Some investors might be tempted to disregard stocks with low price tags. However, that could be a mistake. While it is true that price sometimes reflects quality, other times, it is possible to find attractive stocks whose shares have gotten a beating but have what it takes to rebound. Finding such stocks and investing in them while they are down can turn out to be a highly lucrative move. With that said, let's look at two stocks under $15 worth serious consideration: Adyen (ADYE.Y +5.18%) and Snap (SNAP +6.85%).
OTC: ADYE.Y
Key Data Points
1. Adyen
Adyen is a fintech specialist based in the Netherlands. It conducts much of its business in Europe, but it has been making solid headway in other regions, including North America. What exactly does Adyen do? The company's goal is to simplify the lives of corporations by combining several of the intermediaries that allow them to process credit card payments into a single integrated platform.
Adyen plays the role of an acquirer bank and payment processor, and also offers risk management services. This business has been affected by recent economic challenges, harming its top line. In addition, Adyen has poured a lot of funds into growing its operations by expanding its workforce -- the precise opposite of what many tech companies have been doing.
The result has been slowing revenue growth and shrinking margins. In the first half of the year, Adyen's revenue of 739.1 million euros ($784.5 million) increased by 21% year over year, a relatively unimpressive performance by the company's standards. Its processed volume jumped by 23% compared to the year-ago period to 426 billion euros ($452.2 billion).
The fintech's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) margin was at 43% for the first half of the year, compared to 59% for the parallel period of last year. Although Adyen's conscious decision to invest in its future is the reason for the lower margin, the company's overall financial results haven't impressed investors -- a big part of why shares are down big time in 2023.
Fortunately for investors, management is slowing hiring, so at the very least, Adyen's margins won't decrease as much and could even start growing again. And a rebound in economic conditions should benefit the company, too. Furthermore, the long-term prospects look good for Adyen. It benefits from an economic moat through high switching costs.
Corporations that use Adyen's platform -- of which there are many, including some high-profile ones such as eBay and Spotify -- can't easily jump ship to another provider without risking business disruptions. Finally, the fintech industry still has massive growth opportunities as commerce continues to switch to online channels. Adyen will benefit from this trend.
NYSE: SNAP
Key Data Points
2. Snap
Snap is one of the largest and most recognizable players in the social media space -- not that this has allowed the company to perform well lately. Its top-line growth has been subpar. In the third quarter, Snap's revenue increased by just 5% year over year to $1.2 billion. And that's an improvement; its revenue declined in Q2. Still, the company's results are leaving investors wanting.
And with competitor Meta Platforms seeing much stronger revenue growth in the third quarter, it is becoming harder for Snap to blame the struggling advertising market for its relatively modest results. However, there were some pleasant surprises in Snap's latest update. Notably, the company announced a $500 million 12-month share repurchase program.
Also, Snap continues to grow its user base. In the third quarter, daily active users increased by 12% year over year to 406 million. As long as the company's ecosystem expands, there is a chance for Snap to bounce back. It's arguably building a network effect. The more people on its platform, the more attractive it becomes to advertisers.
Snap's engagement grew during Q3. For instance, the company reported that time spent watching Spotlight increased by 200% year over year, while its AI-powered chatbot is also gaining in popularity with Snapchat users. Snap is looking to ride the wave of these positive trends by optimizing its advertising business to generate higher revenue.
Furthermore, the company's paid subscription offering, Snapchat+, is making headway. Snap's attempts to optimize and diversify its revenue base could pay off, especially if its user base and engagement continue to trend up. Investors should keep the stock on their watch lists, especially at current levels.
