Investors seeking opportunities among growth stocks could be interested in the following small caps as they represent companies whose trailing 12-month net income per share has improved significantly on a year-over-year basis. Wall Street sell-side analysts have also issued positive recommendation ratings for them.
Dynavax Technologies
The first company to consider is Dynavax Technologies Corp. (DVAX, Financial), an Emeryville, California-based biopharmaceutical company that markets a hepatitis B vaccine, called HEPLISAV-B, to treat the disease in adult patients in the U.S. and Europe. The treatment is intended for the prevention of the infection caused by all known subtypes of the hepatitis B virus.
Trailing 12-month diluted earnings per share from continuing operations were 75 cents as of the March 2022 quarter. It reflected a positive reversal from the net loss of 58 cents per diluted share the company incurred for the prior-year period.
The share price ($12.52 per share as of June 8) is up a whopping 34.77% year over year, with a 52-week range of $7.26 to $21.39 and a market cap of about $1.58 billion.
Dynavax Technologies does not pay dividends.
On Wall Street, the stock has a median recommendation rating of buy with an average target price of $25.75 per share.
Stem
The second stock to consider is Stem Inc. (STEM, Financial), a San Francisco-based energy storage network to U.S. and international commercial and industrial companies, independent power producers, renewable energy project developers and operators of utility and grid infrastructure.
Though it still has a net loss, the company's bottom line has improved over the past year. Indeed, continuing operations for the trailing 12-month period reported a net loss of 31 cents per diluted share as of the March 2022 quarter versus a net loss of $4.62 per diluted share as of the March 2021 quarter.
In terms of equity performance, the significant improvement in net loss has not delivered what shareholders had hoped. In fact, the stock ($9.18 per share on June 8) is down 70.52% over the past year for a 52-week range of $5.72 to $37.79 and a market cap of $1.41 billion.
Stem does not pay dividends.
On Wall Street, sell-side analysts believe the improvement in net loss could still get the stock back on track, as they issued an overweight recommendation rating with an average price target of $17.57. The estimate reflects a 91.4% increase from the price around the close of trading hours on Wednesday.
Energy Fuels
The third company to consider is Energy Fuels Inc. (UUUU, Financial), a Lakewood, Colorado-based miner, explorer and seller of uranium in the United States. The company owns and operates assets in Wyoming, Texas, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado.
While continuing operations for the trailing 12-month period through the March 2022 quarter generated another net loss of 2 cents per diluted share, this was a significant year-over-year improvement. The company reported a net loss of 26 cents per diluted share for the same period last year.
The stock price ($7.18 per share on June 8) is up nearly 4% in the past 52 weeks, ranging between $4.32 and $11.39 per share. The stock has a market cap of around $1.13 billion.
Energy Fuels does not pay dividends.
On Wall Street, the stock has a median recommendation rating of buy with an average target price of $11.08 per share.
Stitch Fix
The fourth company to consider is Stitch Fix Inc. (SFIX, Financial). Based in San Francisco, the company sells a range of branded apparel, footwear and accessories for men, women and children through its website and mobile application in the U.S.
For the trailing 12 months ending March 31, the company suffered a net loss of 28 cents per diluted share from continuing operations. However, it was much better than the net loss of 87 cents per diluted share the company reported for the year-ago period.
The stock ($8.69 per share on June 8) dropped 86.21% year over year for a 52-week range of $6.71 to $64.52 and a market cap of around $942.49 million.
The improvement in the last line of the income statement was not reflected in the share price performance, probably hampered by the strong headwinds the market has been experiencing for several months.
Stitch Fix does not pay dividends.
Wall Street sell-side analysts remain positive about a recovery sometime during the year as their average price target ($11.38 per share) reflects a 31% increase from Wednesday's close. With regard to the recommendation rating, the consensus is for holding the stock.
