Why Teladoc Stock Surprisingly Popped Today

Shares of telemedicine company Teladoc Health (NYSE: TDOC) surprisingly popped on Thursday after Citron Research gave it a glowing recommendation. As of 3:30 p.m. ET, Teladoc stock was up 7%, but it had been up as much as 15% earlier in the day.

Is this a sudden cash-flow opportunity?

Teladoc stock has been completely discarded by investors. A stock market darling in 2020, it's dropped 96% from its all-time high in early 2021. This is why the shoutout from Citron Research was so surprising. The research firm has a large social media presence and called Teladoc "The Under-the-Radar AI Play," which is attention grabbing.

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The basic premise of the investment thesis from Citron Research is that Teladoc stock is down because it's no longer a high-growth company. But it's worth buying because it's becoming a high-margin cash-flow opportunity.

It's a fair point. As of the third quarter of 2024, Teladoc has over $200 million in trailing-12-month free cash flow, up 85% from its trailing-12-month free cash flow in the third quarter of 2023. In short, Citron Research is saying that Teladoc stock is too cheap in light of its rapid cash-flow growth.

Is this really an AI stock?

Trading at less than 10 times its free cash flow, it's hard to argue against that premise -- Teladoc stock does indeed look cheap. Many stocks trade at well over 20 times their cash flows.

TDOC Price to Free Cash Flow data by YCharts.

I agree that Teladoc stock is cheap, and I'd say the telemedicine stock is worth a closer look today. That said, investors should always be careful about getting too excited about someone else's investment thesis, especially when it's publicly published. Often, things can be worded in a way to generate excitement and can be overstated.

To just nitpick one thing, Citron Research calls Teladoc an artificial intelligence (AI) stock. But almost all companies are aggressively billing themselves as AI companies now. By contrast, Teladoc scantly mentions AI, which suggests it's not central to the business.

Teladoc stock could still be a good buy. I would just suggest that investors always review someone else's investment thesis with a healthy dose of skepticism.

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Jon Quast has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Teladoc Health. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.