5 Beaten-Down Stocks Worth a Second Look

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The S&P 500 is hitting fresh highs, driven by the “Magnificent 7.” But some solid companies outside the Tech/AI hype cycle are still trading far below their peaks — even though fundamentals remain strong.

A few examples I’ve been looking at:

  • Novo Nordisk (NVO): 60% off highs despite huge demand for weight-loss drugs. Competition from Eli Lilly is real, but obesity trends aren’t going away.

  • PDD Holdings (PDD): 28% down from 2021 highs. Temu’s global growth is explosive, though China risk hangs over it.

  • UnitedHealth (UNH): Stable revenues, but dropped 50% on regulatory/political pressure. Aging population still a long-term driver.

  • PayPal (PYPL): Down 70%+, punished for slowing growth. But Venmo + B2B payments still have room to run.

  • General Mills (GIS): 44% off highs. Consumer staples giant with margin pressure but repositioning toward pet food and higher-growth segments.

:backhand_index_pointing_right: The big question: are these value traps or contrarian opportunities?

I broke down the data behind each pick in more detail here if you’re interested:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nD202N2ZUgM&t=137s

Curious — does anyone here see any of these names as actual comeback plays, or are they better avoided for now?

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Novo Nordisk has followed many Health tech stocks, ignore the 2020-2022 highs in your analysis, does it still look like value?

PDD - I hold this as a long term play.

United Health, not exactly the same as Novo, but potentially tarred with the same brush in investors minds.

PYPL - had its day I think, there are lots of alternatives, Klarna, Zilch, what’s PYPLs USP now that makes it a better user proposition?

GM, not sure, it holds underlying strong brands, could it make a comeback?

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You should bear in mind that earlier this year the NHS switched it’s supplier of some insulin products from Novo to Sanofi as they are cheaper. This may have had a bearing on Novo’s recent problems.

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