The world of meme stocks isn’t as bad as some have been led to believe. Yes, a portion of the stock-related memes and conversations on social media sites like Reddit will always contain suspect advice. But investors who dismiss these picks at large are at risk of throwing out the baby with the bath water.
I’m generally not a proponent of investing in GameStop (NYSE:GME) or AMC (NYSE:AMC), two names that catalyzed the phenomenon earlier this year. However, the information traded on message boards and forums isn’t solely “to the moon” hopium. Meme stocks can also encompass equities that genuinely deserve attention from those not simply seeking a short squeeze. That is to say, these online communities offer up legitimate stocks with reasonable fundamental investment cases.
So, in my opinion, the following seven stocks are worth your consideration. Yes, they are riskier than many other conservative investments. But they do all have a lot to make them fundamentally attractive — whether in terms of real catalysts or financially quantifiable achievements.
- Corsair Gaming (NASDAQ:CRSR)
- Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE)
- Palantir (NYSE:PLTR)
- Digital World Acquisition (NASDAQ:DWAC)
- Lucid (NASDAQ:LCID)
- AMD (NASDAQ:AMD)
- Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)
Meme Stocks to Buy: Corsair Gaming (CRSR)
Corsair Gaming suffered when it posted earnings results on Nov. 2. For example, the firm missed earnings per share (EPS) estimates of 25 cents, instead posting an EPS of 16 cents.
In my opinion, however, it’s worth giving CRSR stock the benefit of the doubt in this case. Firstly, stock prices have already rebounded and retraced the initial losses they suffered. That likely means the market has also given the firm the benefit of the doubt. Like many companies operating in today’s tough logistical environment, Corsair Gaming has suffered — but that doesn’t mean its completely out.
Corsair’s woes were reflected in revenues, which decreased 14.4% in the third quarter on a year-over-year (YOY) basis. But the firm has responded by doing a few important things. For one, it has built up inventory near the logistical hubs geographically proximal to its customer bases. Additionally, the company refinanced long term debt instruments which resulted in reducing debt by $24 million.
The fact that share prices bounced back so quickly indicates the market believes this will be enough for the gaming company to capitalize on greater growth from the e-sports, gaming gear and content boom. Yes, Q3 was difficult for the company. But this pick of the meme stocks still grew its revenue base by 21.6% through the first three quarters of 2021 compared to 2020.
Virgin Galactic (SPCE)
Next up on this list of meme stocks is SPCE stock. Presently, there’s a very reasonable and logical case against investing in Virgin Galactic. The mid-October news that the company would pause flights for nine months dealt it a big blow. The stated reason for the delay? “Vehicle enhancement and modification.”
That raised a lot of questions about broader safety issues and long-term viability for the company. And in the short term, it dashed earlier hopes that Virgin would begin its revenue-generating commercial operations by the beginning of 2022.
SPCE stock dropped by 17% following the news and has traded sideways since. However, for contrarians, this looks like a real opportunity. Remember, Richard Branson and company achieved a successful test flight to space back in July.
That sent shares above $50. Then, SPCE suffered a series of setbacks and was briefly grounded before ultimately being cleared to fly again in late September after a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inquiry.
Founded in 2004, this company has been attempting to reach commercial space flight for 17 years. Now it is on the cusp of success. Yes, Virgin Galactic has suffered some setbacks. But that is to be expected given the magnitude of what it is attempting to achieve.
Meme Stocks to Buy: Palantir (PLTR)
What can you expect from Palantir shares? In my opinion, PLTR stock looks fairly steady. This pick of the meme stocks has traded in a range of $20 to $28 since March. Basically, it was finding its market following a late 2020 public listing. That, too, is worth mentioning from a pricing perspective.
Palantir came public via a direct listing in late September 2020. Those shares initially traded at $10 apiece. Thus, they’ve been a wild success by most standards, given that they trade at roughly $23 currently. In fact, the stock has never lost money for investors at any point since coming public — a noteworthy feat, especially since it came to market in an era dominated by special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) that saw lots of disappointment.
PLTR is a polarizing company for polarizing times. The company played up its connection to the government and military early in its listing process. It was the anti-Silicon Valley analytics firm with a right-leaning bias. It still is — but that’s not as important these days.
Rather, this company simply acts like a lot of other defense stocks in that its focus is winning contracts and ingraining itself into the public sector. Its investor relations site seems to announce a new win every few months or less. What’s more, the company moves on revenue growth rather than profitability.
Expect the PLTR stock price to move accordingly: That is, gradually upward.
