In this piece, we will talk about the ten best NASDAQ stocks under $50 to buy.
The close of 2024’s third quarter is seeing Wall Street rejoice as the Federal Reserve finally delivers its highly awaited interest rate cut. The central bank decided to cut rates by 50 basis points, and while the immediate aftermath saw stocks close lower, the next day was the complete opposite. On the day after the interest rate cut, markets soared as investors digested the latest data set.
It saw the benchmark S&P index soar to a record close as it gained 1.70% and ended the day’s trading at 5,713 points. This wasn’t the only record set during the day, with the Dow blue chip stock index jumping by 1.26%. In terms of gains though, both of these were surpassed by the broader NASDAQ index which jumped by 2.61% during the day’s trading.
While some of these gains are naturally because of investors cheering an interest rate cut, there might be other factors at play here too. For instance, fund ClearBridge Investments head of economic and marketing strategy Jeff Schulze shared that “I think that this dramatically increases the odds of the Fed being able to stick the landing, which ultimately will be bullish for risk assets.” This might not be the end for the gains though, if we’re to consider historic data. As per Evercore ISI, the flagship S&P index has posted an average gain of 14% in the six months following an interest rate cut if the economy is not in a recession.
This market outperformance was also a reversal of the underperformance in the first five days of August which saw the flagship S&P tank by 6%. Explaining the weakness, BlackRock’s chief investment officer for global fixed income Rick Rider commented “I think the markets got ahead of themselves again in terms of interpreting that data was very soft.” Commenting on the state of the economy, which should be key for markets moving forward, he added that “Chair Powell said it’s a solid economy, and it is.”
Focusing exclusively on the NASDAQ’s performance, the composite and the top 100 stock index are up by 23.1% and 21.6%, respectively year to date. The next question to ask is, whether these gains are across the entire index or if they’re limited to just a handful of stocks. One of the narratives on Wall Street has been outperformance among large cap stocks as we covered in Goldman Sachs’ Best Hedge Fund Stock Picks: Top 20 Stocks. Using the Fidelity NASDAQ ETF as a benchmark, we find out that the top ten stocks in the index are up by 38.54%, 2.33%, 64.08%, 17.78%, 17.39%, 63.98%, 27.5%, 157.5%, 16.3%, and 22.56, respectively starting from the tenth stock to the first.
Within these, the top four stocks account for 40% of the ETF, and as the lowest of these top four stocks’ returns is still higher than the broader index’s year to date performance, it’s clear that outperformance among the largest constituents has driven the index’s return so far. Given that 50.4% of the NASDAQ is made of information technology stocks, the outperformance by AI stocks in 2024 has also driven the index.
Don’t believe us? Consider research from Bloomberg which shows that from the start of 2023 to June 2024 end, mega cap technology stocks were responsible for 60% of the benchmark S&P’s 40.5% in returns. This raises two questions. The first is whether mega cap stocks have more juice left in them, while the second is if this performance bifurcation creates an opportunity in other stocks such as small cap and value stocks. Well, banking behemoth JPMorgan believes that a “near-record discount in smaller-cap stocks may offer an opening.” Its ‘smaller cap’ stocks are defined as small and medium cap (SMID) stocks, and while the bank admits that these stocks often have high debt levels which increases their risk, the stocks with a “near record discount” do not have high debt but are nevertheless discounted.
To see how you first have to understand that small and mid cap stocks typically trade at higher price to earnings ratios than their large cap peers. This is because these stocks are inherently risky, and also because they offer a greater potential for growth. JPM’s data shows that for SMID and large cap stocks that are placed in the top 20% in terms of free cash flow margins, the SMID stocks’ forward P/E ratio relative to the large cap stocks peaked at 1.72x in November 1983 and then at 1.62x in April. Now, as of April 2024, it was 0.74x which opens up the potential for recovery as we move into the era of monetary policy loosening. This trend persisted in May 2024, with data showing that as of May 31st, the forward P/E ratio of small caps as a whole was 73% of large cap stocks, implying a 27% discount. Similar levels were previously seen around 2003, with the small cap P/E ratio soaring to roughly 125% of large caps after 2010.
With these details in mind, let’s take a look at the best NASDAQ stocks to buy under $50.
Image Courtesy of Caesars
Our Methodology
To make our list of the best NASDAQ stocks under $50, we ranked the 100 most valuable stocks on the NASDAQ in terms of market capitalization and picked out the top ten stocks by the number of hedge funds that had bought their shares during Q2 2024.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points. (see more details here).
10. Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q2 2024: 52
Share Price: $34.77
Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR) is an oil and gas production equipment provider that is one of the major players in the industry. Unlike some other peer firms, more than three quarters of 75% of the firm’s revenue comes from outside the US. As a result, Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR) can benefit from a growth in the global economy that raises the demand for oil. As of H1 2024, 63% of the firm’s revenue came from selling goods and services, which means that margin control and sizeable orders are important for Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR)’s performance. As a result, a slowdown in the global oil market leaves the stock vulnerable to a downturn. This makes it unsurprising that the shares have gained a modest 2.48% year to date. However, Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR)’s dependence on the global oil industry has helped it this year as peers SLB and HAL are down year to date due to a slowdown in the US oil industry. To reduce its dependence on oil, the firm is also diversifying the business by offering products to other industries such as paper manufacturing.
During the Q2 2024 earnings call, Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR)’s management shared how the business diversification is performing:
“For the second consecutive quarter, IET outperformed our EBITDA guidance, mostly attributed to excellent conversion of Gas Tech Equipment backlog that drove revenue and margin upside. IET orders were strong at $3.5 billion with non-LNG Gas Tech Equipment accounting for 97% of the total. Year-to-date, we’ve now booked $6.4 billion of IET orders and we remain on track to achieve our guidance range $11.5 billion to $13.5 billion. The versatility and differentiation of the IET portfolio across Industrial and Energy segments remains a significant competitive advantage for Baker Hughes, allowing us to profitably grow with new customers and applications.”
9. WillScot Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:WSC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q2 2024: 53
Share Price: $39.10
WillScot Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:WSC) is a modular workspace and storage solutions provider that caters to the needs of businesses. It is one of the few companies of its kind and has a customer base of more than 80,000 businesses. WillScot Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:WSC)’s business, which depends on large scale construction and projects means that the firm’s performance is dependent on the state of the economy and large scale project oriented industries such as oil exploration. WillScot Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:WSC)’s stock is down by 11.7% year to date, and while part of this is based on a slow economy, industrial, and construction activity, it is also due to a failed merger that saw investors price out any potential synergies. Additionally, the firm is the biggest player in the modular industry, which allows it to benefit from economies of scale, brand reputation, and the provision of tertiary services such as air conditioning. This means that WillScot Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:WSC)’s dominant market position, with more than 50% of the share in a market with only one other major player, can allow it to rapidly grow once the economy recovers.
TimesSquare Capital Management mentioned WillScot Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:WSC) in its Q2 2024 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:
“Many of our Industrial positions provide necessary business-to-business operational services, highly technical components, automation & efficiency improvements, or essential infrastructure services. WillScot Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:WSC) provides modular workspace and portable storage solutions. Despite beating first quarter consensus estimates, its shares sold off by -19% due to the uncertainty associated with the FTC’s review of WillScot’s proposed acquisition of McGrath RentCorp. We added to the position on weakness.”
8. Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:CZR)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q2 2024: 54
Share Price: $41.08
Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:CZR) is one of the largest casino and hospitality establishment operators in the US. Casino and gaming stocks do not do well when consumer spending is constrained in an economy facing high interest rates. Consequently, Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:CZR)’s shares are down 14% year to date. This has mostly been influenced by economic sentiment, as while the firm’s shares soared by 8% the day after Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:CZR) ‘s second quarter earnings, it dropped by 16.90% over the next two days as weak labor market data heightened investor worries of a recession. However, Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:CZR)’s stock has gained 2% since the Fed announced a 50 basis point rate cut, indicating that there might be more juice in the stock in case the economy remains robust. Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:CZR) benefits from its brand image in the industry, and the firm’s digital gambling revenue grew by 28% to $276 million in Q2 while adjusted operating earnings grew to $40 million from $11 million.
Baron Funds mentioned Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:CZR) in its Q2 2024 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:
“In the most recent quarter, we chose to lower the Fund’s large exposure to travel-related real estate companies and exited the Fund’s position in Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:CZR), the largest casino-entertainment company in the U.S. and one of the world’s most diversified casino-entertainment providers.
We have near-term reservations about a possible moderation in consumer demand for some of Caesars’ properties and believe the move higher in interest rates and a largely quiet transaction market also negatively impact certain highly leveraged companies such as Caesars. We are fans of CEO Tom Reeg and may revisit Caesars for purchase at a later date.”