Stocks in the $10-50 range offer a sweet spot between affordability and stability as they’re typically more established than penny stocks. But their headline prices don’t guarantee quality, and investors should exercise caution as some have shaky business models.
Luckily for you, our mission at StockStory is to help you make money and avoid losses by sorting the winners from the losers. Keeping that in mind, here are two stocks under $50 that could 10x and one that may have trouble.
One Stock Under $50 to Sell:
Shoals (SHLS)
Share Price: $10.36
Started in Huntsville, Alabama, Shoals (NASDAQ: SHLS) designs and manufactures products that make solar energy systems work more efficiently.
Why Do We Steer Clear of SHLS?
- New orders were hard to come by as its average backlog growth of 3.3% over the past two years underwhelmed
- Capital intensity has ramped up over the last five years as its free cash flow margin decreased by 5.8 percentage points
- Waning returns on capital from an already weak starting point displays the inefficacy of management’s past and current investment decisions
Shoals is trading at $10.36 per share, or 22.2x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including SHLS in your portfolio.
Two Stocks Under $50 to Watch:
Perdoceo Education (PRDO)
Share Price: $36.43
Formerly known as Career Education Corporation, Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ: PRDO) is an educational services company that specializes in postsecondary education.
Why Should PRDO Be on Your Watchlist?
- Disciplined cost controls and effective management resulted in a strong two-year operating margin of 24.7%
- Impressive free cash flow profitability enables the company to fund new investments or reward investors with share buybacks/dividends
- Stellar returns on capital showcase management’s ability to surface highly profitable business ventures
Perdoceo Education’s stock price of $36.43 implies a valuation ratio of 22.5x forward EV-to-EBITDA. Is now a good time to buy? See for yourself in our comprehensive research report, it’s free for active Edge members .
German American Bancorp (GABC)
Share Price: $38.78
Founded in 1910 during a wave of community banking expansion in the Midwest, German American Bancorp (NASDAQ: GABC) is a financial holding company that provides banking, wealth management, and insurance services across southern Indiana and Kentucky.
Why Do We Like GABC?
- Annual net interest income growth of 13.3% over the past five years was outstanding, reflecting market share gains this cycle
- Exciting net interest income outlook for the upcoming 12 months calls for 26.6% growth, an acceleration from its five-year trend
- Capital generation for the next 12 months is expected to accelerate above its two-year trend as Wall Street forecasts robust tangible book value per share growth of 16.4%
At $38.78 per share, German American Bancorp trades at 1.3x forward P/B. Is now the time to initiate a position? Find out in our full research report, it’s free for active Edge members.
Stocks We Like Even More
Trump’s April 2025 tariff bombshell triggered a massive market selloff, but stocks have since staged an impressive recovery, leaving those who panic sold on the sidelines.
Take advantage of the rebound by checking out our Top 5 Strong Momentum Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025).
Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Kadant (+351% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free. Find your next big winner with StockStory today. Find your next big winner with StockStory today
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