Nasdaq Sell-Off: These 3 "Safe Stocks" Finally Look Like Bargains

Panicked yet? It would be a little surprising if you weren't at least a bit. Now down more than 10% from its most recent peak, the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) is officially in correction territory. Such big tumbles often precede even more weakness, even if that continued selling is only rooted in fear, and the result of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

However, the Nasdaq's steep pullback is a buying opportunity. Although plenty of overvalued stocks are now suffering right-pricing, the sweeping sell-off also unduly punished several stocks that are safe from whatever economic headwinds the market is now anticipating. Here's a closer look at three of these "safe stocks" that have been errantly up-ended in and by the panic, and become bargains as a result.

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Shopify

Shopify (NYSE: SHOP) helps merchants, brands, and consumer-facing outfits establish their own e-commerce presence. It's an alternative to third-party platforms like Amazon, which may or may not always have sellers' best interests at heart.

The option is clearly experiencing growing demand. The company facilitated the sale of $292 billion worth of goods and services last year, up 24% from the previous year's tally. Shopify's resulting revenue improved nearly 26%, to $8.9 billion. The analyst community is looking for comparable growth this year and next. The stock's 21% slide in the last 30 days suggests that investors may now be entertaining doubts about its foreseeable future.

Economic weakness that hits peoples' pocketbooks will certainly take a toll on consumer spending -- but not as much as you might think. In fact, Shopify could benefit from economic malaise due to serving sellers of consumer goods that are always in demand, regardless of the economic backdrop. Plenty of its other customers also offer the affordable splurges that still happen even when (and often because) a vacation is canceled or the purchase of a car is postponed.

Moreover, access to much of Shopify's technology is rented rather than outright bought, while many of its e-commerce tools are built to carve out a small piece of each transaction's value for the company itself. Not only does this approach keep its solution affordable to sellers, it means much of its revenue is recurring revenue that continues flowing even when businesses are buckling down in other ways.

Broadcom

Most investors have heard of this company. Most of these same investors, however, would struggle to name a single product Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) makes.

That's not necessarily a bad thing. Indeed, it suits the company just fine. By remaining off the radar, it doesn't attract a great deal of competitive attention.

Broadcom makes telecommunications technology. Not phones or switchboards -- think fiber optic equipment, wireless antennas, and networking adapters, just to name a few.

The advent of computers and then the internet, followed by mobile phones and cloud computing, all contributed to the company's quiet growth. Nothing has thrust Broadcom into the spotlight like the rise of artificial intelligence data centers, though. Of last fiscal year's top line of $51.6 billion, $12.2 billion of it was AI-related, up 220% year over year. The bulk of that artificial intelligence hardware revenue came from the aforementioned networking tech and its specialty processors.

Yet, this explosion has just begun. In December, CEO Hock Tan claimed that the AI hardware market could grow to between $60 billion and $90 billion per year by 2027, setting the stage for as much as a fivefold increase -- and possibly more -- in Broadcom's artificial intelligence business.

Dour economic outlooks obviously crimp capital expenditures. There are some areas, however, where companies can't or don't want to rein in their spending plans. AI is arguably one of those areas, since it not only allows organizations to operate more competitively, but also allows them to operate more cost-effectively. Broadcom's relatively safe because its thousands of patents mean that any AI data center operator that wants to take its functionality to the next level will either have to rely on Broadcom, or do without.

Broadcom shares are now down more than 20% in the last month, by the way.

Palo Alto Networks

Finally, add Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) to your list of stocks that have become bargains thanks to the recent Nasdaq sell-off. Shares are now 10% in the last month. They may not yet be at their ultimate bottom, but that's still an attractive discount for a stock that's usually making slow and steady forward progress.

Palo Alto is a cybersecurity solutions provider, although the description doesn't quite do it justice. It can offer everything from firewalls to remote employee login management to threat-detection to phishing prevention, and more. It wouldn't be a stretch to say it provides everything an institutional client might need or want for procuring protection for a network and all its digital data. That's why the company did $2.3 billion worth of business last quarter alone. This is up 14% from a year ago, and extends a long streak of similar growth.

Hacking, network hijacking, cyberattacks, ransomware, phishing, denial of service, and other forms of digital criminal activity don't slow down just because the threat of recession looms. If anything, they ramp up during tough economic times simply because the need to generate income grows in the absence of legitimate opportunities.

Cybercrime was already on the rise. Recent reporting from the World Economic Forum indicates that 72% of organizations feel their cyber risks are still growing, largely thanks to generative artificial intelligence that makes it easier and faster to exploit digital vulnerabilities. The WEF adds that most of these organizations are also struggling to find enough qualified cybersecurity professionals. This means they'll need to acquire more and better cybersecurity tech if they want to properly protect their assets.

Sure, it's possible that companies will decide to spend less on their digital defense. Like artificial intelligence, though (and perhaps even more so), this is an area where organizations arguably know there's too much risk in skimping, even if budget cuts are being made.

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John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. James Brumley has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon and Shopify. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom and Palo Alto Networks. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.