10 Best Cheap Stocks to Buy Under $10

The undervalued stocks of these companies with economic moats trade for less than a ten-spot.

Illustration with coins floating over green bar graphs
Securities in This Article
Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd ADR
(MLCO)
Lloyds Banking Group PLC ADR
(LYG)
Lithium Argentina AG
(LAR)
Ambev SA ADR
(ABEV)
The Swatch Group AG ADR
(SWGAY)

In theory, buying low-priced stocks seems to make sense. If a stock trades for less than, say, $10 per share, it’s much easier for an investor to accumulate a meaningful position in a stock with relatively few dollars. The hope, of course, is that the position will explode in value over time, because small fluctuations in the stock price can result in sizable gains.

In practice, however, buying low-priced stocks can be hazardous. The low-priced stock landscape is cluttered with untested upstarts, companies that have fallen on tough times run by managers who’ve made poor capital decisions, and shaky balance sheets. Low-priced stocks are often thinly traded, which only adds to their volatility. And you can’t have the potential for sizable gains without the other side of the coin: the potential for sizable losses.

For investors nevertheless interested in buying low-priced stocks, we recommend sticking with higher-quality companies whose shares trade on major exchanges, are trading below $10, and are also undervalued relative to their intrinsic worth. Why? For starters, quality companies generally have better staying power and stronger balance sheets, and buying stocks below what they’re worth helps to damp the price risk that often accompanies investing in low-priced stocks.

The names on our list of the best cheap stocks to buy under $10 therefore share two qualities:

  • All these low-priced stocks earn Morningstar Economic Moat Ratings of at least narrow. That means we think these companies have established advantages that should allow them to fend off competitors for a decade or longer.
  • These stocks look undervalued, which means they’re trading below Morningstar’s fair value estimates. Price risk is reduced when investors can buy the low-priced stocks on the cheap.

10 Best Cheap Stocks to Buy Under $10

These narrow- and wide-moat low-priced stocks all look undervalued, and their share prices were below $10 as of the market close on Jan. 21, 2024.

  1. Lithium Argentina LAAC
  2. Swatch Group SWGAY
  3. Hanesbrands HBI
  4. Melco Resorts and Entertainment MLCO
  5. Bayer BAYRY
  6. Ambev ABEV
  7. Sabre SABR
  8. Altice USA ATUS
  9. Lloyds Banking Group LYG
  10. Banco Santander SAN

Here’s a little bit about each of the best cheap stocks to buy under $10, along with some key Morningstar metrics. All data is through Jan. 21.

Lithium Argentina

  • Last Closing Price: $2.86
  • Morningstar Price/Fair Value: 0.19
  • Morningstar Uncertainty Rating: Very High
  • Morningstar Economic Moat Rating: Narrow
  • Industry: Other Industrial Metals and Mining
  • Market Capitalization: $464.11 million

The cheapest stock on our list of the best stocks to buy below $10, Lithium Argentina is trading 81% below our fair value estimate of $15 per share. “We expect lithium demand to grow at nearly a 20% annual rate from over 900,000 metric tons in 2023 to over 2.5 million metric tons by 2030,” says Morningstar Strategist Seth Goldstein.

Lithium Argentina is a pure-play lithium producer with two assets in Argentina. The company was created as a result of the former Lithium Americas separation, which separated the firm’s Argentina and North America businesses.

Cauchari-Olaroz is Lithium Argentina’s first and largest project. The firm owns a 44.8% interest in the project, while Ganfeng, one of the world’s largest lithium producers, owns 46.7%. The remaining 8.5% is owned by JEMSE, an Argentine state-owned mining company. The project recently entered production in 2023 and is in the process of ramping up production volumes to the project’s first-phase annual capacity of 40,000 metric tons. Additionally, management is planning a second phase for at least an additional 20,000 metric tons of annual lithium capacity. We think this project will begin construction once prices recover. On a cost basis, Cauchari-Olaroz should become one of the lowest-cost producers in the world, and will have a cost position similar to that of other Argentine brine assets in operation once the first phase is ramped up.

