Finance
2 Unstoppable Growth Stocks You Can Buy Right Now for Under $200
Whether you’re just starting to invest or have been in the stock market for a while, it’s always a good time to put money into quality companies. Finding the right stocks for your portfolio takes time, research and patience, and great returns usually don’t happen overnight.
However, if you stick with great companies amid market highs and lows and put your money to work no matter what the market does, you can grow your portfolio steadily without relying on flawed strategies like marketing timing.
If you’re looking to invest some of your hard-earned savings in stocks this month and invest a smaller amount of money, say $200, here are two top stocks to consider in your buying basket right now.
1. Pfizer
Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) isn’t offering investors the returns they became accustomed to during the pandemic-era boom, but that doesn’t mean this is a one-and-done affair.
The company was one of the largest pharmaceutical entities in the world long before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Although growth had slowed in the years leading up to the pandemic and the development of the successful COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty and the oral antiviral drug Paxlovid injected a new wave of growth into Pfizer’s business, this kind of cyclicality is not uncommon for a company with this size, scale and maturity.
Pfizer achieved record profits and sales thanks to its COVID-19 products, and in 2022 it became the first in Big Pharma history to exceed $100 billion in annual sales. Knowing that COVID-19-related sales would inevitably decline and that patent cliffs were approaching for several core products in the second half of the decade, Pfizer management immediately got to work using that windfall of cash and profits to to achieve a series of strategic acquisitions.
These purchases include biopharmaceutical assets such as Arena Pharmaceuticals, Global Blood Therapeutics and Seagen. These numerous multi-billion dollar acquisitions have all boosted Pfizer’s portfolio and pipeline, but cancer drugmaker Seagen appears to be one of the most monumental of these acquisition efforts. Pfizer’s $43 billion purchase of Seagen was the largest transaction in the biopharmaceutical industry in about four years.
The addition of Seagen to Pfizer’s already extensive oncology program was notable, in part because it doubled the company’s pipeline and added four new approved cancer drugs to the mix. Now, management plans to launch eight or more potential blockbusters from its portfolio of cancer drugs by the year 2030 and is focusing on expanding its footprint specifically in the areas of various forms of breast cancer, genitourinary cancer, hematology-oncology and thoracic cancer. Management estimates that the Seagen acquisition alone is on track to add another $10 billion to Pfizer’s annual revenue by 2030.
In the first quarter of 2024, Pfizer generated revenue of just under $15 billion. That figure was down double digits from the previous year’s quarter due to sales declines at Paxlovid and Comirnaty. However, if you take these two products out of the mix, sales actually rose 11% from a year ago, a healthy clip for a mature company. Sales from Pfizer’s Vyndaqel family of drugs rose as much as 66% in the first quarter of 2024. Meanwhile, anticoagulant blockbuster Eliquis saw sales rise 10% year over year, while the company’s Prevnar family of vaccines generated 7% higher sales than a year ago.
While investors may need to be patient as Pfizer integrates these new acquisitions into its growth story and builds on its pandemic successes, this isn’t a company that is dying. It is still profitable and had about $12 billion in cash on its balance sheet at last count. Pfizer is also consistently increasing and paying its dividend, which by the way is now yielding just under 6%, as its shares have been battered by the market.
The dividend is $0.42 per share, or $1.68 annually. For investors looking for dividends, an established pharmaceutical leader, and robust long-term growth potential, a multi-year investment in this stock still seems like a good idea.
2. Fiverr
Fiverr International (NYSE: FVRR) hasn’t gained much favor from investors lately either, but that could be a short-sighted view of this company’s potential.
While this business caught the attention of many investors during the pandemic, the gig economy is an explosive growth sector of the global workforce that is expected to continue growing in the coming years. A study by Business Research Insights shows that the global gig economy will reach a valuation of approximately $1.9 trillion by 2031. That’s a compound annual growth rate of about 16% from the 2021 valuation.
Fiverr’s platform makes it easy for both small businesses and larger organizations to connect with freelancers to handle a number of tasks they need, from voiceover work to administration to legal document preparation to copywriting. For a freelancer, the ability to be time and location independent while collaborating with clients around the world is a compelling value proposition. Some investors may be concerned that Fiverr’s growth prospects could be limited by the wider adoption of artificial intelligence-based tools, but this is only part of the pie.
The company has aggressively refined its platform to capitalize on demand for AI-focused projects and services without undermining the need for talented human workers. In fact, complex services, tasks that require human skills to effectively harness the power of AI, are growing at double-digit rates on the Fiverr marketplace. These complex services not only drive higher spending among freelance gig buyers, but now account for two-thirds of all transactions on the Fiverr platform.
New AI services like avatar design are becoming increasingly popular among freelancers and buyers alike, and Fiverr had more than 10,000 freelancers considered AI experts on its platform at the end of the first quarter. This growth in AI-driven, complex, and higher-value services is driving up spend per buyer and accelerating Fiverr’s financial growth.
First quarter 2024 revenues totaled just under $94 million, up 6% from a year ago. While the number of active buyers fell by single digits year over year, spend per buyer increased 8% from the same quarter in 2023. Fiverr also reported $0.8 million in net profit for the three-month period, compared to a net loss of $4.3 million per year. last quarter. On an adjusted revenue basis, Fiverr brought in $16 million in the three-month period.
The company faces a continuing challenging environment as companies spend cautiously and hiring initiatives continue to slow in some sectors. During economic periods when these trends are more prominent, the opportunity to work with freelance professionals or even a team of freelancers can be even more attractive to these organizations.
Fiverr’s expansion of its higher-quality services, AI-focused gigs, and offerings for larger companies, such as the curated selection of freelancers and services on the Fiverr Pro platform, all help the company stay competitive in a tough landscape. Forward-thinking investors might consider taking even a small position to capitalize on the potential of the gig economy and Fiverr’s footprint in that world.
Should you invest €1,000 in Pfizer now?
Consider the following before buying shares in Pfizer:
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Rachel Warren has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool holds and recommends positions in Fiverr International and Pfizer. The Motley Fool has one disclosure policy.
2 Unstoppable Growth Stocks You Can Buy Right Now for Under $200 was originally published by The Motley Fool
