For an active investor using the top-down approach or bottom-up approach for new stocks to buy, there is no dearth of opportunities. Initial public offering is one major source of identifying value creators and holding them for the long term. This statement is backed by the fact that the S&P U.S. IPO & Spinoff Index has delivered annualized returns of 13.33% in the last 10 years.
I believe that careful stock selection from among the IPOs or special purpose acquisition companies can help investors outperform the index. This column will look at four new stocks to buy that have the potential to be value creators in the coming years.
I am discussing two IPOs from the year besides two SPACs. As the article from Harvard Law School Forum indicates, the total number of SPAC IPOs have been on a steady increase. And there are some exciting names to consider.
So let’s discuss the following new stocks to buy:
- Nikola Corporation (NASDAQ:NKLA)
- American Well Corporation (NYSE:AMWL)
- Snowflake (NYSE:SNOW)
- Forum Merger II Corporation (NASDAQ:FMCI)
New Stocks to Buy: Nikola Corporation (NKLA)
NKLA stock got listed in June 2020 through a reverse merger with special purpose acquisition company. The stock has corrected after an initial surge. I believe that NKLA stock is among the most attractive new stocks to buy and exposure can be considered at current levels. As an overview, the company is the manufacturer of zero-emission battery-electric and hydrogen-electric vehicles.
I must mention here that recently General Motors (NYSE:GM) acquired 11% stake in the company. This is an indication of the potential the company holds and the attractiveness of the vehicle pipeline.
I specifically wanted to mention this as the stock tumbled following the exit of the founder Trevor Milton from the company. However, investors should use this as an opportunity to accumulate the stock of a company that’s potentially backed by General Motors.
The company has also been receiving pre-orders for its BEV. In August 2020, the company received an order for 2,500 BEV trucks from Republic Services. The on-road testing for BEV trucks is likely in early fiscal year 2022 with full scale production in the following year. While revenue might still be some distance away, I believe that NKLA stock can trend higher as pre-orders swell.
American Well Corporation (AMWL)
I believe that the listing of AMWL stock is among the most attractive IPOs in the recent past. The reason being the potential growth in the telehealth industry in the coming years.
Research suggests that the telehealth industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 17.7% between FY2020 and FY2026. Another outlook predicts the industry growth at a CAGR of 28% over the next five years. Even if the industry growth is around 20%, AMWL stock is positioned to deliver sustained value.
It’s also important to mention that the novel coronavirus pandemic has triggered strong growth for telehealth companies. American Well mentioned in its filing that “utilization of our platform to deliver care during the COVID-19 crisis increased dramatically. Visits in April 2020 were as high as 40,000 per day, versus approximately 2,900 visits per day in April 2019.”
Given this surge in the company’s platform utilization, its very likely that top-line growth will be robust in the coming quarters. Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) invested $100 million in the company prior to the IPO. This is worth mentioning as the company is likely to have a strong financial backing to pursue aggressive growth.
Overall, AMWL stock is worth holding for the next few years. Considering the industry growth outlook, the stock is likely to be a value creator.
Snowflake (SNOW)
Back in May 2017, an article was published in The Economist, which opined that “the world’s most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data.”
Considering the explosion of data in the last few years and potentially for the coming decade, SNOW stock is attractive. Snowflake launched a successful IPO in September 2020 and I believe that the stock is worth buying at current levels.
Snowflake is a public cloud service provider. The company is competing with the likes of Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Alphabet. However, I am not worried about the competition considering the addressable market. Further, companies are adopting a multi-cloud strategy that allows more than one cloud provider to cater to the same client.
In terms of top-line growth, the company reported revenue of $133 million for the second quarter of 2021. On a year-on-year basis, revenue surged by 121%. Therefore, the company is on a high growth trajectory and industry growth will ensure that the momentum sustains. Over the next seven years, the cloud service industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 16.4%.
Overall, SNOW stock is among the attractive new stocks to buy with positive industry tailwinds. Importantly, the industry outlook is likely to remain bullish for the coming decade.
Forum Merger II Corporation (FMCI)
Among the recently listed SPACs, FMCI stock is attractive and a potential long-term value creator. FMCI stock would give investors an exposure to the high growth plant-based food industry. Its expected that the plant-based food market will be worth $74.2 billion by FY2027. In these seven years, the market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.9%.
To elaborate on the business, Tattooed Chef brand is listed through the reverse merger. The plant-based food brand delivered sales of $47.9 million in FY2018. For the coming year, sales are projected at $222 million. Clearly, the early-stage company is on a high growth trajectory.
The management also believes that in the long term, the company’s sales and adjusted EBITDA will grow at an annual rate of 20%. Given this outlook, FMCI stock is worth holding in the portfolio.
I believe that this guidance can be achieved as the visibility of plant-based food increases. Researchers at Stanford Medicine have concluded that plant-based meat lowers cardiovascular risk. This factor, coupled with environment conscious diners, will accelerate industry growth.
In the last six months, FMCI stock has surged by 123%. There has been some correction in the recent past and I would use the decline to gradually accumulate the stock.
On the date of publication, Faisal Humayun did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article.
Faisal Humayun is a senior research analyst with 12 years of industry experience in the field of credit research, equity research and financial modeling. Faisal has authored over 1,500 stock specific articles with focus on the technology, energy and commodities sector. As of this writing, Faisal Humayun did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
