Key Points
Buying stocks that are trading at cheap valuations can set you up for some big gains later on. And it can minimize the risk of a decline if the market starts to struggle.
Although many stocks look expensive today, there are three growth stocks which still seem absurdly cheap right now: Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) , PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) , and Dell Technologies (NYSE: DELL) . By investing in these companies, you can gain exposure to some top businesses, while also diversifying your portfolio. Here's a closer look at why each of these stocks can be a good long-term investment.
Novo Nordisk
Drugmaker Novo Nordisk is a terrific healthcare company to consider investing in. The market has been bearish on it over the past year, as recent results from clinical trials haven't met expectations; there are also new concerns that tariffs on pharmaceuticals may weigh down Novo Nordisk and similar stocks. But as concerning as these developments may be, they're also short-term in nature.
Novo Nordisk has been a growth-focused business for decades, and some solid products in its portfolio, including Wegovy and Ozempic, have enabled it to generate strong results in recent quarters and put it on track for even more growth in the future. Through the first three months of the year, the company grew its sales by 19% and its operating profit by 22%.
The company is a big-name player in the market for GLP-1 medications. And if you invest in it today, you can get it for a modest forward price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 17. That's based on analyst estimates, but it gives you a good idea of how cheap the stock is -- the average stock in the S&P 500 trades at a forward P/E of 24. With its encouraging growth prospects, Novo Nordisk could be a no-brainer buy at its current valuation.
PayPal
A fintech company that doesn't seem to get enough love these days is PayPal. There are certainly concerns that growing competition will chip away at its growth, but its payment platform remains a top choice for customers and vendors to rely on. Its share of the global payments market remains at 45%, making it the top option, despite a flurry of other ways to pay. The company also has its own stablecoin, PayPal USD, so it can potentially leverage opportunities in the crypto space.
Growth has been underwhelming of late, as sales through the first three months of the year totaled $7.8 billion, an increase of just 1% year over year. However, the economy is contending with rising costs and tariffs, so consumers scaling back on spending may have more to do with that slowdown than anything PayPal is doing.
It's far too early to count PayPal out as a top growth stock: There's still a lot of room for it to grow, especially with PayPal USD in the mix, and its Venmo app is rising in popularity as well. At a forward P/E of only 15, this is an even cheaper stock to own than Novo Nordisk.
Dell Technologies
Computer maker Dell Technologies isn't doing well with the consumer market this year, but sales of servers have been strong, especially as companies invest heavily in artificial intelligence (AI). For its current fiscal year (which ends in January), Dell projects that its AI server sales will top $15 billion, an increase from the $10 billion total in the previous year.
Dell is well positioned to take advantage of AI trends both in the business market and in the consumer market, through the sales of AI computers and servers. While sales of AI computers aren't taking off just yet, it may only be a matter of time before an upgrade cycle takes place, especially as consumers look to take advantage of next-gen computing capabilities.
In its most recent quarter, which ended on May 2, Dell's revenue rose by a modest 5% to $23.4 billion. But if not for a 19% decline in its consumer segment, those numbers would have been much better. Dell is a trusted computer manufacturer and it's doing well, even if its operations aren't firing on all cylinders.
At a forward P/E of less than 14, this is the cheapest stock on this list. With loads of potential in AI and other computing, Dell may be one of the better growth stocks to buy right now.
Before you buy stock in Novo Nordisk, consider this:
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $671,477 !*
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