Life as an investor in electrical appliances companyAO World (LSE: AO) and e-invoicing specialistTungsten (LSE: TUNG) has been rather challenging in 2015. Thats because both companies have suffered from declining investor sentiment thathas caused their share prices to slump by 53% and 68% respectively since the turn of the year.
However, prior to today those figures were even worse, since the share prices of both companies are up by 10% since the market opened this morning. Could this be an opportune moment to buy ahead of further improvements to investor sentiment?
In the case of AO World, myanswer is yes. Thats because the company has released an upbeat trading update, with sales being up 11.2% in the three months to the end of June. This is a welcome result for investors in the stock, since AO World had disappointed in the recent past in terms of its financial performance but, with its long-term strategy seemingly back on track, it should be able to deliver improved performance over the medium to long term.
In fact, with European expansion set to be a feature of the next few years, now could be a good time to buy a slice of AO World. And, with disposable incomes in the UK rising at a faster rate than inflation for the first time in a number of years, spending on domestic appliances is likely to increase moving forward. As such, AO World is expected to return to profitability on a per-share basis in the current year, before delivering exceptional growth next year. As such, it trades on a price to earnings growth (PEG) ratio of just 0.6, which indicates that its shares offer growth at a very reasonable price.
Furthermore, AO World is continuing to build its brand and has reported an improvement in repeat orders. This could help to differentiate it from its rivals and, with domestic appliance sales being a highly competitive industry, could allow AO World to report higher than average margins in the long run, which would clearly be positive for its investors.
Meanwhile, Tungsten is also at the beginning of a period of potentially improved performance. A recent placing has strengthened its balance sheet and, while it is expected to remain loss-making in the current year and next year, the companys pre-tax loss is forecast to narrow from 30m last year to around 5m in financial year 2017. And, with Tungstens management team remaining confident regarding the potential to grow the companys top and bottom lines in the long run, investor sentiment could continue to strengthen over the medium term.
However, with the company remaining in the red, now may not be the perfect time to buy a slice of the business. Certainly, it has great potential, but expectations remain rather high and, should there be further challenges ahead then Tungstens share price could come under further pressure. As such, it may be prudent to wait for further evidence of the companys successful march towards profitability before adding it to a Foolish portfolio.
Of course, finding stocks that are worth adding to your portfolio is a tough task, which is why the analysts at The Motley Fool have written a free and without obligation guide called 10 Steps To Making A Million In The Market.
It’s a simple and straightforward guide that could make a real difference to your portfolio returns. As such, 2015 could prove to be an even better year than you had thought possible.
Click here to get your copy of the guide – it’s completely free and comes without any obligation.
Peter Stephens has no position in any shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has no position in any of the shares mentioned. We Fools don’t all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.