2 Stocks Under $50 with Solid Fundamentals and 1 to Ignore

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 two stocks under $50 that could 10x and one that may have trouble.

One Stock Under $50 to Sell:

Air Transport Services (ATSG)

Share Price: $22.37

Founded in 1980, Air Transport Services Group (NASDAQ:ATSG) provides air cargo transportation and logistics solutions.

Why Is ATSG Risky?

1. Sales were flat over the last two years, indicating it’s failed to expand this cycle
2. Costs have risen faster than its revenue over the last five years, causing its operating margin to decline by 6.4 percentage points
3. Earnings per share have contracted by 12.4% annually over the last five years, a headwind for returns as stock prices often echo long-term EPS performance

Air Transport Services’s stock price of $22.37 implies a valuation ratio of 19.1x forward price-to-earnings. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than ATSG.

Two Stocks Under $50 to Watch:

Upwork (UPWK)

Share Price: $15.80

Formed through the 2013 merger of Elance and oDesk, Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) is an online platform where businesses and independent professionals connect to get work done.

Why Do We Like UPWK?

1. 8.4% annual increases in its average revenue per customer over the last two years show its platform is resonating with power users
2. Additional sales over the last three years increased its profitability as the 168% annual growth in its earnings per share outpaced its revenue
3. Free cash flow margin grew by 21.1 percentage points over the last four years, giving the company more chips to play with

At $15.80 per share, Upwork trades at 12x forward EV-to-EBITDA. Is now a good time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.

Yelp (YELP)

Share Price: $34.21

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 Fans of YELP?

1. Platform is difficult to replicate at scale and results in a best-in-class gross margin of 91.3%
2. Healthy EBITDA margin of 25% shows it’s a well-run company with efficient processes, and its profits increased over the last four years as it scaled
3. Share repurchases have increased shareholder returns as its annual earnings per share growth of 21.4% exceeded its revenue gains over the last three years

Yelp is trading at $34.21 per share, or 6.4x forward EV-to-EBITDA. Is now the right time to buy? See for yourself in our full research report, it’s free.

Stocks We Like Even More

The elections are now behind us. With rates dropping and inflation cooling, many analysts expect a breakout market - and we’re zeroing in on the stocks that could benefit immensely.

Take advantage of the rebound by checking out 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 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 United Rentals (+322% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free.