Connect with us

3 New Tech Stocks to Buy After the Massive Selloff

In the face of rising rates, many tech stocks are getting oversold. With that in mind, let’s take a look at a few new tech stocks to buy.
The post 3…

Published

on

Over the past few months, there has been a massive selloff in high-growth tech stocks. This selloff is mainly the result of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates. In general, higher interest rates are bad for high-growth companies. This means that many pre-revenue new tech stocks have gotten slammed. What’s interesting is that a handful of profitable companies have fallen as well.

Now, with dozens of new tech stocks down over 50%, it’s possible that the pendulum has swung too far the other way.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many tech stocks likely got overbought. Now, in the face of rising rates, many of them are getting oversold. With that in mind, let’s take a look at a few profitable tech companies that might be getting unjustly sold.

New Tech Stocks to Buy

No. 3 Coinbase (Nasdaq: COIN)

Coinbase is one of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges with over 89 million users. It went public in May 2021 and is down almost 50% from its all-time high. Interestingly, since going public, Coinbase’s business has not slowed down at all.

In 2021, it reported total annual revenue of $7.84 billion. It also reported a net income of $3.62 billion, which gives it a cushy profit margin of 46%. For such a young company, this level of profitability is already impressive.

However, Coinbase trades at a P/E ratio of just 12. This hardly makes it a growth stock at all. In fact, a P/E of just 12 makes it technically cheaper than major value stocks. For example, P&G, J&J, and Coca-Cola all trade near 20-30. This low valuation could be because investors expect Coinbase’s revenue to decrease.

The biggest criticism of Coinbase’s business is that it’s overly reliant on transaction fees. Critics say that increased competition will force Coinbase to these fees. Eventually, it may even be forced to remove fees altogether. After all, trading stocks is almost entirely commission-free. It shouldn’t be too long until crypto trading is free all well. When this happens, it could kill Coinbase’s business.

This is is definitely a risk for Coinbase. However, Coinbase is already getting ahead of this by expanding its product portfolio. In its most recent report, Coinbase outlined new products that it already offers or plans to offer. A few main ones include:

  • Staking
  • Earn
  • Custody
  • NFTs
  • Institutional tools

On top of that, this fear of transaction fees falling to zero might be ill-advised.

The Biggest Criticism Makes No Sense

Commission-free stock trading is made possible through payment for order flow. This is a process that involves charging market makers to transact stock orders, instead of charging the investor. It works for stocks, but wouldn’t necessarily work for crypto. This is because cryptocurrency has no market makers. The entire point of crypto is that it’s decentralized and doesn’t require a financial middleman.

With that said, we are in the very early stages of Web3. It’s possible that some type of system could emerge that allows for commission-free trading. However, at this point it just feels very unlikely.

If you believe in the long-term prospects of crypto then Coinbase should be at the top of your list of new tech stocks to buy.

No. 2 Roku (Nasdaq: ROKU)

Roku is a great example of one of the new tech stocks that crashed for almost reason. Well, again the main reason is that it was an overbought pandemic stock. In 2020, its stock soared basically soared because people were forced to quarantine. Now, its stock is slumping because the world is opening back up. But, through the ups and downs, Roku’s core business has stayed solid.

If you don’t know Roku, it makes streaming dongles that plug into your TV and give you access to all the major streaming services. Roku also makes Roku TVs and owns The Roku Channel.

Roku hit several major annual milestones in 2021. It recorded record revenue, gross profit and revenue per user. Here are a few other major stats from its report:

  • Total net revenue of $2.765, up 55% YOY
  • Gross profit of $1.41 billion, up 74% YOY
  • Added 8.9 million accounts during the year
  • One streaming platform in U.S, Canada and Mexico by hours streamed.

At a quick glance, Roku’s not at all a stock you’d expect to be down 70% in the past couple of months.

Roku’s founding vision also still has plenty of room to play out. Roku believes that all TV will end up being streamed. The dozens of streaming platforms currently in existence support this belief.

Yet, there is still a huge gap between viewership and advertising budgets. Corporations still haven’t shifted their ad spend to streaming services. When they do, Roku will be well-positioned to absorb it.

The biggest downside of Roku’s business was its Q4 profit drop. In 2021, Q4 net income fell 64% to $23.7 million. But, Q4 revenue still spiked 33% to $865 million. A 70% stock price drop seems to present a good buying opportunity for Roku.

New Tech Stocks No. 1 Etsy (Nasdaq: ETSY)

Etsy is an eCommerce platform that focuses on vintage handmade goods. Its stock is down about 50% from its all-time high as I write this. There are two reasons why Etsy is one of the top new tech stocks to watch.

