What do you name a inventory that skyrocketed within the Covid pandemic, after which crashed practically 90% from its all-time excessive? You name it Ocado Group (LSE: OCDO). I’m questioning if it could be among the best shares to purchase in the present day.

Since IPO in 2010, Ocado has polarised the investing world greater than any I can consider previously few many years.

It’s up 123% since launch. In that point, the FTSE 100 has gained 54%, and we will add round one other 50% for dividends.

So, Ocado is comfortably forward. However what a journey!

Fall from grace

At these peak Ocado share costs, we noticed a 15-bagger. And few of us ever obtain these in our careers.

Nonetheless, those that didn’t promote once they had been forward gained’t have both, and the painful crash to the place we are actually makes Ocado appear to be an enormous failure.

It’s all led to the inventory being dumped out of the FTSE 100. Index trackers that maintain it then need to promote, and power the price down much more.

Ioannis Pontikis at Morningstar put Ocado’s fall down to “intense competitors within the UK grocery market and a cost-of-living disaster, which conventional brick-and-mortar supermarkets had been in a position to handle extra successfully“. I can’t argue with that.

A contemporary look

Right here’s one thing I love to do with a inventory that when had the adrenaline pumping, however then lurched from hero to villain…

Throw all that occurred previously out of the window, and begin once more with a contemporary look.

Ocado’s concentrate on groceries could be a little bit of a threat typically. Like when, say, Tesco‘s product range may need wider enchantment in powerful occasions.

And Marks & Spencer won’t appear to be the most effective associate for occasions when we’ve got much less spare money to spend.

However within the higher occasions which can be absolutely forward, when inflation falls sufficient for rates of interest to drop, I feel Ocado could possibly be set up properly.

Tech inventory

Up to now, Ocado has regarded like a meals vendor whose shares had been priced for top tech progress. Now I feel I would see a tech progress inventory priced like a nook store.

Nicely, perhaps not fairly, as there’s no revenue but from which to work out a good worth. However not less than, I do assume traders may need taken their eyes off the potential for Ocado’s know-how.

There’s robotics and AI within the combine as properly now, which ought to assist drive down working prices.

Consensus

There’s solely a comfortable purchase consensus amongst analysts now. However they do are likely to largely push shares which can be climbing, and switch bearish once they fall… has anybody else observed that?

Analyst price targets are in all places, from extra falls to very large progress. These are sometimes little greater than guesswork, however they do present how a lot uncertainty there may be.

Ocado can be massively dangerous in the present day, I feel. Possibly even a boom-or-bust factor. Till there’s revenue, there’s… properly, perhaps nothing.

However I would nonetheless purchase a couple of shares. Not rather a lot, although.