He Nasdaq Composite The index went through a torrid period in the first quarter of this year, losing just over 7% of its value, with its momentum fueled by factors such as the Middle East conflict, higher oil prices, mixed economic data and the increasing likelihood that the United States will soon enter a recession.
However, the technology index has made an impressive recovery so far in April, erasing those declines. Its recent rally can be attributed to the willingness of the United States and Iran to engage in talks to resolve the Middle East crisis. At the same time, technology companies continue to perform well financially, driven primarily by strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) hardware and software.
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It won’t be surprising to see the Nasdaq maintain its newfound momentum and continue an uptrend for the rest of the year. After all, according to Morningstar, the US stock market is trading at a 12% discount to the company’s fair value estimates, and shows signs of stepping on the accelerator whenever there is good news from the Middle East.
Therefore, this would be a good time to invest in some growth stocks that can step on the accelerator. If you have $1,000 in cash to invest after covering your expenses, paying off high-interest debt, and building a strong enough emergency fund, you might want to consider buying shares of Palo Alto Networks(NASDAQ: PANW) and sandisk(NASDAQ: SNDK).
Let’s look at why these stocks could make you richer before the end of the year.
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McKinsey estimates that the cybersecurity market, now worth $220 billion, could grow at an annualized rate of 13% in the medium term. The consulting firm points out that the integration of AI elements will drive this next wave of growth.
For example, AI agents are expected to replace or augment the roles of many human cybersecurity analysts. Additionally, companies delegating tasks to AI agents will increase cybersecurity risks as companies will need to ensure that bad actors do not manipulate their AI agents. Palo Alto Networks is well positioned to capitalize on the growth of the AI-focused cybersecurity market.
The company’s Prisma AIRS platform helps customers protect their agent AI applications end-to-end. It identifies each AI agent in a company’s ecosystem and uses real-time monitoring to ensure they do not take unauthorized actions. McKinsey notes that adoption of agent AI solutions is expected to more than double over the next year, which helps explain why Palo Alto’s Prisma AIRS platform is gaining strong traction among customers.
Palo Alto says Prisma AIRS is one of the fastest-growing products in its history. The platform saw a three-fold increase in customers from its fiscal first quarter to its fiscal second quarter (which ended Jan. 31), and could move the needle in a bigger way for the company in the long term, given the potential growth of agent AI. Importantly, Palo Alto’s revenue portfolio is improving thanks to its AI-focused offerings.
Its remaining performance obligation (RPO), the total value of a company’s unfulfilled contracts, rose 23% year over year in the fiscal second quarter to $16 billion. That outpaced the 15% growth in its revenue to $2.6 billion. Palo Alto anticipates a 28% increase in RPO in the current fiscal year to $20.3 billion, suggesting its growth rate should improve.
Therefore, buying this cybersecurity stock after its recent pullback could be a smart move, as a possible acceleration in growth, coupled with a bull run in Nasdaq stocks, could overload Palo Alto.
Sandisk has defied Nasdaq volatility in 2026 and soared 275% at the time of writing. That surprising rise has been driven by strong profit growth. The good news for investors is that they can still buy Sandisk at just 18.6 times forward earnings, even after its multi-bagger performance this year.
Doing so could be a smart move, as Sandisk’s profits are on track to expand exponentially from where they were in its 2025 fiscal year (which ended in June). That year, it posted adjusted earnings of $2.99 ​​per share.
SNDK EPS estimates for current fiscal year data based on YCharts.
Sandisk makes NAND flash-based data storage products such as solid state drives (SSDs) and storage cards. Its memory products are used in devices such as personal computers, smartphones, game consoles, and data center servers. But it is data centers that have been taking up a significant share of the SSDs available on the market as hyperscalers build the infrastructure to handle AI workloads.
The shortage of traditional hard drives has led data center operators to turn to SSDs, and this trend is likely to continue at least until the end of next year, as all of the hard drives that manufacturers hope to be able to produce this year have been pre-sold. This explains why a market research company Gartner predicts a massive 234% increase in NAND flash memory prices this year. The firm adds that “significant price relief is not expected until the end of 2027.”
Therefore, Sandisk’s red-hot growth is likely to continue until the end of next year. Since this tech stock is trading at an attractive valuation, it has the potential to jump impressively. If Sandisk’s earnings reach $105.33 per share, in line with consensus expectations, and trade at 18 times earnings after one year, in line with its forward earnings multiple, the stock could jump to $1,896. That’s 112% more than current levels.
Before you buy shares in Sandisk, consider this:
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Harsh Chauhan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Gartner and Palo Alto Networks. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The Smartest Growth Stocks to Buy with $1,000 Before the Nasdaq Rises was originally published by The Motley Fool
