The $10-50 price range often includes mid-sized businesses with proven track records and plenty of growth runway ahead. They also usually carry less risk than penny stocks, though they’re not immune to volatility as many lack the scale advantages of their larger peers.
This is precisely where StockStory comes in - we do the heavy lifting to identify companies with solid fundamentals so you can invest with confidence. Keeping that in mind, here are three stocks under $50 to swipe left on and some alternatives you should look into instead.
MasterCraft (MCFT)
Share Price: $16.81
Started by a waterskiing instructor, MasterCraft (NASDAQ: MCFT) specializes in designing, manufacturing, and selling sport boats.
Why Are We Wary of MCFT?
- Sluggish trends in its boats sold suggest customers aren’t adopting its solutions as quickly as the company hoped
- Capital intensity will likely increase as its free cash flow margin is anticipated to drop by 9.2 percentage points over the next year
- Waning returns on capital imply its previous profit engines are losing steam
At $16.81 per share, MasterCraft trades at 13.2x forward P/E. To fully understand why you should be careful with MCFT, check out our full research report (it’s free).
Manitowoc (MTW)
Share Price: $10.84
Contracted by the United States Navy during WWII, Manitowoc (NYSE: MTW) provides cranes and lifting equipment.
Why Do We Pass on MTW?
- Product roadmap and go-to-market strategy need to be reconsidered as its backlog has averaged 12.4% declines over the past two years
- Earnings per share fell by 41.8% annually over the last five years while its revenue grew, showing its incremental sales were much less profitable
- Below-average returns on capital indicate management struggled to find compelling investment opportunities
Manitowoc is trading at $10.84 per share, or 14.5x forward P/E. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why MTW doesn’t pass our bar.
STAAR Surgical (STAA)
Share Price: $18.34
With over 2.5 million implants performed worldwide, STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ: STAA) designs and manufactures implantable lenses that correct vision problems without removing the eye's natural lens.
Why Do We Avoid STAA?
- Weak constant currency growth over the past two years indicates challenges in maintaining its market share
- Free cash flow margin dropped by 26.6 percentage points over the last five years, implying the company became more capital intensive as competition picked up
- Diminishing returns on capital suggest its earlier profit pools are drying up
STAAR Surgical’s stock price of $18.34 implies a valuation ratio of 3.2x forward price-to-sales. To fully understand why you should be careful with STAA, check out our full research report (it’s free).
Stocks We Like More
Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election sent major indices to all-time highs, but stocks have retraced as investors debate the health of the economy and the potential impact of tariffs.
While this leaves much uncertainty around 2025, a few companies are poised for long-term gains regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate, like our Top 5 Growth Stocks for this month. 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-small-cap company Comfort Systems (+782% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free.
