In the ongoing landscape of surging stock prices and dizzying market highs, it’s easy to feel like you’ve missed the boat on growth stocks.
The result of a broad market rally in recent months has catapulted most quality growth stocks to hefty valuations. Investors are left wondering if the ship has sailed on finding undervalued, worthwhile opportunities.
However, exceptions prevail. A handful of growth stocks still hold the promise of significant upside potential. A few names appear to be trading at tempting valuations relative to their growth prospects. This could translate to significant total return prospects for investors, especially if they were to catch up to their more expensive peers.
So, let’s examine three growth stocks to buy that have fallen behind their sector peers despite continuing to post robust results.
Adobe (ADBE)
Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) is an attractively priced growth stock. Recent challenges include concerns over artificial intelligence (AI) developments potentially impacting its software suite. Also, the social media uproar over subscription practices has been heard. However, Adobe continues to showcase resilience and growth.
In its most recent fiscal Q2 results, Adobe crushed fears of AI rendering its creative suite obsolete. In fact, Adobe demonstrated it has made outstanding progress in integrating AI into its offerings. Its new tools, like FireFly, are already commercially available. This is not the case with potential competitors like OpenAI’s Sora, which can’t yet be utilized at a commercial scale.
Further, concerns about subscription cancellations were proven baseless, too. Adobe posted record revenues of $5.31 billion, an 11% rise in constant currency. Adjusted earnings-per-share (EPS) came in at $4.48, marking a 15% year-over-year (YOY) growth. Thus, consensus estimates now anticipate a full-year EPS of $18.16, suggesting robust double-digit growth of 13%. With shares remaining significantly below their past highs as the market still digests Adobe’s latest numbers, the stock continues to present a tempting opportunity at its current levels.
Lululemon Athletica (LULU)
Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The company has built one of the most iconic sports apparel brands. Originally gaining popularity with its premium yoga leggings, it resonated particularly well with women. Since, Lululemon has expanded its product line to cater to many different target groups.
Now, it boasts an extensive range spanning fitness, lifestyle, running, training and casual wear. Moreover, Lululemon Athletica has successfully penetrated the men’s apparel market, notably boosting its market share in this space too. It has proved higher foot traffic in its stores, growing e-commerce volumes and an ever-expanding store footprint. Indeed, Lululemon Athletica has sustained solid growth over the years. Its revenues have grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.7% over the past decade. This figure stands at an equally impressive 20.4% when it comes to its EPS.
Over the past year, Wall Street expressed fears of a significant slowdown in growth. This led to LULU stock recording tremendous losses. However, the company’s most recent results tell a different story. LULU’s growth remained in the double-digits in Q1, with sales and EPS rising by 10.5% and 11.4%, respectively. Thus, I believe that LULU stock presents another overlooked growth opportunity in the current market landscape.
WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings (WSC)
For my final selection, I’ve reserved a spot for a company that may not be familiar to you yet operates all around you. I am referring to WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings (NYSE:WSC), a leader in modular space and portable storage solutions. The company offers a wide range of products, including office trailers, portable classrooms, storage containers and ground-level offices. For instance, if you ever see portable units deployed on a public project, chances are they are from WSC.
What I love about WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings is that it benefits from long-term leases and contracts for its portable storage assets. This ensures consistent and predictable cash flows. The company has successfully leveraged this model to achieve significant economies of scale. For example, its portable storage containers have demonstrated impressive internal rates of return (IRRs), averaging around 30% over their 30-year lifecycle.
Overall, WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings exhibits strong cash flow visibility. Currently, it’s in a phase of expanding margins. And management has consistently shown a dedication to returning capital to shareholders. Notably, they repurchased 6.4% of the company’s outstanding shares in the last four quarters. Given these attributes, I view WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings as one of the most attractive growth opportunities in the market. This holds especially true after its 17% decline over the past year. The fact that WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings is relatively unknown to the average investor further adds to its appeal. Thus, it may eventually gain mainstream recognition.
On the date of publication, Nikolaos Sismanis did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.