Stock Market Correction: 2 Stocks Down 26% and 20% in a Month That You Can Buy Right Now
The S&P 500 recently dipped into correction territory, falling more than 10% from its recent high, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 index has performed even worse. While it’s never fun to watch the value of your stock portfolio go down, it’s important to take a step back. After all, market corrections like this one are a normal part of investing and can be expected to happen from time to time.
Stock market corrections also tend to serve up opportunities for long-term investors to put money to work. Here are two stocks that look especially attractive right now, both of which are down more than 20% in the past month. Both are top-10 investments in my portfolio and ones I plan to add to if the current prices persist.
Strong momentum and an attractive valuation
Financial services platform SoFi Technologies (SOFI 5.66%) is down by about 26% in the past month, but this looks like an excellent buying opportunity considering the company’s momentum. The company ended 2024 with more than 10.1 million members, adding more than 2.5 million last year alone. Loan performance is continually improving, and SoFi has done a great job of building capital-light, low-risk revenue streams, such as its rapidly growing third-party loan origination platform.
The financial technology company handily beat expectations for last year on both the top and bottom lines, with 26% revenue growth and an adjusted EBITDA margin that expanded by 500 basis points.
SoFi’s momentum has continued into the new year. Its Galileo tech platform announced that is will begin offering co-branded rewards debit cards for third parties, and the company just finalized a $5 billion loan platform agreement with Blue Owl Capital, the largest commitment SoFi has received to date.
SoFi achieved its first full year of profitability in 2024 and expects significant earnings growth in 2025 and beyond as the business continues to scale. From a valuation perspective, SoFi trades for 1.91 times book value. For context, this is lower than megabank JPMorgan Chase‘s P/B of about 1.94, despite SoFi’s revenue growing by 26% in 2024 compared to JPMorgan Chase’s 12% growth rate. To be clear, I’m not saying that SoFi is in the same league as the largest bank in the United States, but it is trading rather cheaply relative to its growth rate.
Solid earnings but near-term uncertainty
Pinterest (PINS 2.14%) started the year as one of the market’s best performing stocks. After announcing its fourth-quarter results in early February, the social media company’s shares spiked higher, and it’s easy to see why.
Not only did Pinterest report top- and bottom-line growth that handily beat analysts’ expectations, but the company’s active user base reached 553 million, its highest level ever, and revenue growth in the non-U.S. markets (where more than 80% of Pinterest users are located) was extremely strong. Thanks to great expense controls, Pinterest’s adjusted EBITDA margin increased by more than 3 percentage points. And last but certainly not least, Pinterest’s first-quarter guidance was far stronger than expected.
In short, Pinterest ended 2024 on a very high note, and the indication was that 2025 could be even better.
However, since reporting earnings, Pinterest has given up all of its gains and then some, with the stock down by more than 22% from its 2025 peak. In addition to the overall market pressure right now, one thing that could weigh on the stock is that Pinterest makes most of its money from advertising, and in uncertain economic times, advertisers tend to pump the brakes on spending. Plus, although Pinterest’s user base is mostly international, it makes most of its money from its U.S. users, so it is highly vulnerable to a U.S. recession.
The bottom line is that Pinterest is down due to near-term uncertainty, despite posting stellar results from its business. With the stock trading for less than 17 times forward earnings, a fantastic balance sheet, and 19% year-over-year earnings growth in 2024, Pinterest looks like a bargain right now.
A great time to buy for the long term
To be perfectly clear, I’m not attempting to time the market here. In fact, if the U.S. economy falls into recession, the uncertainty around tariffs intensifies, and economic data continues to be soft, it’s entirely possible for both of these stocks to fall even further. But from a long-term perspective, both SoFi and Pinterest are starting to look rather attractive, and regardless of what happens in the near term, it could be a great time for patient investors to take a closer look.
JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Matt Frankel has positions in Pinterest and SoFi Technologies. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends JPMorgan Chase and Pinterest. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.