Each year, hundreds of stocks are delisted from U.S. exchanges. The path to delisting is usually long, and the signs are many. Generally speaking, delistings do not happen overnight. That means there is an opportunity for seemingly dead stocks to reverse course and head for a comeback.

Everyone loves the story of the underdog fighting against impossible odds and finding success. The stock market is not without recent precedents. Those precedents are similar to the biblical story of Lazarus, who rose from the dead after being entombed for several days.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) and Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) are two great recent examples. Each has shown incredible resilience in fighting back after having been thought dead. 

There’s always room for more comeback stories in the stock market in the second half of 2024. Those comeback stories are likely to emerge from sectors that have recently suffered. Generally speaking, investors should look to the EV sector and growth stocks in order to find those opportunities. Comeback stories can emerge from any sector, of course. Let’s look at three stocks to buy for a comeback.

Nokia (NOK)

Nokia (NYSE:NOK) used to be one of the major mobile phone manufacturers globally. The company certainly missed the smartphone opportunity. Nokia instead continued to rely on its legacy Symbian operating system, completely missing the app-driven smartphone opportunity. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) released its smartphone in 2007. The rest is history.

Since then, Nokia has emerged as a 5G infrastructure threat, especially in light of global politics. The Chinese firm Huawei is one of its main rivals. Many countries are simply avoiding Huawei out of national security concerns. That is one of the reasons Nokia garnered increased attention over the past few years.

Nokia continues to focus on the security of its equipment and its reputation for reliable devices, including the famously indestructible 3310. 

And while the company continues to be a major 5G competitor, 5G hasn’t produced expected returns yet. Networks are still largely under development. That means even those with 5G coverage are often left to use more extensive 4G networks. Higher plan costs simply aren’t worth it yet, and until the build-out progresses, 5G stocks will continue to suffer.

That’s exactly why Nokia may rise again, positioning it for a comeback.

Intel (INTC)

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) stock may already be in the early stages of a comeback. Well, maybe, maybe not.

The stock reeled off a string of day-to-day increases recently that were not expected. Some believe the momentum will be short-lived due to short selling activity rather than any positive fundamental improvements.

Intel has floundered in 2024. Still, the company continues to enact plans to become a major chip foundry in the future. Intel is convinced its expertise in Process technology and packaging makes it uniquely suited to the AI opportunity. While that may prove true in the future, it has not panned out thus far.

That’s a good part of the reason Intel has performed so poorly in 2024. That poor performance has caused many to believe Intel is indeed dead. However, the company has too many positives to be counted out. 

Intel is the favorite son of Uncle Sam. The company has received billions in subsidies, and that investment could rise further. So, while Intel isn’t currently a top performer, it might just be able to brute force its way into a better future through massive subsidization.

Nio (NIO)

Nio (NYSE:NIO) stock is down nearly 50% this year. Yet, it continues to have legitimate potential to rise from the ashes, so to speak.

June deliveries nearly doubled, rising 98% to 21,209 vehicles. Quarterly deliveries reached 57,373, increasing 144% and exceeding the high end of guidance. Those figures clearly indicate that Nio has all the potential to rebound.

At the same time, there is a massive price war going on in the EV sector, especially in China. There are more than 100 EV brands competing in the space in the country. That continues to put substantial downward pricing pressure on manufacturers overall. In response, Nio has launched a lower-price brand called Onvo. That vehicle will compete against Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) Model Y. It’s priced just above $30,000. 

NIO is certainly down but not out. While the Chinese EV market is clearly reaching saturation, the company still has one of the best names and most dominant positions. Any number of those firms is much more likely to fail than Nio.

On the date of publication, Alex Sirois did not have (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.

On the date of publication, the responsible editor did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.