Last month it was inflation fears and now it's the war in Ukraine.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has taken a beating this year and, in the short term, there is no relief in sight as Russian troops march in.
The index is now down almost 8% for the year.
This, however, does mean there are some bargains out there. And this month's reporting season has shed further light on which ASX shares could be the hidden gems.
The team at Morgans this week picked out a couple of stocks that have plunged so much that they now present once-in-a-generation entry points:
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This ASX share is just too cheap to ignore
Pizza maker Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd. (ASX: DMP) fell below expectations in its financial results last week.
Underlying net profit dived 5.3% to $91.3 million for the half-year ending 31 December, and the firm forecast it would fall below its target range for same-store sales growth.
Morgans analyst Andrew Tang pointed out that the profitability in its Asian operations was disappointing in its latest result.
"This represents a reset of Asian margins after the COVID tailwinds of last year, but we believe margins will improve in the months ahead as the rush of new corporate stores matures," he reported in Morgans' "best calls to action" memo.
"We have lowered EBIT forecasts by 5% for FY22 and 4% for FY23."
Despite this, the Domino's share price is now too tempting.
The stock has now sunk 34% for the year, and a hair-raising 51% since September.
"After a period of sustained weakness in the share price, we think now is the time to give Domino's another look. We upgrade to 'add'," he said.
"Domino's remains a growth story. It has a platform to deliver a positive trajectory of sales and earnings as its store rollout strategy continues and network efficiencies increase."
Domino's shares closed Friday at $82.20.
This healthcare company reported strong numbers
The reception to Healius Ltd (ASX: HLS)'s half-year result was opposite to Domino's.
"1H underlying results were above expectations, with solid revenue growth underpinned by COVID-related gains and cost outs, driving margins and operating cash flow to record levels," said Tang.
"Pathology posted triple-digit profit growth, on uplift in both COVID and non-COVID testing."
With Healius shares falling more than 20% since the end of December, the stock is now at the "right price and well placed for a rebound".
"While no FY21 guidance was provided, as COVID uncertainty remains, we believe the company looks well placed to not only benefit from a likely 'baseload' of COVID PCR testing going forward, but also from any rebound in demand from the backlog in diagnosis and surgery as the country opens up."
Healius shares closed Friday at $4.29.
