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Clear Secure Trades Near 52-Week High: How Should You Play the Stock?
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Clear Secure, Inc. (YOU - Free Report) has been performing well lately, with the stock hovering at more than $34 per share in the past three trading sessions. Shares of the secure identity platform provider closed at $35.49 yesterday, near its 52-week high of $35.68.
Year to date, the stock has surged 71.8%, outpacing the S&P 500 composite and the industry’s growth of 22% and 24.9%, respectively. The company has also outperformed other industry players like Box, Inc. (BOX - Free Report) and Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW - Free Report) , which have returned 27.8% and 26.9%, respectively, over the same time frame.
Clear Secure Outperforms Industry & S&P 500
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The stock is also trading above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, indicating solid upward momentum and price stability. This reflects a positive market sentiment and confidence in the company's financial health and long-term prospects.
YOU Shares Trade Above 50-Day and 200-Day SMA
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Factors Favoring the Company
The strongest driver of Clear Secure’s business at the moment is the solid growth in subscriptions to its consumer aviation service, CLEAR Plus. An increase in booking level, driven by new member enrollments, strong retention of existing members and effective pricing, is driving its sales. Exiting the second quarter of 2024, the company’s bookings totaled $197 million, reflecting an increase of 12.5% year over year. Management anticipates bookings growth to accelerate in the second half of the year, driven by positive responses from the rollout of the TSA PreCheck program.
The company’s strategic distribution partnerships with several partners including Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, Alaska Airlines and American Express are promoting its services to their customers on a discounted basis. This has been enabling YOU to efficiently scale membership in CLEAR Plus. Importantly, no individual airport accounted for more than 10% of membership revenues in the second quarter, thereby reflecting the company’s core competencies and well-balanced portfolio.
Clear Secure has been also witnessing impressive growth in CLEAR Verified enrollments, which has been driving the number of total cumulative platform uses. For instance, exiting the second quarter, YOU’s total cumulative enrollments totaled 24,221,000 which represented a 39% increase on a year-over-year basis.
As part of its footprint expansion initiatives, the company is also expanding its identity and protection services to other industries. Its focus on expanding its technology platform beyond airports to other lucrative markets like health care and financial services while adding new features such as digital payments is likely to foster its growth.
The company also remains committed to increasing shareholder value through dividend payouts and share repurchases. For instance, in the first six months of the year, it paid dividends worth $17.8 million and repurchased shares of its Class A common stock for $150 million. As of June 30, 2024, $75,424 remained available under its share repurchase authorization.
Better-Than-Industry Returns
Clear Secure’s trailing 12-month return on equity (ROE) is indicative of its growth potential. ROE for the trailing 12 months is 42.18%, higher than the industry’s 30.38%. This reflects the company’s efficient usage of shareholder funds.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Stock Valuation
With a forward 12-month price-to-earnings ratio of 23.8X, which is below the industry average of 35.2X, YOU stock presents an attractive valuation for investors. However, the stock is overvalued compared with its peer, Twilio Inc. (TWLO - Free Report) , which is trading at 18.5X.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Earnings Estimate Revision
Earnings estimates for YOU have remained stable over the past 60 days. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 earnings is pegged at $1.29 per share, reflecting year-over-year growth of 122.4%. The consensus mark for 2025 earnings is pinned at $1.54 per share, indicating a year-over-year increase of 19.9%. Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Risks to Consider Before Choosing YOU
Despite the aforementioned growth opportunities, Clear Secure faces certain challenges that one should consider before investing in this stock.
The company has been coping with the adverse impacts of high operating costs due to rising fixed airport fees and high sales and marketing expenses. For instance, in the first six months of 2024, its cost of revenue share fee increased 24% year over year while sales and marketing expenses rose 11%. Also, costs related to direct salaries and benefits increased 19% over the same time frame.
Clear Secure has considerable exposure to overseas markets. Given the company’s international operations, it is exposed to certain uncertainties in the global macroeconomic environment, especially those related to politics, labor market and economic instability.
Final Thoughts on YOU
Given its promising long-term prospects, maintaining a position in Clear Secure, which currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), appears to be the right choice. This stance reflects confidence in the company's growth trajectory, given its strong earnings estimates, robust share price returns and benefits of growth in subscriptions to its consumer aviation service. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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Clear Secure Trades Near 52-Week High: How Should You Play the Stock?