It’s The Anti-Amazon

Everyone knows that Amazon dominates eCommerce. It has mastered the customer experience and can sometimes get you your package in a matter of hours. However, in order to offer this high level of customer service, Amazon is ruthless. This ruthlessness translates to poor working conditions, low pay, and even replacing workers with robots altogether.

Right now, there is a growing “anti-corporate” sentiment among younger consumers. Consumers don’t just want to keep contributing to Jeff Bezos’ mind-numbing fortune. Instead, they are eager to support businesses that improve people’s lives. Etsy is in a great position to ride this tailwind.

Like Amazon, Etsy is a massive global marketplace. However, its mission statement is to “keep commerce human.” Instead of crushing them, Etsy amplifies small business owners. It has millions of sellers and 71% of these sellers say they run their store as a business. 95% of them run it from their home.

Amazon also allows for third-party selling. But, it has been sued for anticompetitive practices. In some cases, Amazon has even been known to recreate its over version of popular products and drive the original seller out of business. Etsy, on the other hand, promotes the third-party seller.

Etsy provides an outlet for unique, homemade goods. Instead of buying another “Amazon Brand Item #1453”, shoppers can get a unique product. At the same time, they are supporting a small business owner. According to Etsy, 87% of shoppers say that the website has goods they can’t find elsewhere.

Just like Roku, Etsy, one of the new tech stocks to buy, was a big pandemic stock. Now, its stock is down big but its business still looks solid. This brings us to our next reason to buy Etsy.

It’s Potentially Undervalued

It’s true that Etsy was a major COVID-19 winner. Since 2019, its user base nearly doubled and the stock soared 500%. Due to this, a lot of analysts think that growth momentum is pulled forward. This means that Etsy generated higher-than-average sales during COVID-19. Now, in 2022 analysts expect these sales to fall off. I disagree.

Yes, Etsy was a COVID-19 winner. But, all the pandemic did was introduce more shoppers to Etsy. Just because the pandemic is over, it doesn’t mean that these shoppers will never return. In fact, about 30% of Etsy’s 90 million visitors in 2021 were repeat customers. These are all customers who now know about Etsy and will tell their friends about it. If anything, the pandemic increased Etsy’s brand awareness.

Etsy also may have been overvalued at the height of its runup (almost $300/share). But now? It has a P/E ratio of 44. For what it’s worth, this is lower than both Amazon and eBay.

There’s a good reason why analysts might be underestimating Etsy. 79% of Etsy sellers are women. Since Etsy is a semi-sophisticated digital platform, it’s safe to assume that these sellers skew younger.

It’s possible that analysts view Etsy as just another digital marketplace and could be underestimating just why shoppers love it so much.

I hope that you’ve found this article valuable for three new tech stocks to buy after the massive selloff. Please remember that I’m not a financial advisor and am just offering my own research and commentary. As usual, please base all investment decisions on your own due diligence.

The post 3 New Tech Stocks to Buy After the Massive Selloff appeared first on Investment U.

Read More

Continue Reading

Uncategorized

Pharma industry reputation remains steady at a ‘new normal’ after Covid, Harris Poll finds

The pharma industry is hanging on to reputation gains notched during the Covid-19 pandemic. Positive perception of the pharma industry is steady at 45%…

Published

on

The pharma industry is hanging on to reputation gains notched during the Covid-19 pandemic. Positive perception of the pharma industry is steady at 45% of US respondents in 2023, according to the latest Harris Poll data. That’s exactly the same as the previous year.

Pharma’s highest point was in February 2021 — as Covid vaccines began to roll out — with a 62% positive US perception, and helping the industry land at an average 55% positive sentiment at the end of the year in Harris’ 2021 annual assessment of industries. The pharma industry’s reputation hit its most recent low at 32% in 2019, but it had hovered around 30% for more than a decade prior.

Rob Jekielek

“Pharma has sustained a lot of the gains, now basically one and half times higher than pre-Covid,” said Harris Poll managing director Rob Jekielek. “There is a question mark around how sustained it will be, but right now it feels like a new normal.”

The Harris survey spans 11 global markets and covers 13 industries. Pharma perception is even better abroad, with an average 58% of respondents notching favorable sentiments in 2023, just a slight slip from 60% in each of the two previous years.

Pharma’s solid global reputation puts it in the middle of the pack among international industries, ranking higher than government at 37% positive, insurance at 48%, financial services at 51% and health insurance at 52%. Pharma ranks just behind automotive (62%), manufacturing (63%) and consumer products (63%), although it lags behind leading industries like tech at 75% positive in the first spot, followed by grocery at 67%.