Lithium Argentina and Ganfeng are also developing a second resource in Argentina. This is in the Pastos Grandes basin, where Lithium Argentina and Ganfeng will likely combine three early stage projects, which are directly adjacent to one another, into one single project. The three projects are Pastos Grandes, Sal de la Puna and Pozuelos-Pastos Grandes. Lithium Argentina owns 85% of Pastos Grandes after selling a 15% stake to Ganfeng. Lithium Argentina also owns 65% of Sal de la Puna. Ganfeng owns the remaining stakes in the three projects. We forecast the single project to enter production early next decade and will likely have a low cost position relative to the global cost curve, but slightly higher than other Argentina brine projects, as early development studies indicate brine in the Pastos Grandes basin has a lower lithium concentration.

As electric vehicle adoption increases, we expect durable double-digit annual growth for lithium demand. Lithium Argentina should benefit, as there should be more than enough demand for the company’s resources to enter production and expand capacity over time.

Seth Goldstein, Morningstar strategist

Read Morningstar’s full report about Lithium Americas.

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Swatch Group

  • Last Closing Price: $9.13
  • Morningstar Price/Fair Value: 0.43
  • Morningstar Uncertainty Rating: Medium
  • Morningstar Economic Moat Rating: Narrow
  • Industry: Luxury Goods
  • Market Capitalization: $9.35 billion

The only luxury goods company on our list of the best cheap stocks to buy below $10, Swatch Group stock trades 57% below our $21.30 fair value estimate. The company’s pricing power helps underpin its narrow economic moat rating, explains Morningstar Senior Analyst Jelena Sokolova. Results in 2024 have been weak because of sales declines in China, but we think this undervalued stock should appeal to patient, long-term investors, she adds.

The Swatch Group is the biggest vertically integrated Swiss watch manufacturer with 18 brands covering all price ranges, from entry to ultraluxury. Swatch-owned brands account for around 35% of Swiss watch exports, and the company supplies competitors with watch movements. Swatch Group’s luxury brands boast 100- 200-year histories, iconic collections, and deep cultural heritage. Most of Swatch’s brands (at price points below $10,000) benefit from a cost advantage through scale and a higher degree of production automation. Swatch’s diversification in terms of brands and price points helps it to avoid the pitfalls that come with extending brands into categories where they don’t strategically belong, and to potentially capture positive mix as consumers trade up. However, we see a lack of control over distribution (a little less than 60% of sales are wholesale) as a weak spot for the company. Distributors are more likely to engage in discounting to maintain cash flows when demand sours, which we believe can be damaging for brands with long-shelf-life products. We believe that the demand for high-end watches is not structurally impaired (around 50% of revenue), branded jewelry offers attractive upside for growth (around 9% of revenue from Harry Winston brand), while lower-priced watches (less than 20% of sales) are stabilizing and growing from a low base as the smartwatch category matures and innovation provides a boost.

The company is increasingly taking action to tackle costs in the low-end brands and limit grey market channels for high-end brands while investments in automation should help achieve higher profitability even with lower volumes. We expect Swatch Group’s sales to grow at a 4% pace over the long term (versus low-single-digit growth over the prior decade) with mid-single-digit growth for its higher-priced watch brands such as Omega, Longines, Breguet, and Blancpain, high-single-digit growth for jewelry brand Harry Winston and low-single-digit growth for low-end watches (Tissot, Swatch, Mido, Hamilton, and so on).

Jelena Sokolova, Morningstar senior analyst

Read Morningstar’s full report about Swatch Group.

