There is a famous study that is called the "Dogs of the Dow" which takes a look at how successful you would be if in any given year you bought the weakest stocks in the Dow rather than the strongest. Now there are a few variances to this study that have surfaced over the years but it brings up the question, is now the time to buy beaten down stocks?
For the past nine years the stock market has pushed straight up with almost no pullbacks to speak of. There are, and have always been stocks that have struggled but many have, at some point recovered and participated in the markets rally. Twitter (NASDAQ: TWTR) is a recent example of a beaten down stock that has suddenly participated in the markets rally.
Under Armour (NYSE: UA) is a name we have focused in on towards the end of 2017 as this stock has suffered from competition and soft sales. Add to it a lot of negative media attention and you have a recipe for a beaten down stock. Chipotle (NYSE: CMG), Macy's (NYSE: M), and General Electric (NYSE: GE) are a few others that would all fall into the category of beaten down.
Betting on a weak stock can be highly rewarding and who doesn't like to get a discounted price or something on sale? If you decide to try for a recover keep in mind that you will need to be patient. Very rarely does a stock rapidly recover from a period of weakness. Look at any chart of a stock turning and you will see many stops and starts. This is due to buyers exiting as a recovery rally reduces their loss from holding.
One last thing to consider is that you are playing with stocks that are already weak. Should the markets enter a period of weakness these names could be extra sensitive to that. You could look at this as risk, or even better discounts!