We recently compiled a list of the 10 Worst-Performing Growth Stocks in 2024. In this article, we are going to take a look at where UiPath Inc. (NYSE:PATH) stands against the other Worst-Performing Growth Stock in 2024.
Economic Growth and Market Resilience
Economists anticipate modest US economic growth in the upcoming quarters, and some continue to caution that a mild recession could occur. If high interest rates have a lagging negative effect on American consumers, it might be challenging for investors to locate reliable growth stocks to purchase.
Nevertheless, analysts at UBS are confident that the upward trajectory in the equity market is poised to continue amid the uncertainties regarding the US election and soaring geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The strategists led by Jonathan Golub have already raised their S&P 500 target to 6,400 from 6000 on the belief that the US economy will remain resilient and supportive of the equity markets.
READ ALSO: 10 Most Promising Future Stocks According to Analysts and 10 Most Promising Growth Stocks According to Hedge Funds.
The Swiss bank expects the interest rate cuts by the Fed to be supportive of the economy, therefore fueling a 3.7% nominal growth in 2025. Likewise, the rate cuts should lower interest expense on borrowed capital and, in return, the default risk, which should add to earnings per share and valuations
“Valuations typically expand when the Fed cuts in non-recessionary environments,” the strategist said on October 15 in an interview with CNBC. “Despite elevated valuations, we expect P/Es to rise [half a] multiple point.” Golub also noted that a “sharp decline in Fed Funds will likely increase profit margins by 20 [basis points] via lower interest expense.”
Growth Stocks and Investment Strategies
Since the start of 2023, growth stocks have beaten value stocks, and investors expect this trend to continue as the Fed eases monetary policy to steer the economy into a soft landing. Over the past few years, the bull market has affected stocks in various industries differently. Some have rallied, generating significant returns, while others have lagged their core business and earnings, having come under pressure.
The best growth stocks can beat the stock market and give investors sizable returns regardless of the prevailing economic conditions. That has been the case as some have posted robust revenue growth higher than that of most of their peers, and the catalysts indicate that the growth may continue.
Some of the growth stocks that have exploded in value have received a lift from the economy, remaining resilient, while others have benefited from the artificial intelligence frenzy. Even as investors eye opportunities around AI plays, Morning Star’s chief market strategist Dave Sekera, believes it might be time to reconsider that investment strategy.
“In our 3Q 2024 Stock Market Outlook, we reviewed why we thought the AI trade had run its course and investors should pare down positions in growth stocks and reinvest those proceeds into value stocks. As detailed in our August 2024 Outlook, it appears that the great rotation into value stocks began in July—and still has further room to run. According to our valuations, on both an absolute as well as a relative basis, value stocks remain the most attractive category by style,” said Sekera.
Nevertheless, some growth stocks have fallen behind after a few successful years. The stocks are down year to date, having felt the full brunt of high interest rates and inflation. Some have underperformed as investors question their long-term prospects due to soaring competition in their respective sectors. While other growth stocks’ core business has come under pressure amid the proliferation of advanced technology that is eating into their respective core fields
To determine which stocks are the best to purchase right now, investors must distinguish between these assets. In addition to providing a solid foundation, this list of growth stocks may enable you to outperform the market.
Source: Pexels
Our Methodology
To compile our list of the worst-performing growth stocks in 2024, we started by gathering stocks from various growth stock ETFs. We filtered these stocks based on their share price drops, creating a list of twenty companies. Finally, we ranked these companies in ascending order according to their share price drops year to date.
At Insider Monkey, we are obsessed with the stocks that hedge funds pile into. 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).
UiPath Inc. (NYSE:PATH)
Year to Date Gain as of October 28: -48.11%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 29
UiPath Inc. (NYSE:PATH) is a technology company that provides an end-to-end automation platform with a range of robotic process automation (RPA) solutions. Its solutions are mostly used to build, manage, run and govern automation within organizations. As a leading provider of robotic process automation, the company has been under pressure on concerns that RPA tools face an uncertain future amid proliferation of AI-based no-code tools that offer similar capabilities.
While the stock has shed about 48.11% in market value, its long-term prospects remain intact as it continues to use artificial intelligence tools to enhance its automation capabilities. The company is already leveraging artificial intelligence to strengthen task mining, document understanding and AI center orchestration.
A move by UiPath Inc. (NYSE:PATH) to reduce its full-year annual recurring revenue for fiscal 2025 to between $1.665 billion and $1.670 billion, below expectations of $1.725 billion and $1.730 billion, has also hurt the stock’s sentiments. Nevertheless, the company ended the second quarter with an annual recurring revenue of $1.551 billion, representing a 19% year-over-year increase.
Customers with annual recurring revenues (ARR) of $100,000 or more increased from 1,930 to 2,163 in the second quarter of fiscal 2025. Additionally, customers with ARRs of $1 million or more saw a 15.3% increase over the same quarter last year. Additionally, the AI automation company boasts of an attractive price to free cash flow of 22, affirming it is inexpensive for a software business that is growing at an impressive rate.
According to Insider Monkey’s analysis of hedge fund portfolios from Q2 2024, 29 out of 912 hedge funds held shares in UiPath Inc. (NYSE:PATH). The largest shareholder was Catherine D. Wood’s ARK Investment Management, with holdings valued at $377.19 million.
Overall, PATH ranks 3rd on our list of 10 Worst-Performing Growth Stocks in 2024. While we acknowledge the potential of PATH 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 an AI stock that is more promising than PATH, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
