The Nasdaq is known for its high-flying growth stocks, and with good reason. But there’s more to the index than just those aggressive names. In fact, there are even many Nasdaq stocks suitable for people following value investing strategies.
The Nasdaq isn’t just a technology index either. There are Nasdaq stocks to buy in industries as diverse as telecom, banks, and financial service companies.
The Nasdaq 100 Index has been off to a roaring start in the first half of this year. But fear not; there are still plenty of bargains out there. These are the July 2023 undervalued Nasdaq stocks to buy now.
Comcast (CMCSA)
Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) is a large diversified telecom and media company. The core business is in its cable assets. It also has a large television operation, and it runs theme parks.
In some ways, Comcast shares many similarities with The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS). However, Comcast has generally done a better job of avoiding social controversies and boycotts, which have helped lead to dramatic underperformance in Disney stock in recent years.
Comcast’s greatest strength has been in its internet business. According to Morningstar estimates, Comcast has grown its market share from 50% to 67% for broadband in the markets where it serves. A high-quality internet is a key consumer staple good, and Comcast is locking in attractive long-term cash flows with these market share gains.
There is more uncertainty around the media business with the difficult economics that the streaming industry has seen to date. Theme parks could also face a slowdown when consumer spending slows. All told, however, this all appears to be baked into the stock price. Morningstar’s Michael Hodel believes CMCSA shares are worth $60, which puts them at a 30% discount to fair value today.
PayPal (PYPL)
PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) is a Fintech firm focused on online payments, money transfers, and e-commerce solutions. Once a spin-off from eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY), PayPal emerged as a fantastic growth stock in 2020.
The end of the stay-at-home e-commerce boom hit PYPL stock hard, however. Shares have plunged from a peak of around $300 to less than $75 today. It’s not hard to see why sentiment has waned. Growth has slowed, competition is rising, and there are long-term concerns about how key assets such as Venmo will be monetized.
At some point, though, enough is enough. After its share price collapse, PYPL stock is now going for just 15 times forward earnings. And analysts see those earnings continuing to grow at a double-digit annualized rate through at least the year 2025. While PayPal’s growth trajectory has slowed, the stock price has dramatically overreacted, setting up a value investment opportunity.
JD.com (JD)
JD.com (NASDAQ:JD) is one of China’s large e-commerce sites. It rose to prominence with a focus on authentic, high-quality goods, which has proven to be a key selling point in that market.
In more recent years, JD has been an innovator. It leads the way in logistics investments in the Chinese market, including its pioneering drone delivery program. It has also gone into other fields, such as healthcare.
The Chinese internet and technology stocks have taken a huge hit in recent years as the economy has been slow to recover from the COVID-19 lockdowns. With JD stock down more than 35% over the past year, however, it has reached deep bargain territory. Shares go for less than 13 times forward earnings today.
Ericsson (ERIC)
Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) is a leading provider of telecom equipment used to build and operate mobile networks. The firm plays a large role in the roll-out of new and improved infrastructure, such as 5G networks.
ERIC stock plunged recently following its weak second-quarter earnings results. The company announced a surprise loss in the face of weak demand and lower profit margins. It offered a similarly downbeat outlook for the third quarter while noting that it expects business to pick up strongly in Q4.
It’s no secret that telecom companies have been in a down part of their spending cycle recently, and the recent results shouldn’t come as a big surprise. Despite that, ERIC stock is now down more than 25% over the past year. This creates a bargain opportunity as analysts expect the company to return to strong profitability in 2024, with shares going at just 8 times next year’s projected earnings.
Morningstar’s Matthew Dolgin agrees that shares are significantly mispriced. He sees fair value for ERIC stock up at $9, suggesting that the price could nearly double in the coming months once sentiment turns around.
Gilead Sciences (GILD)
Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) is a large biotech firm. It soared to prominence around a decade ago as it rolled out a cure for Hepatitis C. Shares surged from $20 to $120.
However, revenues quickly plateaued as a cure rather than a treatment for an ongoing illness, and investors lost interest in GILD stock. Shares have fluctuated between $60 and $80 for the better part of the past decade.
But that may be about to change. Gilead’s revenues have increased in recent years, rising from $22 billion in 2018 to $27 billion last year. That came in part due to remdesivir, which is used to manage symptoms related to COVID-19 infections. That revenue stream remains strong; in fact, the FDA just approved remdesivir for treating viral COVID-19 in folks with renal disease, including those on dialysis, making it the only option for those patients.
GILD stock currently trades for just 11 times forward earnings, and analysts see the company returning to earnings growth in 2024. Meanwhile, shares yield almost 4%.
Roper Technologies (ROP)
Roper Technologies (NASDAQ:ROP) is a conglomerate software company. It is a serial acquirer, having purchased dozens of different smaller companies over the years and assembling them into an empire.
Roper began as an industrial conglomerate. Over time, however, it has divested lower-margin physical manufacturing businesses while increasing its investments in software. Its solutions today serve industries as diverse as K-12 school management, power plants, graphic design, and insurance brokering.
What makes Roper fascinating today is that the company just moved its listing from the New York Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq earlier in July. This will make ROP stock eligible to be added to the Nasdaq 100 stock index at its next rebalance. This should cause passive ETFs, such as Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), to buy up Roper shares and push the stock significantly higher.
Nasdaq (NDAQ)
Rounding out this list, what better way to own Nasdaq stocks than investing in the Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) exchange itself? That’s right, Nasdaq is a publicly-traded company in its own right.
And it’s been quite a successful one, too. Shares are up roughly 900% since the company’s 2002 IPO. Over time, Nasdaq’s profits rise as the exchange attracts more listings and capital. There are a bunch of ancillary revenue streams as well, such as data sales, software and services, advisory, and so on.
Recently, Nasdaq stock sold off following its announcement of a large deal to buy a software firm that provides solutions to wealth management firms. While the valuation is a bit steep on the deal, Nasdaq is understandably broadening out its business and becoming a full-service provider to the investment and trading industries. With the recent sell-off, NDAQ stock now goes for less than 19 times forward earnings.
On the date of publication, Ian Bezek held a long position in GILD, ROP, and NDAQ stock. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.