Hanesbrands

  • Last Closing Price: $8.33
  • Morningstar Price/Fair Value: 0.51
  • Morningstar Uncertainty Rating: Very High
  • Morningstar Economic Moat Rating: Narrow
  • Industry: Apparel Manufacturing
  • Market Capitalization: $2.94 billion

Hanesbrands stock looks 49% undervalued, according to our metrics. Hanes’ key apparel brands have leading market shares in their categories in the United States, which helps the company earn a narrow economic moat rating. The company recently sold its Champion brand. Morningstar Senior Analyst David Swartz says the move will allow the company to pay down debt and focus on its core innerwear brands.

Hanesbrands is the market leader in basic innerwear in multiple countries. We believe its key innerwear brands, like Hanes and Bonds in Australia, achieve premium pricing. Our narrow moat rating on the company is based on a brand-based intangible asset. While the firm faces challenges from inflation, slowing demand for apparel, higher interest rates, and a highly competitive athleisure market, we think Hanes’ share leadership in replenishment apparel categories puts it in position for improving results in the coming years. In May 2021, the firm unveiled its Full Potential plan to bring growth back to innerwear, improve connections to consumers (through greater marketing and enhanced e-commerce, for example), and streamline its portfolio.

Hanes sold struggling Champion to Authentic Brands Group. The proceeds, which could exceed $1 billion after taxes and other costs, will allow for faster debt reduction, thereby improving Hanes’ liquidity and lower risk.

Hanes is focusing on its strengths, including product design, marketing, and manufacturing. One of its major initiatives is to improve the efficiency of its supply chain. Unlike many rivals, the company owns and operates manufacturing facilities, most of which are in Central America. Now, the firm plans to operate more efficiently after selling some facilities as part of the Champion deal and by consolidating some production. We believe the combination of strong pricing, new merchandise, and production efficiencies should allow Hanes to achieve long-term operating margins in its US and international segments of 23% and 16%, respectively. 2026.

David Swartz, Morningstar senior analyst

Read Morningstar’s full report about Hanesbrands.

Melco Resorts and Entertainment

  • Last Closing Price: $5.59
  • Morningstar Price/Fair Value: 0.52
  • Morningstar Uncertainty Rating: High
  • Morningstar Economic Moat Rating: Narrow
  • Industry: Resorts and Casinos
  • Market Capitalization: $2.35 billion

Melco Resorts and Entertainment stock looks 48% undervalued. We think the company maintains a narrow economic moat; it is only one of six primary concessionaries with a casino license in Macao (the only legal gaming hub in China), which is a valuable intangible asset that has a high regulatory barrier to entry, explains Morningstar Senior Analyst Jennifer Song. We think the stock is worth $10.80 per share.

We believe the gambling market in Macao will enjoy solid growth in the longer term. This structural tailwind is driven by the rising middle class in China and the penetration rate of less than 2% in Macao, compared with Las Vegas’ 13%. New hotel rooms by major operators in the next few years should accommodate increased and extended visits from bigger spenders from these provinces, and drive the top line for integrated resort operators like Galaxy Entertainment. With the gradual ramp-up of traffic allowed on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao bridge, new Hengqin border, and the Gongbei-to-Hengqin extension rail, Macao’s carrying capacity for tourists should increase. In addition, neighboring Hengqin Island, 3 times the size of Macao, is under rapid development to complement Macao’s growth.

As one of only six concession holders to operate casinos in Macao, Melco Resorts & Entertainment is ideally placed to benefit from this market dynamic, given its portfolio of properties catering to both mass-market and premium patrons. We think the firm is now back on track to restore its competitiveness, following a consolidation of a new management team in February 2024. And we believe its strength in premium mass segment and its leadership in product innovation, along with the launch of Studio City phase 2 in 2023 with 900 rooms, will drive solid market share and earnings growth in the mid to long term.

Jennifer Song, Morningstar senior analyst

Read Morningstar’s full report about Melco Resorts and Entertainment.