Digital World Acquisition (DWAC)
Next up on this list of meme stocks is Digital World Acquisition, the SPAC that is bringing former President Donald Trump’s social media platform — Truth Social — public. If Palantir has proved that the markets have an appetite for right-leaning, anti-liberal bias, DWAC stock should do extremely well. Truth Social has the potential to be something of a revolution in my mind.
This platform is set to launch in November 2021, but it will initially open only to invited users. The social media site is then slated to open to all users sometime in early 2022 based on current indications. Right now, it is simply a solicitation to join its mailing list and little more.
Still, I sincerely doubt this name will fizzle out. Trump is building a social platform to give voice to his ethos. That has the potential to explode. After all, Trump is suspended from both Twitter (NYSE:TWIT) and Facebook (now Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:FB)). So, now the former president is going out and building his own platform.
I’ll say this: I am not a fan of Trump necessarily, but I will give the man credit where credit is due. He is simply a force of nature and it’s difficult to imagine that this isn’t the right time for Truth Social to grow quickly.
Meme Stocks to Buy: Lucid (LCID)
Investors have to admit — LCID stock is quickly becoming the early SPAC electric vehicle (EV) success story. In fact, it wasn’t more than half a year ago that media outlets were decrying this SPAC EV play as an investment vehicle and heralding the downfall of such companies.
For example, Bloomberg ran a piece noting that EV startups that chose the SPAC route were collectively down $40 billion. Forbes also put it succinctly when its headline said that EVs and SPACs equaled plummeting prices.
But patience is a virtue — and this one of the meme stocks is proving those prognosticators wrong. Most notably, Lucid recently began deliveries of its flagship Lucid Air sedan. The company only went public in July and it has already started to roll its top-of-the-line Lucid Air Dream sedans off the production line. To be exact, the firm will produce 575 vehicles throughout the remainder of 2021, according to CEO Peter Rawlinson. Further, it is slated to produce 20,000 cars next year.
Don’t be surprised to see Lucid chip away at Tesla’s dominant position in the luxury EV sedan niche. Rawlinson was once Tesla’s chief engineer, despite Elon Musk’s claims attempting to say otherwise. What’s more, the Lucid Air lineup is aimed directly at the Tesla Model S.
All told, Lucid has proven that a focused strategy and SPAC funding is a formidable combination after all.
AMD (AMD)
Advanced Micro Devices had a strong October showing. Specifically, AMD stock ran upward from just over $100 to $125 per share at the end of the month.
That was welcome news, with the firm bucking a losing tradition that it had established over the previous five years in the month. Fellow InvestorPlace contributor Brian Paradza noted this trend in his recent article, which correctly predicted AMD would shake off the trend. The 7% losses it had averaged over the prior five Octobers did not hold. Rather, prices rocketed by approximately 25% in the month.
Furthermore, this company exceeded revenue guidance of $4.11 billion in Q3, reaching a record $4.31 billion. Now, the market is likely digesting this positive news. True, investors are wondering if AMD can continue its rapid growth. But I believe so. Plus, it isn’t trading at high valuations relative to Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) which carries a trailing GAAP price-earnings (P/E) ratio of 110. According to Seeking Alpha, AMD carries a much more reasonable trailing GAAP P/E of 46 while having equally massive upside.
Growth is expected to continue as well. The consensus is that AMD will post $16.1 billion in revenue this year. That is expected to rise to $19.1 billion in 2022. So, there is little reason to doubt this pick of the meme stocks now.
Meme Stocks to Buy: Tesla (TSLA)
Last up on this list of meme stocks is TSLA stock. It’s no secret that Tesla is a pioneering company. The EV maker boasts a market capitalization that makes traditional vehicle stocks blush. Specifically, its market cap of $1.07 trillion is more than 4 times that of Toyota (NYSE:TM) at $248 billion today.
That meteoric rise has marked a sea change across the automobile industry. Traditional makers including Toyota, Volkswagen (OTCMKTS:VWAGY), General Motors (NYSE:GM) and Ford (NYSE:F) have taken note. They are quickly shuffling their product mix to more heavily feature electric vehicles. The impetus is simple: Tesla has proven that EV stocks trade at much higher valuations than traditional car company stocks.
What’s more, Tesla deserves praise. It recently achieved a significant milestone by hitting an annual run rate of 1 million vehicles.
All in all, don’t expect TSLA stock to slow down. The company should pass $50 billion in revenue this year. That could then exceed $80 billion in 2022.
On the date of publication, Alex Sirois did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
Alex Sirois is a freelance contributor to InvestorPlace whose personal stock investing style is focused on long-term, buy-and-hold, wealth-building stock picks. Having worked in several industries from e-commerce to translation to education and utilizing his MBA from George Washington University, he brings a diverse set of skills through which he filters his writing.