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 dynamics 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.
Carnival (CCL)
Share Price: $26.44
Boasting outrageous amenities like a planetarium on board its ships, Carnival (NYSE: CCL) is one of the world's largest leisure travel companies and a prominent player in the cruise industry.
Why Are We Hesitant About CCL?
- Sluggish trends in its passenger cruise days suggest customers aren’t adopting its solutions as quickly as the company hoped
- Estimated sales growth of 5.1% for the next 12 months implies demand will slow from its two-year trend
- Negative returns on capital show that some of its growth strategies have backfired
Carnival is trading at $26.44 per share, or 11.1x forward P/E. To fully understand why you should be careful with CCL, check out our full research report (it’s free for active Edge members).
Richardson Electronics (RELL)
Share Price: $10.32
Founded in 1947, Richardson Electronics (NASDAQ: RELL) is a distributor of power grid and microwave tubes as well as consumables related to those products.
Why Do We Think RELL Will Underperform?
- Sales pipeline suggests its future revenue growth won’t meet our standards as its backlog averaged 2% declines over the past two years
- Low free cash flow margin of -0.4% for the last five years gives it little breathing room, constraining its ability to self-fund growth or return capital to shareholders
- Waning returns on capital from an already weak starting point displays the inefficacy of management’s past and current investment decisions
Richardson Electronics’s stock price of $10.32 implies a valuation ratio of 57.2x forward P/E. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why RELL doesn’t pass our bar.
Kforce (KFRC)
Share Price: $30.29
With nearly 60 years of matching skilled professionals with the right opportunities, Kforce (NYSE: KFRC) is a professional staffing company that specializes in placing technology and finance experts with businesses on both temporary and permanent bases.
Why Are We Out on KFRC?
- Sales stagnated over the last five years and signal the need for new growth strategies
- Falling earnings per share over the last five years has some investors worried as stock prices ultimately follow EPS over the long term
- Eroding returns on capital suggest its historical profit centers are aging
At $30.29 per share, Kforce trades at 14x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than KFRC.
Stocks We Like More
Donald Trump’s April 2025 "Liberation Day" tariffs sent markets into a tailspin, but stocks have since rebounded strongly, proving that knee-jerk reactions often create the best buying opportunities.
The smart money is already positioning for the next leg up. Don’t miss out on the recovery - check 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 Tecnoglass (+1,754% 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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