Bayer

  • Last Closing Price: $5.60
  • Morningstar Price/Fair Value: 0.53
  • Morningstar Uncertainty Rating: High
  • Morningstar Economic Moat Rating: Narrow
  • Industry: Drug Manufacturers—General
  • Market Capitalization: $21.95 billion

Bayer is the only drugmaker on our list of the best low-priced stocks to buy. We think the market is overly concerned about litigation pressures and underappreciates the firm’s growth potential from innovative products, argues Morningstar Senior Analyst Jay Lee. Bayer stock trades 47% below our fair value estimate of $10.60 per share.

We believe Bayer has created a narrow economic moat on the basis of the competitive advantages of the healthcare group. Bayer is evaluating the divestitures of the crop science and consumer healthcare businesses, which appear to hold few synergies with the prescription drug business.

In the healthcare division, Bayer’s strong lineup of recently launched drugs and solid exposure to biologics should support steady long-term cash flows. Partially offsetting this are declines in cardiovascular drug Xarelto due to loss of exclusivity events across various territories, which is putting pressure on both revenue growth and profit margins.

Bayer’s healthcare segment also includes a consumer healthcare business with leading brands Aspirin and Aleve. Brand recognition is key in this unit, as evidenced by the company’s iconic Aspirin, which continues to post strong sales even after decades of generic competition.

In addition to healthcare, Bayer runs a leading crop science segment, which includes crop protection products (pesticides, herbicides, fungicides) and the fast-growing plant and seed biotechnology business. Similar to the drug business, this segment is research and development intensive, and Bayer has developed a strong portfolio of products. The downside to this business is that demand is heavily dictated by weather and commodity prices, which will determine how much farmers can afford to spend on crop treatment. Additionally, generic competition can also pressure growth and margins. The acquisition of Monsanto has significantly expanded Bayer’s competitive position in this industry. However, it has also increased Bayer’s exposure to litigation, especially cases involving glyphosate and PCBs. While many studies have shown glyphosate use to be safe, some reports of linkage to cancer drove large class-action legal cases against Bayer and led to a legal settlement of over $15 billion..

Jay Lee, Morningstar senior analyst

Read Morningstar’s full report about Bayer.

Ambev

  • Last Closing Price: $1.82
  • Morningstar Price/Fair Value: 0.56
  • Morningstar Uncertainty Rating: Medium
  • Morningstar Economic Moat Rating: Wide
  • Industry: Beverages—Brewers
  • Market Capitalization: $29.33 billion

The only wide-moat stock on our list of the best cheap stocks to buy below $10, Ambev stock trades 44% below our $3.23 fair value estimate. The largest brewer in Latin America, Ambev benefits from both a cost advantage and intangible assets in its strongest markets and therefore earns a wide economic moat rating, explains Morningstar Analyst Verushka Shetty.

Brahma, the Brazilian brewer, was the first foray into the consumer product manufacturing industry by private equity group 3G. In 2000, 3G merged two Brazilian brewers; Brahma and Antarctica, creating Ambev. The company has gone on to roll up brewers throughout Central and South America and holds several monopolylike positions in large markets, including an 81% volume share in Argentina, 68% in Brazil, and 61% in Peru.

In part because of the favorable industry structures, and in part because of its 3G heritage, Ambev is a highly profitable business. The company has a well-entrenched cultural focus on cost management, and implemented zero-based budgeting over a decade ago. Ambev’s largest market is Brazil, which represented 54% of total beverage net revenue and 49% of EBIT in 2022. However, until coronavirus-related social distancing measures prompted the closure of on-trade in some markets, Ambev’s beer EBIT margin in Brazil had been in the mid-30% range, among the highest in the global beer industry, though it had faded from above 40% a decade ago. In 2022, that margin troughed at under 21% but recovered somewhat to just under 23% in 2023.

We believe rebuilding margins is important to the investment case. In our view, the most likely and significant boost to profitability would be a reversion to the historical mean of commodity costs. We estimate the company faced around BRL 3 billion in higher raw material costs in 2022, and a reversal of that by the end of 2024 would increase the gross margin by 3 percentage points, all else equal. In practice, we anticipate that some of the cost relief will be passed to the consumer, but lower costs will be beneficial to margins to a large degree.

