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.

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 three stocks under $50 to avoid and some other investments you should consider instead.

Carter's (CRI)

Share Price: $34.43

Rumored to sell more than 10 products for every child born in the United States, Carter's (NYSE: CRI) is an American designer and marketer of children's apparel.

Why Do We Pass on CRI?

1. Poor same-store sales performance over the past two years indicates it’s having trouble bringing new shoppers into its stores
2. Forecasted revenue decline of 2.1% for the upcoming 12 months implies demand will fall even further
3. Shrinking returns on capital suggest that increasing competition is eating into the company’s profitability

Carter's is trading at $34.43 per share, or 9.7x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including CRI in your portfolio.

Kratos (KTOS)

Share Price: $34.38

Established with a commitment to supporting national security, Kratos (NASDAQ: KTOS) is a provider of advanced engineering, technology, and security solutions tailored for critical national security applications.

Why Does KTOS Give Us Pause?

1. 7 percentage point decline in its free cash flow margin over the last five years reflects the company’s increased investments to defend its market position
2. Eroding returns on capital from an already low base indicate that management’s recent investments are destroying value
3. Limited cash reserves may force the company to seek unfavorable financing terms that could dilute shareholders

Kratos’s stock price of $34.38 implies a valuation ratio of 63x forward P/E. To fully understand why you should be careful with KTOS, check out our full research report (it’s free).

BrightView (BV)

Share Price: $15.77

An official field consultant for Major League Baseball, BrightView (NYSE: BV) offers landscaping design, development, and maintenance.

Why Do We Think BV Will Underperform?

1. Flat sales over the last two years suggest it must find different ways to grow during this cycle
2. Earnings per share have contracted by 3% annually over the last five years, a headwind for returns as stock prices often echo long-term EPS performance
3. Low returns on capital reflect management’s struggle to allocate funds effectively

At $15.77 per share, BrightView trades at 17.7x forward P/E. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why BV doesn’t pass our bar.

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 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.