to make its systems smarter, and recently introduced its Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP), a generative AI platform to process data from large language models.
Entities appear to consider these analyses valuable. In the case of its commercial product, Foundry, increasing numbers of customers willingly spend $100,000 per month to subscribe to the platform. Despite this significant expense, the customer count rose 41% year over year in the first quarter.
That helped total revenue grow 18% during that time to $525 million. Also, Q1 was its second quarter of positive net income under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), which came in at $19 million, and Palantir forecasts GAAP earnings will be positive in every quarter this year.
Consequently, Palantir stock is up more than 150% this year. And while a 17 price-to-sales (P/S) ratio may seem high, investors should remember that the sales multiple was consistently above 24 during the 2021 bull market when the company was losing money. That indicates that the stock's run is far from over.
2. Nu
U.S. investors might overlook Brazilian company NuBank (its commercial name) despite the interest from Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and NuBank's status as one of the world's largest digital banks.
In Brazil and other Latin American countries, fintech has greatly helped the local population, where many people lack access to bank accounts and credit cards. While other fintech companies sell products to help these consumers, NuBank issued the first credit card to nearly 6 million Brazilians over a one-year period, bringing them into the financial system directly. Additionally, recent moves into Mexico and Colombia make it likely it will do the same thing elsewhere.
In Q1, its customer base had climbed to 79 million, a 33% increase in one year. Consequently, its revenue of $1.6 billion grew 85% in just one year. With its ability to keep expense growth in check, it reported a $142 million net income, up from a $45 million loss in the year-ago quarter.
Investors have taken notice, as Nu stock is up more than 90% this year. Still, it remains below its 2021 initial public offering (IPO) price, and investors may perceive its 11 P/S ratio as low when considering the growth rate. As more Latin Americans join the financial system through NuBank, shareholders should benefit.
3. Zscaler
Cybersecurity stocks like Zscaler continue to benefit as an increasing number of cloud customers move to secure their networks. Zscaler has stood out by leading the way in zero-trust security.
Zero trust assumes every potential network entrant is a threat and will verify authenticity by factors such as company rank and location. It may also grant partial access depending on company rank, limiting the damage of any potential breach.
Consequently, Zscaler had more than 2,400 customers spending over $100,000 in its fiscal third quarter (ended April 30), a 29% increase in one year. Also, dollar-based net retention rose by over 125%, meaning long-term customers increased spending on the platform by over 25% over last year's levels.
Given those figures, it should surprise few that fiscal Q3 revenue grew 46% year over year to $419 million. And while it lost $46 million during the quarter, it reduced losses from the $101 million reported one year prior to that report.
That indicates that continued revenue increases should bring eventual profitability, and the forecast revenue of nearly $1.6 billion for fiscal 2023 will amount to 46% annual growth if the forecast holds.
Zscaler stock gained nearly 40% so far this year. While some investors may see the 15 P/S ratio as high, it is not far above historical lows, a factor that should bode well for new and current shareholders alike.