Premiumization should be a long-term growth and margin driver. According to Euromonitor, the premium beer segment represented 16% of Brazil’s beer volume in 2022, around half of that of the US, and was responsible for most of the industry volume growth between 2016 and 2022. Ambev’s portfolio of local premium brands, as well as its access to Anheuser-Busch InBev’s global portfolio, positions it to benefit from a strong mix effect in the medium term.m term.

Verushka Shetty, Morningstar analyst

Read Morningstar’s full report about Ambev.

Sabre

  • Last Closing Price: $3.39
  • Morningstar Price/Fair Value: 0.70
  • Morningstar Uncertainty Rating: Very High
  • Morningstar Economic Moat Rating: Narrow
  • Industry: Software—Infrastructure
  • Market Capitalization: $1.31 billion

Sabre stock is 30% undervalued relative to our fair value estimate of $4.87 per share. The only tech stock on our list of the best cheap stocks to buy under $10, Sabre is seeing improving demand and profits as business and international travel rebound following the coronavirus pandemic, reports Morningstar Senior Analyst Dan Wasiolek.

Despite near-term reduced consumer saving rates and long-term corporate travel demand uncertainty, we expect Sabre to maintain its position in global distribution systems over the next 10 years. This view is driven by a gradual recovery in corporate travel and Sabre’s leading network of airline content and travel agency customers as well as its solid position in technology solutions for these carriers and agents. Sabre’s 30%-plus GDS air transaction share is the second largest of the three companies (behind narrow-moat Amadeus and ahead of privately held Travelport) that together control about 100% of market volume. Sabre is also a leader in providing technology solutions to travel suppliers.

Sabre’s GDS enjoys a network advantage, which is the source of its narrow moat rating. As more supplier content (predominantly airline content) is added, more travel agents use the platform, and as more travel agents use the platform, suppliers offer more content. This network advantage is solidified by technology that integrates GDS content with back-office operations of agents and IT solutions of suppliers, leading to more accurate information that is also easier to book. The company’s network prowess should be supported by next-generation platforms, like SabreMosaic, which is an open-source cloud-based, artificial intelligence solution that makes it easier for airlines to customize its offering and upsell content.

Replicating Sabre’s GDS platform would entail aggregating and connecting content from several hundred airlines to a platform that is also connected to travel agents, which requires significant costs and time. Although we see GDS aggregation, processing, and back-office advantages as substantial, technology architectures like those of Etraveli enable end users to access not only GDS content but supply from competing platforms, which could take some volume from companies like Sabre. Also, GDS faces some risk of larger carriers making direct connections with larger agencies, although we expect these relationships to be the exception rather than the rule and for Sabre to still be the aggregating platform in either case.

Dan Wasiolek, Morningstar senior analyst

Read Morningstar’s full report about Sabre.

Altice USA

  • Last Closing Price: $2.80
  • Morningstar Price/Fair Value: 0.70
  • Morningstar Uncertainty Rating: Very High
  • Morningstar Economic Moat Rating: Narrow
  • Industry: Telecom Services
  • Market Capitalization: $1.29 billion

Altice USA stock is undervalued, trading 30% below our $4 fair value estimate. Although the small company earns a narrow economic moat rating based on its efficient scale and cost advantage versus its rivals, we’ve assigned the stock a Very High Uncertainty Rating because of the company’s heavy debt load relative to its peers.

Altice USA has struggled to retain customers recently—more than cable peers Comcast and Charter—as it battles stiff competition from Verizon in the New York market and faces the broader incursion of fixed-wireless players into the broadband business. The firm has also taken a different approach to the business in recent years than other cable operators, with lackluster results. A new management team, largely hailing from Comcast, has slowly been improving the firm’s performance. We expect the firm’s networks will remain vital pieces of infrastructure that will generate strong, albeit slow-growing, cash flow over the long term. However, Altice USA’s very large debt load leaves little room for error.

