Stocks across a range of industries and sectors have dealt with unique challenges over the last few years. While some companies are still dealing with the effects of a slowdown in growth following pandemic highs, it's important to look at the underlying businesses and not just stock prices to see if a long-term buying proposition remains intact.
If you have $2,000 to invest in stocks right now, there are plenty of wonderful businesses begging to be bought. Here are two such names to consider for your buy basket right now, both of which the market has heavily discounted over the trailing 12 months.
1. Pfizer
Pfizer (PFE +1.25%) has had a significant adjustment as a business after the height of its successes during the pandemic from the COVID-19 vaccine, Comirnaty, and oral antiviral medication, Paxlovid. While it was inevitable that there would be a steep sales cliff after the pandemic-era demand for these products waned, investor sentiment has not been kind to the stock in recent months.
Over the last year, the stock has declined by over 30%. Now, shares of Pfizer are trading at a price-to-sales multiple of around 2.6. While a low valuation in and of itself is never the sole reason you should purchase a stock, it's definitely food for thought when you're looking at one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies with a broad portfolio of medicines and considerable growth potential still to come.
There's no denying that the momentum of COVID-19 products slowing has had a notable impact on Pfizer's balance sheet. Still, Pfizer pulled in full-year revenue of just shy of $59 billion in 2023. And excluding COVID-19 products from the mix, its top line grew by a healthy 7% from the prior-year period, which is a solid growth rate for a business in this stage of maturity.
Pfizer was profitable in 2023 -- net income according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) totaled $2.1 billion -- but that was a steep decline from one year ago when 2022 net income came to $31.3 billion. That isn't just a function of declining product sales. Pfizer is investing heavily in the future growth of its business, which is also affecting the performance of its bottom line.
NYSE: PFE
Key Data Points
Last year, Pfizer completed one of the biggest acquisitions in the history of the company when it bought Seagen, a company that specializes in cancer medicines. This is one very important cog in the machine of Pfizer's overall strategy to add $25 billion in annual revenue to its balance sheet by 2030 through external business development deals.
The company had more products approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration than any other last year, and it's working toward a goal of $70 billion to $84 billion in non-COVID revenue by the year 2030. Management also noted in the 2023 earnings call that Seagen's medicines along with other portfolio additions are expected to add a minimum of eight new products with blockbuster potential to Pfizer's lineup by 2030.
In the meantime, investors are benefiting from Pfizer's lackluster share price performance, in the sense that its dividend yield has soared. That yield is about 6% at the time of this writing. Over the years, Pfizer has steadily raised its dividend, with a total growth rate of about 17% in the trailing five-year period alone.
The company is in the midst of a transition period, and any investor who buys a slice of the company is going to feel the impact of that in its share price performance, likely for the foreseeable future. However, patience may pay off for long-term investors looking for a steady portfolio performer and passive dividend income.
2. Teladoc
Teladoc (TDOC 2.23%) has been heavily sold off by investors in recent months. As of the time of this article, shares are down about 43% from one year ago and 34% just from the start of 2024. I've been a faithful shareholder in this business for a few years now, and I can attest to the fact that it hasn't been an easy ride. While the negative tides of investor sentiment seem to be firmly against this stock at the moment, I have maintained my position in this business, which I still think holds considerable potential for long-term investors.
Investors seem to be stuck on a few core issues that have driven the sell-off of the business. One is the notable slowdown in growth from Teladoc's pandemic heights. While growth has certainly moderated from pre-pandemic and early pandemic times, there's no denying that the pandemic brought about a supercharged period of growth for the business that otherwise may have been realized over a much longer period of time.
Following that pandemic stretch, a normalization of that trajectory was to be expected. This is a mature business that remains a global leader in the telehealth industry, a space that is still expanding steadily as the demand for quality virtual healthcare solutions continues worldwide.
NYSE: TDOC
Key Data Points
The other sticking point for investors has been its continued unprofitability. While Teladoc did record close to $14 billion worth of impairment charges in 2022, almost all of that amount was a noncash expense. Accounting losses aren't great, but they are infinitely better than actual operational losses.
As of the fourth quarter of 2023, Teladoc shrunk its net loss to just around $29 million, compared to the $3 billion net loss it reported in the final stretch of 2022. Moreover, adjusted earnings came in at $328 million for the full year, a 33% increase from 2022.
It's also worth pointing out that revenue is on the upswing, and the company is raking in cash at a healthy pace. Teladoc's 2023 revenue totaled $2.6 billion, an 8% increase from one year ago, while full-year cash from operations came in at $350 million.
Total visits on Teladoc's platform were down slightly year over year, but the company ended 2023 with 89.6 million integrated care members and 1.2 million chronic care enrollees. Those cohorts represented increases of 8% and 14%, respectively, from the end of 2022.
Investors shouldn't expect pandemic-spurred growth numbers from this business, most likely, but that doesn't mean its best days are behind it, either. The growth story for Teladoc isn't over, and for forward-thinking investors, this beaten-down stock could represent an intriguing buying opportunity at its current valuation.