The bright spotlight on the pharma industry during Covid vaccine and drug development boosted its reputation, but Jekielek said there’s maybe an argument to be made that pharma is continuing to develop innovative drugs outside that spotlight.

“When you look at pharma reputation during Covid, you have clear sense of a very dynamic industry working very quickly and getting therapies and products to market. If you’re looking at things happening now, you could argue that pharma still probably doesn’t get enough credit for its advances, for example, in oncology treatments,” he said.

Read More

Continue Reading

Spread & Containment

I created a ‘cosy game’ – and learned how they can change players’ lives

Cosy, personal games, as I discovered, can change the lives of the people who make them and those who play them.

Published

on

By

Cosy games exploded in popularity during the pandemic. Takoyaki Tech/Shutterstock

The COVID pandemic transformed our lives in ways many of us are still experiencing, four years later. One of these changes was the significant uptake in gaming as a hobby, chief among them being “cosy games” like Animal Crossing: New Horizons (2020).

Players sought comfort in these wholesome virtual worlds, many of which allowed them to socialise from the safety of their homes. Cosy games, with their comforting atmospheres, absence of winning or losing, simple gameplay, and often heartwarming storylines provided a perfect entry point for a new hobby. They also offered predictability and certainty at a time when there wasn’t much to go around.

Cosy games are often made by small, independent developers. “Indie games” have long been evangelised as the purest form of game development – something anyone can do, given enough perseverance. This means they can provide an entry point for creators who hadn’t made games before, but were nevertheless interested in it, enabling a new array of diverse voices and stories to be heard.

In May 2020, near the start of the pandemic, the small poetry game A Solitary Spacecraft, which was about its developer’s experience of their first few months in lockdown, was lauded as particularly poignant. Such games showcase a potential angle for effective cosy game development: a personal one.

Personal themes are often explored through cosy games. For instance, Chicory and Venba (both released in 2023) tackle difficult topics like depression and immigration, despite their gorgeous aesthetics. This showcases the diversity of experiences on display within the medium.

However, as the world emerges from the pandemic’s shadow, the games industry is facing significant challenges. Economic downturns and acquisitions have caused large layoffs across the sector.

Historically, restructurings like these, or discontent with working conditions, have led talented laid-off developers to create their own companies and explore indie development. In the wake of the pandemic and the cosy game boom, these developers may have more personal stories to tell.

Making my own cosy game

I developed my own cosy and personal game during the pandemic and quickly discovered that creating these games in a post-lockdown landscape is no mean feat.

What We Take With Us (2023) merges reality and gameplay across various digital formats: a website, a Discord server that housed an online alternate reality game and a physical escape room. I created the game during the pandemic as a way to reflect on my journey through it, told through the videos of game character Ana Kirlitz.

The trailer for my game, What We Take With Us.

Players would follow in Ana’s footsteps by completing a series of ten tasks in their real-world space, all centred on improving wellbeing – something I and many others desperately needed during the pandemic.

But creating What We Take With Us was far from straightforward. There were pandemic hurdles like creating a physical space for an escape room amid social distancing guidelines. And, of course, the emotional difficulties of wrestling with my pandemic journey through the game’s narrative.

The release fared poorly, and the game only garnered a small player base – a problem emblematic of the modern games industry.

These struggles were starkly contrasted by the feedback I received from players who played the game, however.

This is a crucial lesson for indie developers: the creator’s journey and the player’s experience are often worlds apart. Cosy, personal games, as I discovered, can change the lives of those who play them, no matter how few they reach. They can fundamentally change the way we think about games, allow us to reconnect with old friends, or even inspire us to change careers – all real player stories.

Lessons in cosy game development

I learned so much about how cosy game development can be made more sustainable for creators navigating the precarious post-lockdown landscape. This is my advice for other creators.

First, collaboration is key. Even though many cosy or personal games (like Stardew Valley) are made by solo creators, having a team can help share the often emotional load. Making games can be taxing, so practising self-care and establishing team-wide support protocols is crucial. Share your successes and failures with other developers and players. Fostering a supportive community is key to success in the indie game landscape.

Second, remember that your game, however personal, is a product – not a reflection of you or your team. Making this distinction will help you manage expectations and cope with feedback.

Third, while deeply considering your audience may seem antithetical to personal projects, your game will ultimately be played by others. Understanding them will help you make better games.

The pandemic reignited the interest in cosy games, but subsequent industry-wide troubles may change games, and the way we make them, forever. Understanding how we make game creation more sustainable in a post-lockdown, post-layoff world is critical for developers and players alike.