Around 60% of Altice’s business is in the New York metro area, where favorable demographics have historically enabled the firm to claim high customer penetration rates and revenue per customer. The market is also far more competitive than average, though, as Altice faces competition from Verizon’s Fios network across more than half the territory. Altice is upgrading its network in Fios areas to fiber, eliminating any network advantage Verizon enjoys, but this effort hasn’t paid off yet in terms of better customer or revenue growth. The rest of Altice’s territory covers mostly smaller markets and rural areas where demographics aren’t as favorable but fiber network competition is more limited.

Like its cable peers, Altice has used its network advantage to steadily increase data speeds in recent years and claim more than half the internet access market in the territories it serves, providing a solid foundation for the business. However, missteps by the prior management team and the introduction of fixed-wireless broadband offerings from Verizon and T-Mobile have weighed heavily on Altice’s ability to attract and retain customers. We believe the firm is taking appropriate steps to improve execution and that fixed-wireless growth will slow sharply. Showing progress over the next few quarters is vital to regaining the confidence of the bond market to limit borrowing costs and maximize strategic flexibility.

Mike Hodel, Morningstar director

Read Morningstar’s full report about Altice USA.

Lloyds Banking Group

  • Last Closing Price: $3.02
  • Morningstar Price/Fair Value: 0.77
  • Morningstar Uncertainty Rating: Medium
  • Morningstar Economic Moat Rating: Narrow
  • Industry: Banks—Regional
  • Market Capitalization: $45.16 billion

The first of two banks on our list of the best cheap stocks to buy below $10, Lloyds Banking Group stock looks 23% undervalued relative to our fair value estimate of $3.90 per share. Lloyds is the strongest banking franchise in the UK, says Morningstar Analyst Niklas Kammer. Cost advantages and switching costs underpin its narrow economic moat rating.

Lloyds is a pure UK banking play, with 95% of its assets based domestically. Since its massive restructuring, which started in 2011, the bank has emerged as a low-risk domestic retail and commercial bank. It has shed about GBP 190 billion in runoff assets and GBP 200 billion in risk-weighted assets and has significantly reduced its dependence on wholesale funding. Today, Lloyds operates one of the strongest retail franchises in the United Kingdom.

Mortgage pricing is under pressure in the UK as challenger banks look to gain scale and ring-fencing regulations increase liquidity in the market. Although mortgages constitute the lion’s share of loans to customers (66%), Lloyds has delivered robust net interest margins, speaking to its large deposit funding base and policy to prioritize margins over volume. Additionally, as competitive pressure in this market segment has risen, Lloyds has shifted its focus to building out its financial planning offerings, beefed up its credit card loan book, and targeted loan growth in small and medium-size enterprises.

Niklas Kammer, Morningstar analyst

Read Morningstar’s full report about Lloyds Banking Group.

Banco Santander

  • Last Closing Price: $4.95
  • Morningstar Price/Fair Value: 0.79
  • Morningstar Uncertainty Rating: High
  • Morningstar Economic Moat Rating: Narrow
  • Industry: Banks—Diversified
  • Market Capitalization: $75.60 billion

Rounding out our list of the best cheap stocks to buy under $10, Banco Santander trades 21% below our fair value estimate of $6.30 per share. While Santander operates in regions with higher growth prospects and levels of profitability compared with its European peers, the company is highly exposed to currency risk and seems reluctant to shed underperforming businesses, says Morningstar Senior Analyst Johann Scholtz.

Santander generates around 45% of its earnings from its highly profitable Latin American operations. The subscale returns Santander has historically recorded in Europe and the US have obscured the high-double-digit/early-20s returns on equity Santander generates from its Latin American operations. Santander is confident that it can significantly improve the profitability of its European and US businesses, supported by higher interest rates. We wonder if Santander could boost its profitability, release capital, and rerate its valuation by trimming its portfolio, so that it operates only in areas where it has a clear competitive advantage.

