There's never a bad time to buy a good stock. But there are certainly better times than others. If you can step in while it's temporarily beaten down, you end up getting more net bang for your buck.
With that as the backdrop, here's a closer look at three great stocks you might want to add to your portfolio sooner than later, while they're still on sale at sizable discounts.
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If you happen to keep your finger on the pulse of the beer business, then you may be a bit wary of buying a stake in Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ) right now. Beer sales in the United States are at a multi-decade low, boding poorly for the company behind brands like Modelo and Corona.
Constellation's spirits brands like Casa Noble tequila and Nelson's Green Brier whiskey are also on the defensive, with price and health concerns leading people to consume less of the harder stuff. A recent survey from the marketing consultant NCSolutions suggests 49% of Americans intend to drink less alcohol in 2025, up from 2024's figure of 41%.
The punishment, however, doesn't fit the crime. That is to say, this stock's 20% setback since the end of last year (also at least partly fueled by its fourth-quarter earnings miss and guidance that confirms the industrywide headwind) values it at only 13 times this year's expected per-share profit of $13.33, underestimating the prospect of a recovery driven by demand for Constellation's premium products.
Analysts seem to expect a turnaround. Despite the less-than-bullish rhetoric surrounding the poorly performing stock, the analyst community maintains its consensus price target of $237.83. That's 36% above the ticker's recent price.
This might help convince you: Earlier this year, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway added 5.6 million shares (about $1 billion worth) of Constellation to its stock portfolio. It's an unexpected vote of confidence from one of the world's most proven and prodigious stock pickers. It's also a hint you might want to take for yourself.
At the other end of the beverage spectrum, you'll find another discounted stock worth a shot while it's on sale. That's Celsius Holdings (NASDAQ: CELH).
It's not a household name, at least not yet. Although it competes with energy drink giants like Red Bull and Monster Beverage, Celsius Holdings is still a distant third within the United States with only about one-tenth of the domestic market. It's even less of a player overseas, although it has only recently begun addressing that opportunity.
There's a reason, however, that Celsius Holdings alone accounted for over half of the energy drink category's global net growth in 2024: Its products offer what consumers increasingly want.
On the surface, it's just another energy drink brand. Take a closer look, and you will see that its products are designed with fitness in mind, containing ingredients intended to burn calories during a workout.
They're made with all-natural ingredients ginger, guaraná, and green tea, and they don't have any artificial colors or flavors, nor do they include sugar, aspartame, or high fructose corn syrup. This distinguishes Celsius from most other brands in the category.
That's one of the chief reasons its comparable sales improved by 22% year over year in 2024. Analysts are looking for similar growth this year and next, pushing the company even deeper into the black.
So why are shares down more than 70% from their 2024 peak? As is so often the case, the bulls got a bit ahead of themselves, buying into a compelling story with little to no consideration for a company's past, present, and projected results.
As is also so often the case, though, the sellers arguably overshot their target. They certainly overshot the analysts' average price target of $38.53, anyway.
The good news is, most story stocks like this one only need to suffer such an extreme rise and fall once before they begin trading with at least a little fundamentals-minded normalcy.
Lastly, add Wolfspeed (NYSE: WOLF) to your list of stocks to buy while they're on sale.
Wolfspeed is even less of a household name than Celsius Holdings. There's a good chance you've never heard of it, in fact, and may see or hear little of it in the future.
Its recent and current revenue headwind isn't helping any, either. Indeed, its current business lull may be why shares are now down 95% from their 2022 high and still knocking on the door of a multiyear low. But the world needs Wolfspeed's tech in a big way, even if few people realize it.
Simply put, the company makes high-performance silicon carbide, which is necessary for major machinery like electric vehicles (EVs), power-hungry data centers' power supplies, and renewable energy equipment like solar power systems.
Whereas ordinary silicon was adequate for decades, it can't tolerate the higher voltage and amperage that much of today's heavy-duty technology requires, nor can it handle the heat that such technology's inner workings create.
To this end, researcher Global Market Insights believes the worldwide silicon carbide market is poised to grow at an average yearly pace of more than 35% through 2034. Wolfspeed is positioned to capture a solid share of this growth, leveraging hundreds of patents issued here and abroad.
Data source: StockAnalysis.com. Chart by author.
There's still above-average risk here, to be sure. Although the analyst community predicts this company's business will take off in 2026 once more industrialists realize they simply need this high-performance material to enter the future, that's just a rough guess as to the mass-adoption time frame. Wolfspeed is likely to remain in the red for at least a short while after that pivot point is reached.
The risk is arguably worth the reward, though, particularly in light of the stock's extreme setback that's rooted in near-term fear without regard for this company's long-term prospects.
James Brumley has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Berkshire Hathaway, Celsius, Monster Beverage, and Wolfspeed. The Motley Fool recommends Constellation Brands. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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