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.
These dynamic can cause headaches for even the most seasoned professionals, which is why we started StockStory - to help you separate the good companies from the bad. That said, here are three stocks under $50 to swipe left on and some alternatives you should look into instead.
Varonis (VRNS)
Share Price: $42.22
Founded by a duo of former Israeli Defense Forces cyber warfare engineers, Varonis (NASDAQ: VRNS) offers software-as-service that helps customers protect data from cyber threats and gain visibility into how enterprise data is being used.
Why Does VRNS Give Us Pause?
- 12.2% annual revenue growth over the last three years was slower than its software peers
- Persistent operating losses suggest the business manages its expenses poorly
- High net-debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 6× could force the company to raise capital at unfavorable terms if market conditions deteriorate
Varonis is trading at $42.22 per share, or 7.7x forward price-to-sales. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including VRNS in your portfolio.
Hillenbrand (HI)
Share Price: $29.79
Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE: HI) is an industrial company that designs, manufactures, and sells highly engineered processing equipment and solutions for various industries.
Why Is HI Risky?
- Earnings per share fell by 7% annually over the last two years while its revenue grew, showing its incremental sales were much less profitable
- Free cash flow margin dropped by 8.6 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
Hillenbrand’s stock price of $29.79 implies a valuation ratio of 9.5x forward price-to-earnings. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than HI.
SolarEdge (SEDG)
Share Price: $17.70
Established in 2006, SolarEdge (NASDAQ: SEDG) creates advanced systems to improve the efficiency of solar panels.
Why Do We Think SEDG Will Underperform?
- Demand for its offerings was relatively low as its number of megawatts shipped has underwhelmed
- Waning returns on capital imply its previous profit engines are losing steam
- Depletion of cash reserves could lead to a fundraising event that triggers shareholder dilution
At $17.70 per share, SolarEdge trades at 0.9x forward price-to-sales. To fully understand why you should be careful with SEDG, check out our full research report (it’s free).
Stocks We Like More
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Get started by checking out our Top 6 Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 175% over the last five years.
Stocks that made our list in 2019 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+2,183% between December 2019 and December 2024) as well as under-the-radar businesses like Sterling Infrastructure (+1,096% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free.
