We recently compiled a list of the 7 Unstoppable Growth Stocks To Buy Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) stands among the unstoppable growth stocks to buy now.
Should You Invest in Growth Stocks with Rate Cuts Around the Corner?
Growth stocks are shares in a company whose earnings and sales are growing faster than other companies and are expected to continue to grow. These stocks rarely pay dividends as management is eager to reinvest earnings to fuel further growth.
However, with higher growth potential comes high risks. Moreover, it is challenging to find hidden growth stocks as they are typically new companies that are constantly seeking the next big innovation. We recently covered the 10 Best Aggressive Growth Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds, which talks about various approaches used to identify these stocks. Here’s an excerpt from the piece:
When it comes to identifying growth stocks, there are several approaches that are followed. These depend on the business model and the fundamentals of the firms being analyzed. For instance, for profitable companies with a positive net income, the price to earnings ratio is used. However, a large portion of high growth stocks aren’t profitable as they reinvest their revenue into expanding market share. This leads to high operating costs, and these firms are valued either through the EV/Sales or EV/EBITDA ratios, depending on whether the firm generates a positive operating income or not.
Both the P/E and other ratios tell us the premium that the market is placing over a firm’s ability to generate money. For instance, one of the major semiconductor companies in the world, which ranks 6th on our list of Top 10 Trending AI Stocks on Latest Analyst Ratings and News, had a P/E ratio of 112x by the end of Q1 2018. This was before the age of AI, and its two peers in the chip industry had 37x for the chip stock that’s Wall Street’s AI darling and 19x for the struggling American chip giant that’s also the only leading edge US based chip manufacturer. Safe to say, the 112x P/E foretold the story of times to come, and since Q1 2018, the stock has gained a whopping 1,386%.
The recent slowing down of the macroeconomic environment and the hype of return on investment of artificial intelligence have questioned the viability of investment in growth stocks. Analysts and portfolio managers have variable opinions but they all converge to a single point “diversification”.
On August 15, Ben Snider from Goldman Sachs appeared in a CNBC interview and mentioned that he still prefers growth stocks over value stocks but emphasized on diversified portfolios. He pointed out that the base case is not the economy running into recession, it is quite the opposite as the data suggests. Ben Snider believes that the economy continues to grow and backed his arguments by mentioning the second quarter earnings season growth, the S&P 500 growth, and the Federal Reserve rate cuts. Therefore the base case as per Snider is higher equity prices by the year end.
While elaborating on his statement about growth stocks, Ben Snider pointed out that an environment of slowing but healthy economic growth along with falling interest rates have historically supported growth stocks over value stocks.
Most importantly, Snider emphasized that there is a risk for some extremely large stocks both from a positioning point of view and from their inability to maintain very strong rates of growth. In addition, the AI bubble problem along with very high analyst expectations have priced these stocks to an extremely overvalued situation.
The solution, as presented by Snider, is to adopt a more diversified approach and go for a selection of smaller tech stocks along with other high-growth industries. Some of the major growth industries mentioned during the interview were smaller tech stocks, the healthcare industry, and some other European stocks that are on the verge of cutting-edge innovation.
Our Methodology
To compile the list of 7 unstoppable growth stocks to buy now, we used the Finviz stock screener. We set the performance filter to year-to-date +50% gain and sifted through some of the high-growth industries to get a consolidated list of stocks. We then selected the highest gainers that were the most popular among elite hedge funds. The list is ranked in ascending order of the year-to-date performance of stocks.
Why do we care about what hedge funds do? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
A trader at a stock exchange, vigorously watching the stocks’ trends in the stock market.
AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS)
Year-to-date Share Price Gain as of September 11: 438.35%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 15
AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) is another unstoppable growth stock to buy now. The stock has gained more than 438.35% on a year-to-date basis. It was held by 15 hedge funds in Q2 2024, with total stakes worth $67.38 million. Citadel Investment Group is the top shareholder of the company, with a position worth $17.9 million.
The company is engaged in providing a unique internet network that will provide service directly from space. To make this happen it aims to build a constellation of 168 satellites, which will cost around $3 billion.
AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) is leveraging partnerships with other major tech companies to improve its reach. It has entered into strategic partnerships with Verizon, Google, and AT&T that will enable the company to improve its reach. The partnership will add 850 MHz of premium spectrum to its portfolio giving it direct access to 70% of US mobile internet users.
The fortune of the company is dependent on its ability to raise capital to fund its goal. Management has already announced the completion of the first 5 commercial satellites, which are set to launch in September, and another 17 satellites are under construction. It has already received $71 million from a warrant redemption and expects another $84 million. This topped with the existing $285 million in cash reserves ensures a smooth year with progress towards its goal.
Investors have shown confidence in management’s efforts and the stock has gained more than 438 on a year-to-date basis.
Overall ASTS ranks 2nd on our list of the unstoppable tech stocks to buy. While we acknowledge the potential of ASTS as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for a promising AI stock that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure. None. This article was originally published on Insider Monkey.
