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Best Cheap Stocks Under $10 to Buy Now

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Key Takeaways

  • The best cheap stocks ($10 or less) to buy now in May.
  • Buy soaring CTOS stock for growth across AI data centers, electrification, and infrastructure spending.

The stock market finally took a much-deserved breather on Tuesday, as investors started to take some massive profits off the top of semiconductor stocks.

Still, the bull case remains firmly intact, and it’s nearly impossible to call a market top or bottom in real time. Therefore, long-term investors should continue to buy stocks.

That said, some investors might not want to chase chip stocks right now.

One area of Wall Street that investors might want to start buying are strong, best-in-class, cheap stocks trading under $10 a share.

On top of their cheap stock prices, the stocks we learn to find earn strong Zacks Ranks, driven by improving earnings outlooks. Wall Street is also very high on these cheap stocks trading for under $10 a share.

Penny Stocks

One dollar or less used to be the common threshold for what we call “penny stocks.” Today, the SEC has expanded penny stocks to securities that trade for less than $5 a share. Many investors avoid these stocks because they are speculative in nature.

Meanwhile, penny stocks often trade infrequently and hold wide bid/ask spreads. These stocks also carry many other traits that, in many cases, cause excessive volatility. With that said, some penny stocks perform incredibly well, which helps them remain attractive.

Finding the Best Cheap Stocks Under $10 to Buy Now

Moving on, let’s briefly discuss the next class of cheap stocks. Stocks that trade in the $5 to $10 range are generally less risky than their penny stock counterparts. Investors might be more likely to have heard of these companies or seen the tickers. They are, however, still inherently more speculative than many other higher-priced stocks.

Investors can obviously find winning stocks for under $10 if they are extremely selective. So today, we narrowed the list of thousands of these more speculative stocks down to a more manageable group of $10 and under stocks that might help boost your portfolio.

Screen Parameters

• Price less than or equal to $10

• Volume greater than or equal to 1,000,000

• Zacks Rank less than or equal to 2

(No Holds, Sells or Strong Sells.)

• Average Broker Rating less than or equal to 3.5

(Average Broker Rating of a Hold or Better.)

• # of Analysts in Rating greater than or equal to 2

(Minimum of at least two analysts covering the stock.)

• % Change F1 Earnings Estimate Revisions -- 12 Weeks greater than or equal to 0

(Preferably upward earnings estimate revisions, but definitely no downward revisions.)

Here is one stock out of the roughly 50 highly-ranked stocks trading under $10 a share that made it through the screen today…

Buy Soaring, Cheap CTOS Stock for AI and Electrification Upside

Custom Truck One Source, Inc. (CTOS - Free Report)  is a top provider of specialty equipment to the electric utility, telecom, rail, forestry, waste management, and other infrastructure-related end markets. Simply put, CTOS is a one-stop shop for large, specialized trucks and heavy equipment. The company rents and sells specialty vehicles (bucket trucks for power lines, cranes, digger derricks, etc.). It also operates a parts, services, and repairs segment.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

CTOS posted its best-ever first-quarter sales, with revenue up 9% to $461.6 million. The firm raised its full-year guidance on the back of strong demand across most of its portfolio, driven by longer-term megatrends that are driving Wall Street.

“CTOS remains well-positioned to benefit from secular tailwinds driven by data center investments, electrification, utility grid upgrades, and infrastructure investment,” CEO Ryan McMonagle said in prepared remarks Q1 remarks on April 27.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Custom Truck One Source is projected to grow its revenue by over 5% in 2026 and 2027. More importantly, it is expected to swing from an adjusted loss of -$0.14 a share last year to +$0.08 a share in 2026 and then surge to +$0.20 a share.

The stock has soared 120% in the past 12 months, including a 75% YTD charge to help it move closer to a potential breakout. The specialty vehicles company's surging earnings estimates help it land a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) right now. 

Get the rest of the stocks on this list and start looking for the newest companies that fit these criteria. It's easy to do. And it could help you find your next big winner. Start screening for these companies today with a free trial to the Research Wizard. You can do it.

Click here to sign up for a free trial to the Research Wizard today.

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Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.

Disclosure: Performance information for Zacks’ portfolios and strategies are available at: www.zacks.com/performance_disclosure

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