Clear Secure, Inc. (YOU - Free Report) has been performing well lately, with the stock hovering at more than $34 per share in the past three trading sessions. Shares of the secure identity platform provider closed at $35.49 yesterday, near its 52-week high of $35.68.
Year to date, the stock has surged 71.8%, outpacing the S&P 500 composite and the industry’s growth of 22% and 24.9%, respectively. The company has also outperformed other industry players like Box, Inc. (BOX - Free Report) and Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW - Free Report) , which have returned 27.8% and 26.9%, respectively, over the same time frame.
Clear Secure Outperforms Industry & S&P 500
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The stock is also trading above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, indicating solid upward momentum and price stability. This reflects a positive market sentiment and confidence in the company's financial health and long-term prospects.
YOU Shares Trade Above 50-Day and 200-Day SMA
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Factors Favoring the Company
The strongest driver of Clear Secure’s business at the moment is the solid growth in subscriptions to its consumer aviation service, CLEAR Plus. An increase in booking level, driven by new member enrollments, strong retention of existing members and effective pricing, is driving its sales. Exiting the second quarter of 2024, the company’s bookings totaled $197 million, reflecting an increase of 12.5% year over year. Management anticipates bookings growth to accelerate in the second half of the year, driven by positive responses from the rollout of the TSA PreCheck program.
The company’s strategic distribution partnerships with several partners including Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, Alaska Airlines and American Express are promoting its services to their customers on a discounted basis. This has been enabling YOU to efficiently scale membership in CLEAR Plus. Importantly, no individual airport accounted for more than 10% of membership revenues in the second quarter, thereby reflecting the company’s core competencies and well-balanced portfolio.
Clear Secure has been also witnessing impressive growth in CLEAR Verified enrollments, which has been driving the number of total cumulative platform uses. For instance, exiting the second quarter, YOU’s total cumulative enrollments totaled 24,221,000 which represented a 39% increase on a year-over-year basis.
As part of its footprint expansion initiatives, the company is also expanding its identity and protection services to other industries. Its focus on expanding its technology platform beyond airports to other lucrative markets like health care and financial services while adding new features such as digital payments is likely to foster its growth.
The company also remains committed to increasing shareholder value through dividend payouts and share repurchases. For instance, in the first six months of the year, it paid dividends worth $17.8 million and repurchased shares of its Class A common stock for $150 million. As of June 30, 2024, $75,424 remained available under its share repurchase authorization.
Better-Than-Industry Returns
Clear Secure’s trailing 12-month return on equity (ROE) is indicative of its growth potential. ROE for the trailing 12 months is 42.18%, higher than the industry’s 30.38%. This reflects the company’s efficient usage of shareholder funds.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Stock Valuation
With a forward 12-month price-to-earnings ratio of 23.8X, which is below the industry average of 35.2X, YOU stock presents an attractive valuation for investors. However, the stock is overvalued compared with its peer, Twilio Inc. (TWLO - Free Report) , which is trading at 18.5X.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Earnings Estimate Revision
Earnings estimates for YOU have remained stable over the past 60 days. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 earnings is pegged at $1.29 per share, reflecting year-over-year growth of 122.4%. The consensus mark for 2025 earnings is pinned at $1.54 per share, indicating a year-over-year increase of 19.9%. Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Risks to Consider Before Choosing YOU
Despite the aforementioned growth opportunities, Clear Secure faces certain challenges that one should consider before investing in this stock.
The company has been coping with the adverse impacts of high operating costs due to rising fixed airport fees and high sales and marketing expenses. For instance, in the first six months of 2024, its cost of revenue share fee increased 24% year over year while sales and marketing expenses rose 11%. Also, costs related to direct salaries and benefits increased 19% over the same time frame.
Clear Secure has considerable exposure to overseas markets. Given the company’s international operations, it is exposed to certain uncertainties in the global macroeconomic environment, especially those related to politics, labor market and economic instability.
Final Thoughts on YOU
Given its promising long-term prospects, maintaining a position in Clear Secure, which currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), appears to be the right choice. This stance reflects confidence in the company's growth trajectory, given its strong earnings estimates, robust share price returns and benefits of growth in subscriptions to its consumer aviation service. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.