Neither the author, Tim Fries, nor this website, The Tokenist, provide financial advice. Please consult our website policy prior to making financial decisions.
Across thousands of stocks and peculiarities of each industry sector, it is a daunting task to pick the right equity exposure at the right time. For investors with medium to long time preference, these stocks have solid potential to return substantial profits.
Unlike penny stocks, they are on a more secure track, limiting possible risk. The current timing and price point is particularly beneficial for some of these discounted stocks moving into 2025.
Clear Secure (NYSE: YOU)
In early November, Clear Secure had a major price correction, dropping from its 52-week high of $38.88 to the present price of $26.31 per share. When this happens, it is worth considering if the stock drop is related to the company’s long-term prospects. In this case, Clear Secure appears to represent a solid buy the dip opportunity.
The company offers subscription-based service to build a user’s biometric profile. Through partnerships with other businesses that require security clearance, users then get to enjoy fast-tracked clearance. For instance, at airports, Clear Secure customers could bypass standard TSA ID checks, significantly reducing wait times.
This extends to partnerships with financial services like American Express, where Clear Plus members not only streamline their traveling experience but can receive up to $199 in statement credits per calendar year. With clear value of its service, the company gained 27 million members across this network of partnerships.
In Q3 2024 earnings, this was reflected in the growth of active Clear Plus members to 7.2 million, up 12.2% from the previous quarter. More importantly, the service retention remained strong at 89%, up 1% from the year-ago quarter. Clear Secure’s revenue also showed strong fundamentals at 23.7% year-over-year growth to $198.4 million, alongside bookings increase by 18.7%.
However, when the company reported Q3 figures on November 7th, they showed a $37.9 million net loss in free cash flow. In other business models, this may cause concern. But with Clear Secure, this was the expected annual outflow to the aforementioned credit card partners such as American Express.
For the full year, Clear Secure expects 40% free cash flow increase from 2023, having ended up with $38 million net income vs $26.9 million in the year-ago quarter. According to 8 analyst inputs collected by Nasdaq, the median YOU price target is $33.8 per share. The low estimate is $23 while the high forecast is $45 per share.
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Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU)
Since the Micron coverage at the end of September, MU stock has been moving sideways. Like Clear Secure, MU stock had a major price correction, but mid-year. Now priced at $101.11, MU shares are below the 52-week average of $104.97 per share.
As the beneficiary of the AI boom, Idaho-based Micron secured $6.1 billion in funding and up to $7.5 billion in favorable loans under the umbrella of the CHIPS and Science Act. Although Micron doesn’t produce AI chips like Nvidia or AMD, its storage and memory solutions, from SSDs to DRAM, are indispensable in computing across desktop, mobile, smart home, data centers and high-performance computing (HPC) for training AI models.
Alongside Samsung and SK Hynix, these companies cover nearly all the world’s memory needs. In the digital age, it is a certainty that this market will expand. Mordor Intelligence projects a CAGR of 7.63% for the global memory market expansion from 2024 to 2029.
But just like with Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), that long-term expansion requires considerable capex that eats current profits. Micron has allocated up to $15 billion for its manufacturing facility in Southeast Boise, which should go online by 2026. Yet, even this pales in comparison to the planned $100 billion memory plant in New York State’s White Pine Commerce Park.
In other words, investors should view Micron Technology as a geostrategic asset, as much as Raytheon or Northrop Grumman. As of Q4 FY24 earnings report, Micron had $8.1 million capex, but still ended the fiscal year with $1.472 billion net income. This is up from $4.862 billion net loss in FY23.
The median MU price target is $149.81 vs current $101.28 per share, according to 29 analyst inputs. The low estimate is $64 while the high forecast is $250 per share. This makes MU stock one of the largest potential gainers while also being a relatively safe exposure.
DocuSign (NASDAQ: DOCU)
Tomorrow, on December 5th, 5 PM EST, Docusign is scheduled to deliver its Q3 FY25 earnings report. This would be a good time to put DOCU on a watchlist and monitor the market’s reaction. If DocuSign fails to beat the earnings per share (EPS) consensus of $0.21, it may be a buy the dip opportunity.
Like Clear Secure, DocuSign provides a subscription-based service for electronic signatures. In the digital age, these are needed frequently to transact and manage online documents, either for individuals or large enterprises. Moreover, DocuSign integrates with Salesforce and other platforms so that streamlining is even more complete.
Given the scalable nature of cloud-based SaaS, this is a relatively lean business model. Furthermore, DocuSign could easily expand into workflow automation and e-invoicing, competing with companies like Smartsheet (NASDAQ: SMAR).
For documents that require stricter verification layers, DocuSign charges additional transaction fees, on top of the subscription. The company has 1.6 million paid subscribers, having increased subscription revenue by 7% year-over-year to $717.4 million in the last quarter ending July.
DocuSign’s free cash flow has shown consistent growth, at $197.9 million last quarter, up $14.3 million from the year-ago quarter. This allowed the company to significantly increase DOCU stock buybacks, up to $200.1 million from $30 million in the same period.. In turn, this buying pressure raised DOCU stock 45% YTD to present price of $82.85 against the 52-week average of $59.54 per share.
Depending on tomorrow’s market reaction, investors should take advantage of downside market correction. The median DOCU price target is $70.09 according to 19 analyst inputs. The low bar is $50 while the top forecast is $108 per share.
Do you plan to have greater stock or crypto exposure in 2025 compared to 2024? Let us know in the comments below.
Disclaimer: The author does not hold or have a position in any securities discussed in the article.
The post 3 Stocks Trading at a Steep Discount in December 2024 appeared first on Tokenist.