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2 world-class stocks to consider buying while they’re down 20% and ‘on sale’

Looking for stocks to buy? These two names have attractive long-term prospects and are currently trading around 20% below their 52-week highs.

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For those looking for stocks to buy, now’s an exciting time. With markets having sold-off due to the spike in oil prices, many shares are now ‘on sale’.

Here, I’m going to highlight two world-class stocks that are currently trading about 20% below their highs. In my view, these shares are very much worth considering for a portfolio today.

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This legendary growth stock looks cheap

First up, we have a blue-chip growth stock, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN). It’s currently trading for around $200, down from near $250 earlier in the year.

At that price, I see a real opportunity here. Because looking at analysts’ earnings projections, the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is only 21 using next year’s forecast.

That strikes me as low given the long-term growth potential. This is a company that’s a global leader in e-commerce, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, robotics, self-driving cars, and space satellites, so it has a long growth runway ahead of it.

Note that the average analyst price target is $280. So, analysts seem to share my bullish view.

Personally, I don’t think the company is getting enough credit for its AI potential. Not only has Amazon developed its own AI chips but it also offers access to a broad range of AI solutions and is developing its own agentic AI software to automate functions (according to a recent report from Bloomberg).

Now, there are a few risks to be aware of. The biggest is probably a consumer spending slowdown caused by AI job losses.

This scenario might not affect Amazon as much as some other retailers as it sells a lot of cheap goods and has millions of customers locked in with Prime memberships. But it’s something to keep in mind.

Analysts see the potential for 50% gains

The other stock I want to highlight is international payments powerhouse Wise (LSE: WISE). It’s currently trading for around 915p, down from above 1,150p in September last year.

Again, I see a lot of value here. If we take the earnings forecast for the financial year starting today (1 April), the forward-looking P/E ratio is only 24.

Considering the rate at which this company is growing its revenues and earnings, that seems very reasonable to me. For the quarter ended 31 December 2025, underlying income was up 21% year on year to £424.2m, fuelled by a 26% increase in cross-border payments volume.

It’s worth noting that Wise’s earnings don’t always rise in a straight line. This company likes to continually make its services better for customers and this can temporarily impact its profitability.

This can spook short-term investors and lead to share price weakness (it’s one of the reasons the share price is down at the moment). A lot of investors get frustrated when they don’t see linear earnings growth.

I believe that this stock has all the right ingredients to be a great long-term investment, however. It’s worth noting that analysts at JP Morgan recently raised its target price to 1,385p – that’s about 50% above today’s share price.

Edward Sheldon has positions in Amazon, Wise, and JP Morgan. The Motley Fool UK has recommended Amazon and Wise Plc. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

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