As is typical of a bear market, the Nasdaq has led the other major indices lower over the past year. The tech-heavy index is down 28% over the past 12 months compared with a 17% decline in the S&P 500. There are bargains to be found amid the tech wreckage to be sure. But there are also plenty of poorly performing stocks that are likely headed much lower, possibly even to $0. Those are the names you’ll find on today’s list of Nasdaq stocks to sell.
Most of the stocks are already priced deep within penny stock territory. Yet, that doesn’t mean investors should continue to hang on. Numerous signs point to a continued sell-off in equities. Stocks cratered following the Federal Reserve’s latest 0.75-basis-point rate hike. Recession calls abound, such as the one from FedEx (NYSE:FDX) CEO Raj Subramaniam.
The weakest stocks will continue to be hammered the hardest. Therefore, if you own any of the Nasdaq stocks listed below, consider selling them immediately.
| BYND | Beyond Meat | $14.54 |
| CLOV | Clover Health Investments | $1.99 |
| AUR | Aurora Innovation | $2.39 |
| MTTR | Matterport | $3.84 |
| CORZ | Core Scientific | $1.39 |
| MULN | Mullen Automotive | $0.34 |
| CWBR | CohBar | $2.95 |
Beyond Meat (BYND)
Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND) is a bit unique on today’s list of Nasdaq stocks to sell, as it is the only one that is not yet a penny stock. But it could be soon.
My concern for the company is the same as it has always been: Plant-based meat simply doesn’t taste very good. Why would consumers who want protein-rich, animal-product-free foods choose plant-based meat over vegetables, which taste great on their own?
My personal opinions aside, Beyond Meat has serious issues. First and foremost are its weak fundamentals. Revenue growth has slowed substantially in recent years. And the company posted a net loss of $197.6 million for the first half of this year. That’s much worse than the $46.9 million net loss in the first half of 2021.
Then there are the bizarre headlines. Beyond Meat Chief Operating Officer Doug Ramsey was arrested earlier this month for allegedly biting a man’s nose in a fight. Ramsey has since been suspended, but it’s not a good look for the company.
BYND stock may not be in immediate danger of dropping to $0. However, it is very likely to continue to head down and investors should avoid it.
Clover Health Investments (CLOV)
Clover Health Investments (NASDAQ:CLOV) is one of Chamath Palihapitiya’s many SPAC companies that went public and has since faltered.
It serves as a prime example of what can go wrong when loose market conditions lead to overzealous speculation. Palihapitiya extolled the virtues of the SPAC investment mechanism last year. He said then that a SPAC “actually allows you to raise a really large amount of money, to go to a broad base of institutional investors, and it allows you to tell them what you think the future can look like.”
That message was better received by the market under the looser quantitative policies that persisted into late 2021.
Clover Health’s SPAC deal was announced in October 2020, valuing the insurtech at $3.7 billion. After an initial run-up, investors suffered heavy losses. Some of these investors are suing the company, alleging they were misled by its executives and Palihapitiya in the lead-up to Clover going public.
The company’s net loss narrowed in the second quarter on a year-over-year basis but still stood at $104.2 million. Its lack of earnings combined with the other issues I mentioned are a recipe for more selling.
Aurora Innovation (AUR)
Aurora Innovation (NASDAQ:AUR) provides self-driving hardware, software and services. At the height of the tech boom, investors couldn’t get enough of companies like this. But as the reality of a rising-interest-rate environment set in, AUR stock lost its shine.
Shares fell off a cliff early in early 2022, dropping from above $11 to below $5 in January. Today, the stock is closer to $2 a share than $5.
The company’s poor fundamentals are cause for concern and could lead to shares breaking below $2 or worse. For the second quarter, the company reported a mere $20.7 million in revenue, all of which was collaboration revenue. And it posted a net loss of $1.2 billion for the quarter. That was far worse than the $181.8 million net loss a year prior. Ending the quarter with just $549.4 million in cash, Aurora Innovation is really on the brink.
Matterport (MTTR)
I’ll admit that I sang Matterport’s (NASDAQ:MTTR) praises not too long ago. The company is focused on digitizing and indexing the physical world through 3D technology. In short, it works to replicate the real world as 3D models.
When metaverse pandemonium was at its height, investors flocked to MTTR stock believing its technology would soon see a massive demand spike. Unfortunately, the numbers tell a different story.
For the second quarter, Matterport saw revenue decline 3.5% year over year to $28.5 million. Revenue for the first half of the year rose just 1%. Hardly the growth story investors were hoping for. Meanwhile, losses were up sharply to $64.6 million in Q2 compared with a net loss of $6.19 million in Q2 2021.
It’s difficult to see how Matterport can continue to do business for long under the current circumstances, much less substantiate a bullish case for its shares.
Core Scientific (CORZ)
Core Scientific (NASDAQ:CORZ) provides blockchain infrastructure, digital asset self-mining operations, hosting and blockchain technology.
Don’t be fooled by some of the flashier metrics being touted by the company. Yes, its self-mining Bitcoin (BTC-USD) operations saw a 1,769% production increase in the second quarter, reaching 3,365 Bitcoin mined. This helped revenue more than double year over year to $164 million.
However, Core Scientific booked a net loss of $810.5 million for Q2. This was due in large part to a $790.8 million impairment of goodwill and other intangibles. But the company only had $128.5 million in cash on hand at the end of the second quarter. That’s not much of a cushion given investors’ aversion to pre-profit companies and the ongoing crypto winter.
Mullen Automotive (MULN)
Mullen Automotive (NASDAQ:MULN) has seen its shares plummet as electric vehicle stocks fell out of favor in a dramatic fashion. MULN stock hit a high just below $16 in November of 2021. Not even a year later, it trades for less than 35 cents.
The California-based firm says it offers an end-to-end ecosystem for EV ownership. That is a big claim for a company that has yet to launch a vehicle.
The company recently released preliminary Q3 results that essentially told investors nothing. Does Mullen intend to focus on delivering the 600 cargo vans to Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) partner DelPack Logistics that it committed to deliver over 18 months in a binding agreement? Or is the company more focused on its controlling interest in Bollinger Motors?
In any case, it’s difficult to see how Mullen can be successful. It is very late to the already crowded EV race. The sharp sell-off in its shares has put it in danger of being delisted from the Nasdaq. A last-minute bid to purchase assets of bankrupt competitor Last Mile Electric Solutions (OTC:ELMSQ) is not likely to change the tide.
CohBar (CWBR)
CohBar (NASDAQ:CWBR) is a biotech looking for ways to commercialize mitochondrial peptides in the fight against age-related diseases. So far, that search has been fruitless with the company remaining in the pre-revenue stage. As the company continues to lose money, it is rapidly approaching a liquidity crisis.
CohBar lost $2.7 million in the second quarter. Of course, losses are run-of-the-mill for biotech firms. The problem is that CohBar reported less than $2.9 million in liquid reserves at the end of the quarter. If it replicates its Q2 performance in Q3, it will be out of cash or close to it. If it does worse, it will have to get creative to obtain financing.
On Sept. 22, the company announced a 1-for-30 reverse stock split, the maximum of the range approved by stockholders at the conclusion of the June 15 annual meeting. Reverse stock splits are never a good sign, especially when done to avoid being delisted by the Nasdaq.
On the date of publication, Alex Sirois did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.