These 6 tech companies are the best bargains hiding in the tech selloff's wreckage heap
Facebook (FB)
Yes, the social-media giant has been facing a slew of scandals this year. And, yes, its growth has slowed and its costs have gone up as CEO Mark Zuckerberg has tried to refocus the company on combatting fake news and other problems. But the precipitous drop in the company's shares of late — Facebook's shares are off 37% since hitting their all time-high in July — have made them the biggest bargain on the block, Mahaney says.
The 22% drop in Facebook's shares just since the end of August has been among the steepest of all the large-cap internet stocks. Thanks to that decline, the ratio of the company's enterprise value to its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) is about 10. That's at the low end of the four-year range for that ratio, Mahaney notes in the report.
Meanwhile, as of the close of trading Friday, the company's stock was just 4% above its 52-week low.
That valuation seems way out of line with where Facebook is as a business in Mahaney's eyes. If anything, Facebook has become more dominant than ever this year, since it owns four of the top social-networking and messaging services and is grabbing an ever-larger share of online advertising.
Even though many tech companies have been beat up lately, Facebook still "stands out," says Mahaney, who has a $190 price target on the company's stock. Facebook's shares closed Monday at $136.38.
Alphabet (GOOGL)
Shares in the search giant haven't fallen as much as Facebook's — through Friday, they were down 16% since the end of August. But Alphabet still has a strong case to make for being severely undervalued, Mahaney says.
Alphabet's ratio of enterprise value to EBITDA is 10.6, according to his report. Like Facebook, that's near the bottom of its four-year range. And as of Friday, Alphabet was trading just 5% above its 52-week low.
But Alphabet has other things in its favor, according to Mahaney. For example, its revenue growth has shown remarkable consistency. For 35 straight quarters, the company's base revenue has grown by 20% or more on an annual basis.
Additionally, the company has huge potential growth drivers for the future. With video becoming increasingly important online, YouTube's business is poised for a big windfall, he says. And then there's Waymo, the company's self-driving car effort.
It has the "pole position against arguably the biggest product cycle in tech – autonomous vehicles," Mahaney says. His price target on Alphabet is $1,400; the company's stock closed Monday at $1,055.94.
Booking Holdings (BKNG)
Shares of Booking, formerly known as Priceline, were down only 10% from August 31 through Friday. That's significantly less than other big tech stocks.
But its shares look cheap by other measures, Mahaney says. Its ratio of enterprise value to EBITDA is 13.7, which is at the bottom of its four-year range, he noted. As of Friday, Booking's share price was only 4% above its 52-week range.
And the company could be poised for improving results. Its growth rate picked up in the third quarter and the company looks set to build on that in coming quarters, writes Mahaney.
Booking still only accounts for a small portion of the total global travel market. And it's investing in long-term opportunities, including the Chinese market, he says.
"The takeaway here is that online travel trends remain strong," says Mahaney, who has a price target of $2,425 on Booking's shares. The company's stock closed Monday at $1,802.44.
Wix (WIX)
For Mahaney, Wix, an Israeli provider of website building tools, is the biggest bargain when it comes to small and medium-sized tech stocks.
From August 31 to Friday, it's stock was down 22%. That's not good, but not it's not as bad as some other small-cap names.
But what makes Wix's stock so compelling is that it's growing rapidly, Mahaney says. Its "collections" — a term that includes both its base revenue and changes in its deferred revenue — grew by an average of 39% over its last two fiscal years. Additionally, it looks well positioned for further growth, with the launch of a new payments feature, and potential price hikes.
Among smaller tech stocks, Wix is "one of the best fundamental assets," Mahaney says. He has a $110 price target on the company's stock; its share closed Monday at $92.28.
The Trade Desk (TTD)
Like Wix, The Trade Desk wasn't hit as hard as some other smaller tech stocks in the recent sell-off. From August 31 through Friday, its shares were off 20%. That left it well above its 52-week high, thanks to a big run-up earlier this year.
But, like Wix, The Trade Desk, an automated ad purchasing service, stands out because of its performance and growth prospects, according to Mahaney. The company's revenue has consistently grown at 50% or greater on a year-over-year basis. It has also consistently posted an EBITDA that was at least 30% of its revenue.
With new products on the way, automated advertising sales growing rapidly, and potential growth internationally, The Trade Desk has plenty of potential, in Mahaney's view. He has a $170 price target on the company's shares. They closed Monday at $129.40.
Roku (ROKU)
Roku looks attractive from all kinds of angles, says Mahaney.
Its shares were down 31% from August 31 through Friday, one of the steeper drops among the small-cap tech stocks that he covers. That's left it with a enterprise-value-to-EBITDA ratio of 4.5, which is toward the bottom of its range as a public company.
Yet the digital video player maker has posted consistently strong results. Its platform business, which includes its licensing revenue and advertising sales, has consistently grown by at least 70% on a year-over-year basis and it's likely to maintain that in the fourth quarter, Mahaney says.
What's more, it has lots of growth potential. Next year several large companies, including Disney and Apple, are slated to launch new streaming video offerings, which could help drive sales and usage of its players and service. And Roku is also positioned to benefit from continued advertising spending.
"Roku is a market leader in a massive and under-penetrated [internet video] ad business and in the US smart TV market," says Mahaney. "We believe there is convincing evidence that Roku can sustain very high platform revenue growth rates for several years."
Mahaney has a price target of $70 for Roku. Its stock closed Monday at $41.21.
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