2 S&P 500 Stocks to Buy Now On the Dip for Huge Upside
May 23, 2025
The stock market barely budged on Thursday after its mid-week, Treasury yield-induced pullback. The bulls are trying to hold ground at the post-Trump election gap-up in their pursuit of all-time highs.
That said, the market is likely due for a cooldown at some point soon following the massive rally off the April lows.
Stocks could give up some of their recent gains if yields continue to climb on rising fears that investors are losing their appetite for U.S. debt.
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Thankfully, the next drop likely won’t last long if the U.S. makes tangible trade deal progress and inflation continues to cool. On top of that, the strong earnings results and outlook must remain in place over the summer.
Investors might not want to ‘chase’ soaring tech stocks to close out May. Thankfully, we all still have a chance to buy into weakness on plenty of strong large cap stocks trading miles below their records.
Some people who might rush to buy a car, TV, or fill-in-the-blank when they go on sale by 10%, 25%, or even 50% might hesitate to strike when stock prices fall. But buying stocks when they have dropped significantly makes more sense because they are appreciating assets, unlike most other things people buy on sale.
Today’s Full Court Finance at Zacks dives into two beaten-down S&P 500 stocks—Thermo Fisher Scientific and Lululemon—to consider buying now for huge upside.
Buy This Market-Crushing Medical Stock Down 40% from Its Highs
Thermo Fisher
Scientific (
TMO
)
is a global leader in medical and lab equipment, specialty diagnostics tools, reagents, and more.
TMO’s growing portfolio serves companies across biotech, healthcare, and pharmaceuticals, providing them with a wide range of products essential to innovation and daily operation. TMO grew its revenue from under $5 billion in 2005 to $45 billion in 2022, capped off by a COVID-based boom.
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Thermo Fisher stock has tumbled 40% from its late 2021 peaks due to post-COVID demand normalization and other setbacks such as a biotech funding crunch.
It offered disappointing guidance again in late April, driven by macroeconomic uncertainty and trade policy setbacks given its exposure to Chinese supply chains and the possible negative impact from proposed research funding cuts.
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TMO, which lands a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), is projected to grow its revenue by 2% in 2025 and 7% in 2026 to climb solidly above its 2022 records.
The company is expected to grow its adjusted earnings by 2% and 11%, respectively. This outlook means 2024 and 2025 will mark the bottom of Thermo Fisher’s business cycle.
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The life sciences supplier stock has skyrocketed by over 1,400% in the past 20 years to triple the S&P 500. The outperformance includes its 40% dive from its late 2021 peaks. TMO stock is attempting to hold its ground at its summer 2020 breakout levels while trading at its most oversold RSI levels since 2008/09.
The selloff has Thermo Fisher trading at some of its lowest valuation levels in the past decade and at a discount to its sector at 17.1X forward earnings (despite climbing 200% in the past 10 years vs. its sector’s -8% decline).
Buy LULU Stock Before Its Q1 Earnings Release?
Lululemon (
LULU
)
shares have soared nearly 1,500% in the last 15 years, leaving the market, Nike, and its sector in the dust. The athleisure power changed fashion during this period, sparking a wave of upstarts and apparel giants to fight for market share in a category Lululemon pioneered.
LULU is finally facing slowing growth in the U.S. and North America after a banner stretch of expansion that saw it average 23% revenue growth between 2018 and 2023. The rapid boom of rivals Alo, Vuori, and countless other online-only startups are also contributing to LULU's slowing comparable store sales in its critical Americas region.
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The apparel titan grew its 2024 sales by 10%, with comps up 4%. But it provided downbeat guidance in late March, hurt by cautious consumers and other headwinds.
Lululemon remains focused on executing its Power of Three ×2 growth plan (doubling sales between 2021 and 2026), on the back of huge growth across men's, e-commerce, and international. The company also expanded its operating margin by 40 basis points to 28.9% last year, which is a level almost unmatched in the nonluxury apparel space.
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Lululemon is projected to grow its revenue by 6% in 2025 on 4% comps expansion and then jump 8% next year to help boost its adjusted earnings by 1.4% and 10%, respectively.
The company has topped our EPS estimates for nearly five years running and its long-term earnings growth outlook is strong.
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LULU trades 38% below its peaks, and it is down 17% in 2025 vs. its sector’s 3% YTD pop. The recent struggles are part of a five-year chop following a stellar rally between 2014 and 2021.
Lululemon held its ground once again at its pre-Covid selloff heights. Its recent rebound took it back above its 50-week moving average while trading at neutral RSI levels.
Valuation-wise, the athleisure standout trades at some of its lowest ever levels at 20.8X forward earnings. This marks a 33% discount to its 15-year median and almost in line with its industry. The company also has a sturdy balance sheet with more cash and equivalents than current liabilities and zero debt.
Lululemon will release its first quarter fiscal 2025 financial results on Thursday, June 5.
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