Last year, the three major U.S. stock indexes entered bear market territory. And the market still is proving to be a difficult place. But if that's getting you down, the worst thing you could do is turn your back on investing. The one positive thing about a bear market is that it's an opportunity to snap up quality companies at bargain prices.

And you can take advantage of that opportunity right now. In fact, two of my favorite stocks are down by double-digit percentages so far this year. I'm talking about retail stars (NASDAQ: ETSY) and Target (NYSE: TGT). They've lost 31% and 10%, respectively. That leaves them trading at interesting levels. At the same time, their earnings have held up in spite of economic headwinds. And this makes them essential bear market buys.

Etsy's earnings soared during the earlier days of the pandemic, when people favored shopping online. Today, higher inflation is weighing on the company's costs and on the wallets of shoppers, putting the brakes on its earnings growth.

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Source Fool.com