Growth stocks have been slammed this year amid a broad bear market slump, but a slew of Wall Street banks believe the tide is now turning. Investors had rotated out of growth stocks — such as tech — and into value as soaring inflation and rising interest rates sent them clamoring for safer bets in a volatile market. Higher interest rates have a greater impact on growth stocks as they generate most of their cash flows and earnings in the future. But market sentiment appears to be shifting. Of the 10 major sectors on the S & P 500 , nine have notched gains over the past month, according to FactSet data. That included a bunch of growth sectors such as tech, industrials, communication services and materials. Wells Fargo said the interest-rate tightening cycle is creating a “solid backdrop” for growth stocks. This makes it a good time to buy certain names now, the bank’s analysts, led by Christopher Harvey, said in a note on Jul. 27. Moreover, with various indicators seemingly showing that inflation is moderating, Wells Fargo believes the pace of rate hikes could now slow, with the Fed “almost done” with its “heavy lifting.” The Fed has raised its benchmark interest rate by 225 basis points since March in a bid to rein in red hot inflation. Harvey sees further rate hikes of an additional 75 basis points to 100 basis points by November. Goldman Sachs sees buying opportunities emerging in this space in the near term. “Growth stock valuations are no longer expensive, but not yet depressed,” Ryan Hammond, Goldman’s equity strategist, said in a note on Jul. 25. “Consistent with history, we expect investors will reward higher quality growth stocks but continue to avoid unprofitable growth stocks that would be required to tap into financial markets at a time when the cost of capital is rising, he added. Bernstein also upgraded its outlook for long-duration stocks, otherwise also known as growth stocks. Such shares typically outperform in a recession, particularly in the latter leg of major market downturns, it said. Stocks that banks like Goldman screened for growth stocks that are expected to be profitable in the near term and are trading at reasonable valuations. Ride-sharing company Lyft made Goldman’s list. On Thursday, the company reported adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization of $79.1 million in the second quarter, handily beating the FactSet average consensus estimate of $20.2 million. The company also delivered a narrow beat on revenue, which rose 30% from a year earlier to $991 million, compared to FactSet’s estimate of $989 million. Other stocks that made Goldman’s list include cloud communications firm RingCentral , online automotive marketplace CarGurus and advertising firm Digital Turbine . Stocks highlighted by Wells Fargo include Meta , Netflix , PayPal and Pinterest in the tech space, as well as consumer stocks such as Starbucks and Mattel . JPMorgan is also favoring a rotation into growth stocks and named a raft of buy-rated U.S. and European growth stocks that have fallen at least 40% from their 12-month highs. They include Zoom Video and data analytics firm Palantir in the tech sector, as well as Snap and online dating service Match Group in communication services. The bank also highlighted chip equipment manufacturer ASML and Dutch e-commerce firm Adyen .
