Docusign Inc. (DOCU): Innovating Electronic Agreements with Steady Growth
We recently published a list of 8 High Growth High Margin Stocks to Invest In Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where DocuSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:DOCU) stands against other high growth high market stocks to invest in.
How Market Trends Shape Opportunities
When investor confidence is high, capital tends to flow into growth sectors, driving up stock prices and valuations. This is particularly relevant for companies with strong growth prospects and high margins, as they are often seen as more resilient in a recovering economy. Current market dynamics indicate that much of the upward movement may be attributed to multiple expansions rather than just earnings growth. High-growth stocks typically trade at higher price-to-earnings ratios, so if the market continues to expand, these stocks could benefit significantly as investors are willing to pay a premium for growth potential.
Jason Trennert, Strategas Research Partners chairman and CEO, joined CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box’ on October 3 to discuss the latest market trends and the state of the economy, highlighting that the bar is high to get bearish now.
Jason Trennert revealed that he turned bullish at the end of 2023 after initially predicting a recession. Despite the challenges of 2022 and early 2023, which made it difficult to envision a market recovery, he noted that the market has defied expectations and continued to rise. Trennert attributed a significant portion of this upward movement to multiple expansions rather than just earnings growth. He marked a pivotal moment in 2023 as the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, which led to increased liquidity in the market and a subsequent rally. He recalled that around eleven months ago, the S&P 500 briefly hit 4,100 when ten-year yields reached 5%, suggesting that market dynamics have shifted considerably since then.
When discussing current valuations, Trennert pointed out that the market is trading at approximately 22 times earnings during an easing cycle. He expressed skepticism about future earnings growth, as expectations for a 14% increase in S&P earnings next year seem inconsistent with the anticipated six rate cuts from the Fed. He emphasized that if the market is expecting such significant easing while also projecting strong earnings growth, there may be a disconnect.
Trennert also addressed concerns regarding government spending and deficits, noting that the federal deficit has reached 7% of GDP and expressing a desire for more free-market-oriented policies rather than gridlock in Washington. He criticized both parties for their lack of commitment to reducing deficits and highlighted the moral hazard created by prolonged quantitative easing over the past 12 years. He believes that this situation has led to irresponsible spending practices that will eventually necessitate accountability. Despite these concerns, Trennert acknowledged that it is challenging to adopt a bearish outlook given current market conditions. He noted that ten-year treasury yields above 4.5% typically lead to market indigestion, while yields below this threshold make it hard to remain pessimistic.
As for small-cap stocks, Trennert pointed out that they have historically been underrepresented in portfolios and may offer opportunities for future growth. He highlighted that many venture capital-backed firms are looking to go public, with approximately 45% of them potentially tapping into the IPO market at some point. However, he cautioned that if the economy continues to slow down and earnings growth expectations are not met, small caps may struggle.
Skepticism about the projected earnings growth for the S&P 500 could also apply to high-growth stocks. If expectations for earnings growth are too optimistic relative to economic conditions, such as anticipated rate cuts, it may lead to volatility in high-growth stocks, especially if actual earnings do not meet these elevated expectations. Companies with high-profit margins are generally better positioned to weather economic downturns. As Trennert noted concerns regarding government spending and deficits, firms that maintain or improve their profit margins may be more attractive to investors seeking stability amidst economic uncertainty.
Trennert’s overall analysis underscores the importance of monitoring government policies and economic indicators as they influence investor sentiment and market performance moving forward. Still, his predominantly bullish sentiment lays the groundwork for a lot of investors, and to make the portfolio expansion process even easier for them, we’re here with a list of the 8 high growth high margin stocks to invest in now.
Methodology
We sifted through Finviz to compile an initial list of the top stocks. From that list, we narrowed our choices to 15 companies with TTM net profit margin above 20% and 5-year net income compound annual growth rates above 25%. We then selected the 8 stocks that were the most popular among elite hedge funds and that analysts were bullish on. The stocks are ranked in ascending order of the number of hedge funds that have stakes in them, as of Q2 2024.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
A software engineer in front of a computer screen, typing code to build the company's electronic signature software.
Docusign Inc. (NASDAQ:DOCU)
5-Year Net Income CAGR: 28.13%
TTM Net Profit Margin: 34.55%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 44
Docusign Inc. (NASDAQ:DOCU) is a software company that provides products for organizations to manage electronic agreements with electronic signatures on different devices, offering a cloud-based platform that enables businesses to streamline their document workflows, manage contracts, and automate various processes.
80% of the company is owned by institutional investors, which can be a sign of confidence in the company’s future. However, it also means the stock price could be more volatile depending on their trading decisions. While no single investor holds a majority stake, the top 23 shareholders control half the company. There’s also 5% insider ownership.
Revenue in FQ2 2025 improved 7.03% year-over-year, driven by a focus on product innovation, improved sales strategies, and operational efficiency. The customer base continued to grow, with a 12% increase in direct customers. Large-value customers also saw modest growth. Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) revenue grew at a faster pace than overall revenue, and the company strengthened partnerships with major technology providers like Microsoft, SAP, and Salesforce.
In the second quarter, the company’s new Intelligent Agreement Management (IAM) platform was launched. It has the potential to address significant economic losses faced by organizations when managing agreements. IAM was initially introduced to small and mid-sized commercial customers in the US, Canada, and Australia, with training for salesforce teams planned for FQ3. Early results for IAM have been promising, with higher win rates, larger deal sizes, and faster closing times. Customer adoption is increasing steadily.
Docusign Inc. (NASDAQ:DOCU) remains a strong player in the electronic signature market, with a dominant market position and a growing demand for digital transformation. Despite challenges posed by increased competition and a post-pandemic slowdown, the company’s strong financial health, expanding use cases, and focus on innovation position it for long-term success.
Polen Focus Growth Strategy made the following comment about DocuSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:DOCU) in its Q3 2023 investor letter:
“We eliminated our remaining 1% position in DocuSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:DOCU). While the company remains the leader by a wide margin at the higher end of the digital signature market, it has become clearer to us that its addressable e-signature market is likely significantly smaller than we had believed or will take much longer to develop than we had anticipated. The lower end of the market is highly competitive. We were patient with our very small position. Impressive new management joined from Google and The Trade Desk in hopes of them being able to reinvigorate growth in core e-signature. Still, it does not appear that this is likely anytime soon with new management articulating that the company will need to develop new products to achieve higher levels of e-signature growth despite what we considered to be low penetration rates within existing e-signature products. As such, we used the proceeds of our sale as part of the funding for our Novo position.”
Overall, DOCU ranks 4th on our list of high growth high market stocks to invest in. While we acknowledge the growth potential of DOCU, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold great promise for delivering high returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than DOCU but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.