A lot of stocks doubled last year. Some of them were so low a year ago that they are still fetching single-digit stock prices. Nu (NU) and Opendoor Technologies (OPEN) are two of those low-priced winners of 2023.
Most of last year’s big gainers aren’t likely to repeat the feat in 2024, but I think that Nu and Opendoor have the potential to double again this year. Let’s take a closer look.
1. Nu
It’s OK if you’re not familiar with Nubank or its parent company, Nu Holdings. Unless you happen to be living in Brazil — where more than half of the country has an active Nubank account — it’s not going to be a household name. However, the fintech stock more than doubled last year, even as stateside leaders lost ground to the market averages. It’s up another 11% in just the first nine trading days of 2024.
Despite its low share price, Nu commands a market cap of $44 billion, and boasts more than $3.1 billion in trailing revenue. This gives Nu shares a steeper price-to-revenue multiple than its peers, but it’s also growing faster and is more profitable than you might expect.
Revenue rose 53% on a currency-adjusted basis in its latest quarter. An 18% increase in average revenue per active customer stacked on top of a 27% uptick in accounts will deliver that kind of growth. Nu’s larger foothold also makes the scalability happen that delivers even stronger bottom-line results. Gross profit more than doubled and adjusted net income popped fivefold in its latest report. Nu has delivered five straight quarters in the black, including record profitability its last time out.
Nu believes it can continue to flex its monetization muscle. It has more revenue streams to explore, and its average revenue per customer is still well short of what Brazil’s legacy banks are commanding. It expanded into Mexico and Colombia a couple of years ago, but there’s more of Latin America left to tackle before it takes a potential swing in North America and Europe. Analysts see revenue and earnings per share growth slowing to 35% and 67%, respectively, in 2024. Nu has a habit of blowing past expectations, and if it can keep that going, the stock should continue to head higher this year.
2. Opendoor Technologies
Flipping homes went from being infomercial fodder to a legit scalable business when at least three publicly traded companies made iBuying a core revenue driver. It’s down to just one player after Zillow Group and Redfin bowed out in 2021 and 2022, respectively, with the real estate market crumbling. To be fair, they struggled to make iBuying profitable even when property prices were on the rise.
Opendoor is built different as the sole survivor. Making instant offers on homes that it can hold and spruce up with the goal of reselling at higher price points is its core focus. It was never a side hustle. It was a booming business on the top line, with revenue soaring at least 94% in four of the five years ending in 2022. Last year was a wrecking ball for the business model. Revenue tumbled 46%, matching its pandemic-smacked 2020 decline. The shares still nearly quadrupled in 2023, but that followed a brutal 2022 for investors, with Opendoor stock plunging 92% on real estate market concerns.
The shares would have to more than double in 2024 to return to where they were at beginning of 2022. With Zillow and Redfin out as competitors — like skulls on spikes to ward away other potential deep-pocketed rivals — Opendoor is in prime position to make the most of a possible market recovery.
Mortgage rates have been heading sharply lower since peaking three months ago. Buyers — and more importantly (in Opendoor’s case), sellers — will likely pour into the market this year. The company was able to ride out the storm. The clouds are starting to clear for Opendoor.
— Rick Munarriz
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Source: The Motley Fool