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3 Stocks Under $50 That Concern Us

YELP Cover Image

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. That said, here are three stocks under $50 to swipe left on and some alternatives you should look into instead.

Yelp (YELP)

Share Price: $24.77

Founded by PayPal alumni Jeremy Stoppelman and Russel Simmons, Yelp (NYSE: YELP) is an online platform that helps people discover local businesses through crowd-sourced reviews.

Why Are We Wary of YELP?

  1. Sales trends were unexciting over the last three years as its 7.1% annual growth was below the typical consumer internet company
  2. Projected sales are flat for the next 12 months, implying demand will slow from its three-year trend

Yelp is trading at $24.77 per share, or 3.7x forward EV/EBITDA. If you’re considering YELP for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.

Fidelity National Financial (FNF)

Share Price: $44.89

Issuing more title insurance policies than any other company in the United States, Fidelity National Financial (NYSE: FNF) provides title insurance and escrow services for real estate transactions while also offering annuities and life insurance through its F&G subsidiary.

Why Does FNF Give Us Pause?

  1. Insurance offerings face significant market challenges this cycle as net premiums earned contracted by 1.6% annually over the last five years
  2. Earnings per share fell by 1.3% annually over the last five years while its revenue grew, showing its incremental sales were much less profitable
  3. Products and services are facing profitability challenges during this cycle, as seen in its flat book value per share over the last five years

Fidelity National Financial’s stock price of $44.89 implies a valuation ratio of 1.2x forward P/B. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than FNF.

Novavax (NVAX)

Share Price: $8.94

Pioneering a nanoparticle technology that mimics the molecular structure of disease pathogens, Novavax (NASDAQ: NVAX) develops and commercializes protein-based vaccines for infectious diseases, with a primary focus on its COVID-19 vaccine and combination respiratory vaccine candidates.

Why Do We Think Twice About NVAX?

  1. Muted 6.9% annual revenue growth over the last two years shows its demand lagged behind its healthcare peers
  2. Sales are projected to tank by 66.2% over the next 12 months as demand evaporates
  3. Capital intensity has ramped up over the last five years as its free cash flow margin decreased by 45.5 percentage points

At $8.94 per share, Novavax trades at 4.1x forward price-to-sales. To fully understand why you should be careful with NVAX, check out our full research report (it’s free).

High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions

ONE MORE THING: Top 5 Growth Stocks. The biggest stock winners almost always had one thing in common before they ran. Revenue growing like crazy. Meta. CrowdStrike. Broadcom. Our AI flagged all three. They returned 315%, 314%, and 455%, respectively.

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Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,326% between June 2020 and June 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.

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