Santander is one of the market leaders in Brazil, Mexico, and Chile. Santander’s strong competitive position in these consolidated, oligopolistic markets protects its high profitability. Its profitability has suffered from low interest rates, especially in its European operations. The return to a more normalized monetary policy environment has supported a profitability improvement in Santander’s European and US operations.

We believe investors have typically discounted too much risk in their valuation of Santander. We agree that Santander’s emerging-markets exposure comes with greater risk. However, Santander’s earnings have been remarkably stable compared with most of its European peers. While diversification plays a role, its low exposure to investment banking and relatively low exposure to home loans also contributed. Investment banking earnings tend to be volatile, while the long duration and inferior margins of home-loan books tend to lead to significant write-downs relative to earnings during downturns in the credit cycle.

Santander is looking to its investment banking, wealth management, vehicle finance, and payment businesses to drive growth ahead of its peers. These areas could present low-hanging fruit where Santander operates below its natural market share. Santander’s intention to grow its investment banking business does puzzle us somewhat; many of its European peers have struggled to generate adequate profitability in the highly capital-intensive and volatile investment banking segment.

Johann Scholtz, Morningstar senior analyst

Read Morningstar’s full report about Banco Santander.

What Are the Morningstar Fair Value Estimate and the Morningstar Uncertainty Rating?

Morningstar thinks that companies with economic moats possess significant advantages that allow them to successfully fend off competitors for a decade or more. Companies can carve out their economic moats in a variety of different ways—by having high switching costs, through strong brand identities, or by possessing economies of scale, to name just a few. Companies that we think can maintain their competitive advantages for at least 10 years earn narrow economic moat ratings; those we think can successfully compete for 20 years or longer earn wide economic moat ratings.

The Morningstar fair value estimate represents what Morningstar analysts think a particular stock is worth. Fair value estimates are rooted in the fundamentals and based on how much cash we think a company can generate in the future, not on fleeting metrics such as recent earnings or current stock price momentum.

How Morningstar Rates Stocks

Unpacking the Morningstar Rating for stocks, the Morningstar Economic Moat rating, and other metrics for evaluating stocks.

What’s the Difference Between Undervalued Stocks and Low-Priced Stocks?

Though they may sound alike and are often used interchangeably, undervalued stocks and low-priced stocks usually mean two different things.

Undervalued stocks are stocks that are trading below some estimate of their worth; these stocks are often also called “cheap stocks.” In Morningstar’s terms, undervalued stocks are those that trade below Morningstar’s fair value estimates. But cheap stocks can also be those stocks with low price/earnings, price/book, or price/sales multiples. Think of them as stocks on sale.

Low-priced stocks, meanwhile, are typically stocks whose share prices fall below a particular dollar amount. In this article, we’re focusing on low-priced stocks with share prices below $10, for instance. Others may consider stocks trading below $5 or $25 to be low-priced stocks.

For purposes of this article, just remember: Not all low-priced stocks are undervalued, and not all undervalued stocks are low-priced.

How to Find More Cheap Low-Priced Stocks to Buy

This article focused on low-priced stocks trading below $10 that were undervalued from companies with economic moats. But the screening method used here certainly isn’t the only way to find cheap low-priced stocks to investigate further.

Investors can create their own list of undervalued low-priced stocks using the Morningstar Investor Screener. Beneath Investment Type, choose Stocks. Beneath Valuation, check both Price/Fair Value 0—0.5 and 0.5—1.0. Then, click on the cog in the results and use the search box to find Previous Close Price. Add that metric to your Columns list and hit the Update button. You now have a complete list of stocks that are undervalued by Morningstar’s price/fair value metric that you can sort based on the last close price. That will allow you to find stocks that are trading below $5, or below $25, or whatever price you consider to be low-priced.

The author or authors do not own shares in any securities mentioned in this article. Find out about Morningstar’s editorial policies.

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