5 Best Bargain Stocks to Buy Now

The stock market has been tumultuous since the world was flipped upside down for health reasons. Even gains made in high flying technology stocks were essentially reset, giving a second opportunity to jump into value stocks.

Of course, not every security moves with the market, and some companies were deflated more than others. That leaves analysts seeking the best bargain stocks to buy.

Some stocks are great values for their low price-earnings ratios. Others are simply overlooked by media or associated with the pandemic or recovery. Regardless of the reason, we scoured the market for investments that can provide a big return for investors.

Bargain stocks need to trade at reasonable prices while having strong forecasts. They need strong management and an advantage in their respective industries.

These are the five bargain stocks to check out this year to see if they fit into your investment portfolio.

Novavax Efficacy Is 96%; Is Stock Undervalued?

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) has a new COVID-19 vaccination formula currently undergoing clinical trials in multiple countries. Data so far shows its NVX-CoV2373 vaccine is 96 percent effective and may only take one dose, versus the two-dose treatments that still may require boosters.

This late-stage data against the original variant also includes 86-percent efficacy against the U.K. variant and 55-percent effectiveness against the South African strain.

As the pandemic goes on, it’s becoming clear that the fight against the coronavirus could be similar to the flu. We may find ourselves taking annual COVID shots to protect against the contagious lung virus. That’s bad news for humanity but good news for Novavax (NVAX).

Novavax share price skyrocketed throughout the worst of the pandemic. By February 2021, it hit a 52-week high of $331.68 before stabilizing. That spike coincided with the initial news that it’s proving more effective than existing vaccines. Soon after the share price plummeted, leaving potentially very significant upside for bargain hunters.

If or when the vaccine is fully approved, the market cap is poised to return to former highs and then some. And the coronavirus isn’t the only pandemic Novavax is fighting.

The Gaithersburg, Maryland-based company also has a seasonal influenza vaccine candidate undergoing Phase III clinical trials in 2020. If Nanoflu also proves effective, the company’s nanoparticle-based treatments could gain quick mainstream adoption.

That means investors stand to make a healthy return over the next decade…if it gains approval from the FDA and other global regulatory agencies.

Wheaton Precious Metals Volatility Is An Opportunity

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp (NYSE:WPM) is a multinational precious metals streaming company based in Vancouver, Canada. Its main line of business is silver, although it also deals in gold. Both of these precious metals grew in value at the onset of the pandemic as economic uncertainty loomed.

Share prices rose to a 52-week high of $57.89 in the summer of 2020 before trending back down by about 25 percent over the following six months. But that dip may represent a value buying opportunity for investors looking to get in before the next ride up.

Weak gold prices largely drove the stock price down. Share price volatility ensued between $1,500 and $2,000 per ounce. However, former high prices could be seen over the coming months as Federal Reserve policy remains accommodative, leading Wheaton Precious Metals to outperform the S&P 500.

The company’s fourth quarter earnings report was strong – it generated over $1 billion in revenue and $765 million in operating cash flow. Those are both records for the company, and that led to an increased dividend payment.

Its most recent quarterly cash dividend payment of $0.13 represents an annual rate of $0.52, which equates to about a 1.22 percent annual yield. This makes it a great dividend play that exposes investors to both gold and silver without the hefty price tag.

Datadog High Growth Could Make It A Bargain

Datadog Inc (NASDAQ:DDOG) is a cloud-scale monitoring service based in the United States that provides a SaaS-based analytics platform. The company relieves a lot of enterprise technology pain points that help it to lock in long-term B2B contracts.

A typical large enterprise is comprised of a series of systems and reporting platforms. Each of these has a different data format, and it becomes resource intensive for your Information Technology (IT) team to manage it all, especially for cloud-based apps.

Datadog pulls information from popular platforms like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure to give businesses a unified platform to monitor and analyze data.

The company’s most recent earnings report caused the stock price to drop, but that’s an oversimplified view. The earnings guidance was dragged down by acquisitions of companies like Timber Technologies and Sqreen. That hurts the books short term, but the long-term impacts will be great for investors’ returns.

Fourth quarter revenue still rose to $178 million, beating estimates by a cool $14 million. And adjusted net income of $19 million, or $0.06 earnings per share beat expectations too. But the lowered expectations for 2021 steamrollered share prices from a high of $119.43 down to $83.00 in the middle of March.

Buying in at a $25 billion market cap could be a value buy, considering the ability of the company to grow another 50 percent over the next year.

Peloton A Steal According to Wall Street Analysts?

Peloton Interactive Inc (NASDAQ:PTON) is a New York City-based exercise equipment manufacturer. The company launched in 2013 through a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign before going public in September 2019.

The company revolutionized the exercise bike with a connected screen that transforms it into a social exercise experience. It also enables access to professional spin instructors and a vast library of other content.

Perhaps because it’s been grouped with pandemic stocks, Peloton fell from its 52-week high of $171.09 by the end of the first quarter 2021. But that doesn’t mean it’s losing any speed in its underlying business, and much of Wall Street believes PTON share price is a steal at $110.00.

Peloton has a cult following that includes high-profile celebrities like Lizzo, Ellen Degeneres, and Miley Cyrus. It also pioneered a subscription revenue model in the fitness industry, creating a whole new category of smart fitness.

If the company can deliver on investor expectations, it could well continue to grow investor returns. But there’s more competition lining up, as Nautilus and others enter into the connected fitness space.

Twilio Integral Part Of Virtualization Trend

Twilio Inc (NYSE:TWLO) is a San Francisco, California-based cloud communications company that enables phone calls, texts, and other communications through web-based APIs. This makes the company an integral part of the move to digital, regardless of how the pandemic goes.

Major enterprises employ a large staff of customer contact employees who work on phones, social media, and more. The many contact points created by the modern internet, along with the proliferation of artificial intelligence and the internet of things, gives the company plenty of growth potential.

The stock price suffered along with the general tech sector in the February 2021, but things are on their way back up. Many analysts believe it won’t be long before it surpasses its previous record high of $457.30 set earlier in the year.

In fact, this reset is largely viewed by Wall Street as a second-chance opportunity to buy in at a discounted price.

Nobody can predict the future, and any of these five value stocks could have unforeseen problems. However, the general consensus is that they can outperform their current positions and bring healthy returns to investors who buy the dip.

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The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Financhill has a disclosure policy. This post may contain affiliate links or links from our sponsors.