For developers, it’s a reminder that their stories, no matter how harrowing, can still meaningfully connect with people. For players, it’s an invitation to embrace the potential for games to tell such stories, fostering empathy and understanding in a world that greatly needs it.


Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here.


Adam Jerrett does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Read More

Continue Reading

Government

The SNF Institute for Global Infectious Disease Research announces new advisory board

From identifying the influenza virus that caused the pandemic of 1918 to developing vaccines against pneumococcal pneumonia and bacterial meningitis in…

Published

on

From identifying the influenza virus that caused the pandemic of 1918 to developing vaccines against pneumococcal pneumonia and bacterial meningitis in the 1970s, combating infectious disease has a rich history at Rockefeller. That tradition continues as the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Institute for Global Infectious Disease Research at Rockefeller University (SNFiRU) caps a successful first year with the establishment of a new advisory board.

Credit: Lori Chertoff/The Rockefeller University

From identifying the influenza virus that caused the pandemic of 1918 to developing vaccines against pneumococcal pneumonia and bacterial meningitis in the 1970s, combating infectious disease has a rich history at Rockefeller. That tradition continues as the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Institute for Global Infectious Disease Research at Rockefeller University (SNFiRU) caps a successful first year with the establishment of a new advisory board.

This international advisory board was created in part to give guidance on how to best use SNFiRU’s resources, as well as bring forward innovative ideas concerning new avenues of research, public education, community engagement, and partnership projects.

SNFiRU was established to strengthen readiness for and response to future health crises, building on the scientific advances and international collaborations forged in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Launched with a $75 million grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) as part of its Global Health Initiative (GHI), the institute provides a framework for international scientific collaboration to foster research innovations and turn them into practical health benefits.

SNFiRU’s mission is to better understand the agents that cause infectious disease and to lower barriers to treatment and prevention globally. To speed this work, the institute launched numerous initiatives in its inaugural year. For instance, SNFiRU awarded 31 research projects in 29 different Rockefeller laboratories for over $5 million to help get collaborative new research efforts off the ground. SNFiRU also supports the Rockefeller University Hospital, where clinical studies are conducted, and brought on board its first physician-scientist through Rockefeller’s Clinical Scholars program. “One of the surprises was the scope of interest from Rockefeller scientists in using their talents to tackle important infectious disease problems,” says Charles M. Rice, Maurice R. and Corinne P. Greenberg Professor in Virology at Rockefeller and director of SNFiRU. “The research topics range from the biology of infectious agents to the dynamics of the immune response to pathogens, and also include a number of infectious disease-adjacent studies.”

In the past 12 months, SNFiRU often brought together scientists studying different aspects of infectious disease as a way to spur new collaborations. In addition to hosting its first annual day-long symposium, SNFiRU initiated a Young Scientist Forum for students and post-doctoral fellows to meet regularly, facilitating cross-laboratory thinking. A bimonthly seminar series has also been established on campus.

Another aim of SNFiRU is to develop relationships with community-based organizations, as well as design and participate in community-engaged research, with a focus on low-income and minority communities. To that end, SNFiRU is helping develop a research project on Chagas disease, a tropical parasitic infection prevalent in Latin America that can cause congestive heart failure and gastrointestinal complications if left untreated. The project will bring together clinicians practicing at health centers in New York, Florida, Texas, and California and basic scientists from multiple institutions to help the communities that are most impacted.

“The SNFiRU international advisory board convenes globally recognized leaders with distinguished biomedical expertise, unrivalled experience in pandemic preparedness and response, and a shared commitment to translating scientific advancements into equitably distributed benefits in real-world settings,” says SNF Co-President Andreas Dracopoulos. “The advisory board will advance the institute’s indispensable mission, which SNF is proud to support as a key part of our Global Health Initiative, and we look forward to seeing breakthroughs in the lab drive better outcomes in lives around the globe.”

The new advisory board will hold its first meeting on April 11th, 2024, following the second annual SNF Institute for Global Infectious Disease Research Symposium at Rockefeller.

Its members are: Rafi Ahmed of Emory University School of Medicine, Cori Bargmann of The Rockefeller University, Yasmin Belkaid of the Pasteur Institute, Anthony S. Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Peter Hotez of Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, Esper Kallas of of the Butantan Institute, Sharon Lewin of the University of Melbourne Doherty Institue, Carl Nathan of Weill Cornell Medicine, Rino Rappuoli of Fondazione Biotecnopolo di Siena and University of Siena, and Herbert “Skip” Virgin of Washington University School of Medicine and UT Southwestern Medical Center.


Read More

Continue Reading

Trending