A Trio of Stock Picks for Growth-Focused Investors

– By Alberto Abaterusso

Growth-focused investors may be interested in the following stocks since their price-earnings ratios still trade below 20 and their trailing 12-month earnings per share have grown significantly over the past year.

Corcept Therapeutics Inc

The first company that makes the cut is Corcept Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:CORT), a Menlo Park, California-based biotechnology developer of treatments for U.S. patients affected by serious metabolic, oncologic and psychiatric disorders.

Year over year, the company’s trailing 12-month net earnings have grown by 47{2bcf6c72702b5c79c6d60e2b201b92505312452d06f0e1ed088ab13b8bc14c0a} to 94 cents per share as of the second quarter of 2020, up from 64 cents per share in the same quarter of 2019.

The price-earnings ratio is 18.32 (versus the industry median of 48.64) as of Sept. 17.

Following a 25.3{2bcf6c72702b5c79c6d60e2b201b92505312452d06f0e1ed088ab13b8bc14c0a} increase over the past year, the stock was trading at $17.22 per share at close on Thursday for a market capitalization of $1.99 billion and a 52-week range of $9.70 to $23.48.

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Corcept Therapeutics Inc does not pay dividends.

GuruFocus assigned a score of 8 out of 10 to the company’s financial strength and a score of 5 out of 10 to its profitability.

Wall Street sell-side analysts recommend an overweight rating for this stock and have set an average target price of $17.75 per share.

Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc

The second company that qualifies is Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc (NYSE:LL), Richmond, Virginia-based multi-channel home improvement specialty retailer selling hard-surface flooring and flooring enhancements, including accessories.

The company’s trailing 12-month net earnings were $1.12 per share as of the second quarter of 2020, marking a positive switch from a net loss of $2.05 as of the same quarter of 2019.

The price-earnings ratio is 19.29 (versus the industry median of 21.73) as of Sept. 17.

As a result of a 143.6{2bcf6c72702b5c79c6d60e2b201b92505312452d06f0e1ed088ab13b8bc14c0a} increase over the past year, the stock traded at $21.61 per share at close on Thursday for a market capitalization of $623.51 million and a 52-week range of $3.77 to $29.60.

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Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc does not pay dividends.

GuruFocus rated the financial strength of the company with a score of 4 out of 10 and the profitability with a score of 6 out of 10.

Wall Street sell-side analysts issued a hold rating for this stock and have established an average target price of $22 per share.

Pro-Dex Inc

The third company that makes the cut is Pro-Dex Inc (NASDAQ:PDEX), an Irvine, California-based developer of medical instruments and supplies for global original equipment manufacturers.

The company’s trailing 12-month net earnings have advanced 56.7{2bcf6c72702b5c79c6d60e2b201b92505312452d06f0e1ed088ab13b8bc14c0a} on a year over year basis to $1.52 per share as of the second quarter of 2020, up from 97 cents in the second quarter of 2019.

The price-earnings ratio is 19.22 (versus the industry median of 35.66) as of Sept. 17.

After a 92.33{2bcf6c72702b5c79c6d60e2b201b92505312452d06f0e1ed088ab13b8bc14c0a} share price uptick over the past year, the stock was trading at $29.60 per share at close on Thursday for a market capitalization of $113.61 million and a 52-week range of $11.40 to $32.98.

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Pro-Dex Inc does not pay dividends.

GuruFocus assigned a score of 8 out of 10 for the company’s financial strength and a score of 7 out of 10 for its profitability.

The stock has a buy recommendation rating with an average target price of $30 per share on Wall Street.

Disclosure: I have no positions in any securities mentioned in this article.

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This article first appeared on GuruFocus.