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5 Under-$15 Stocks Wall Street Analysts Recommend Buying

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The S&P 500 hit a new high for the year lately after the November jobs report and University of Michigan consumer survey data indicated a resilient economy and cooling inflation, triggering bets on a so-called soft-landing scenario.

This year, the S&P 500 has added 22.6%, the Nasdaq Composite has gained about 40.8%, the Dow Jones has edged up 11.9% and the Russell 2000 has jumped 10.6%. Moreover, the S&P 500 enjoyed a six-week winning streak. After a stellar rally this year, investors’ fears about overvaluation in the market is quite likely.

Hence, investors may look for some low-priced equities, for example, under $15, going into next year. These stocks are normally small-cap in nature. Decent U.S. GDP growth, a less-hawkish Fed, upbeat holiday season sales, cheaper valuation and potential M&A activities should drive small-cap stocks higher in 2024.

Against this backdrop, Eton Pharmaceuticals (ETON - Free Report) , LegalZoom.com (LZ - Free Report) , PLAYSTUDIOS (MYPS - Free Report) , American Public Education (APEI - Free Report) and Cellebrite DI Ltd. (CLBT - Free Report) emerge as winning picks.

Why Low Price is Important

Many individuals aspire to invest their money in stocks but might lack the financial means to purchase substantial holdings in high-value companies with expensive shares.For them, low-priced stocks may appear attractive as these would enable them to buy more shares instead of just a handful of higher-priced shares for the same amount.

Low-priced stocks have high levels of liquidity, giving them an added advantage. This means that equities can be converted to cash quickly.In fact, trading in higher average daily volumes keeps the bid/ask spread tight and does not lead to extra cost for investors.

In a nutshell, the smaller-capitalization feature clubbed with cheaper prices could make an intriguing investment choice at the current level. After all, with low-priced securities, retail buyers would need less cash to join the market.

Also, securities at or below $15 can reap considerable profits as the share price increase of a dollar adds 6.67% gains to one’s portfolio. On the other hand, securities priced at $100 or above see 1% or less gain if their share price rises by $1.

Stock Picks

We highlight five stocks below that have a current price less than $15 and Current Average Broker Rating less than 2. These stocks have witnessed positive earnings estimate revisions for the upcoming quarter in the last 30 days. Each of our picks carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) and has an has an upbeat VGM Score A or B.

Eton Pharmaceuticals is a commercial-stage medical device company. It is focused on the development and sale of non-invasive neuromodulation products using its proprietary Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation technology for the treatment of major depressive disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The stock has seen 42.86% positive earnings estimate revisions for the upcoming quarter in the last 30 days. The current average broker recommendation for Eton Pharmaceuticals is 1.00. It has a VGM Score of B. ETON currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 and its share price is $4.32. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

LegalZoom.com provides legal services. The company focuses on forming business, corporate changes, filings, business compliance, trademark, patent, copyright, taxes, licenses, permits, agreements and additional services.

The stock has seen 2.56% positive earnings estimate revisions for the upcoming quarter in the last 30 days and has a VGM Score of B. The current average broker recommendation is 1.74. LZ sports a Zacks Rank #1 at present and its current price is $11.27.

PLAYSTUDIOS is the developer and operator of free-to-play casual games for mobile and social platforms.

The Zacks Rank #2company has seen 12.50% positive earnings estimate revisions for the upcoming quarter in the last 30 days. PLAYSTUDIOShas a VGM Score of A and the current average broker recommendation is 1.67. The current price is $2.71.

American Public Education is an online provider of higher education, focused on serving the military and public service communities.

TheZacks Rank #2 company has seen 30.77% positive earnings estimate revisions for the upcoming quarter in the last 30 days. The stock has a VGM Score of A and the current average broker recommendation is 2.00. The current price is $9.71.

Cellebrite DI Ltd provides digital intelligence solutions for the public and private sectors.The stock has seen 400% positive earnings estimate revisions for the upcoming quarter in the last 30 days.

Zacks Rank #1CLBT has a VGM Score of B. The current average broker recommendation is 1.71 and the share price is $8.27.

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