Software is eating the world, and virtually no business is left untouched by it. This secular theme has materialized in superior earnings growth and stock price performance for most SaaS companies, and over the last six months, the industry has returned 4.8%. This was a good place to be as the S&P 500 fell by 1.1%.
Investors looking for hidden gems should keep an eye on small-cap stocks because they’re frequently overlooked by Wall Street. Many opportunities exist in this part of the market, but it is also a high-risk, high-reward environment due to the lack of reliable analyst price targets.
Whether it be online shopping or social media, secular forces are propelling consumer internet businesses forward. These themes have enabled rapid growth for the industry, which has posted a 8.9% gain over the past six months. This was a good place to be as the S&P 500 shed 1.1% of its value.
Mid-cap stocks have the best odds of scaling into $100 billion corporations thanks to their tested business models and large addressable markets. But the many opportunities in front of them attract significant competition, spanning from industry behemoths with seemingly infinite resources to small, nimble players with chips on their shoulders.
Small-cap stocks can be incredibly lucrative investments because their lack of analyst coverage leads to frequent mispricings. However, these businesses (and their stock prices) often stay small because their subscale operations make it harder to expand their competitive moats.
Many small-cap stocks have limited Wall Street coverage, giving savvy investors the chance to act before everyone else catches on. But the flip side is that these businesses have increased downside risk because they lack the scale and staying power of their larger competitors.
Stocks in the $10-50 range offer a sweet spot between affordability and stability as they’re typically more established than penny stocks. But their headline prices don’t guarantee quality, and investors should exercise caution as some have shaky business models.
Large-cap stocks have the power to shape entire industries thanks to their size and widespread influence. With such vast footprints, however, finding new areas for growth is much harder than for smaller, more agile players.
From novel pharmaceuticals to telemedicine, most healthcare companies are on a mission to drive better patient outcomes. But speed bumps such as inventory destockings have persisted in the wake of COVID-19, and over the past six months, the industry has pulled back by 11.2%. This drawdown was much worse than the S&P 500’s 1.1% decline.
The best-performing stocks typically have robust sales growth, increasing margins, and rising returns on capital, and those that can maintain this trifecta year in and year out often become the legends of the investing world.
