We recently published a list of 10 Best Nasdaq Stocks Under $5 to Buy. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Conduent Inc. (NASDAQ:CNDT) stands against other best Nasdaq stocks under $5 to buy.
The Nasdaq is one of the top three most-followed stock market indices in the United States, comprising over 2,500 stocks. Its composition is heavily skewed towards the Technology sector, and as of February 10, 2025, the technology sector constituted around 60% of the index’s weight. Consumer Discretionary follows as the second-largest sector, accounting for approximately 20% of the weight. Given this substantial weighting, the Nasdaq is commonly regarded as a leading indicator of the performance of the IT industry.
While the Nasdaq includes tech giants with the largest market capitalizations, it also presents opportunities to invest in stocks often referred to as “penny stocks.” These stocks, priced under $5, offer significant growth potential for investors seeking high returns at a relatively low capital outlay. Although these stocks come with high return and diversification opportunities, they also carry higher risks due to their smaller market capitalization, relatively higher debt, and greater volatility in share prices.
To provide a perspective on the small-cap investing landscape, we refer to recent insights from Francis Gannon, Co-Chief Investment Officer at Royce Investment Partners. In November 2024, during an interview with Yahoo Finance, Gannon discussed his thesis on small-caps. He noted that small-caps had been out of favour for an extended period, with the Russell 2000 reaching its peak three years ago and experiencing negative returns since then. Gannon believes the new Trump administration, reshoring efforts, leading innovation, and a favourable earnings season will significantly boost small-cap companies, describing this shift as nothing short of a “revolution.”
As a result, exciting return opportunities are anticipated in the small-cap space in the coming years. When reviewing stocks priced under $5, investors should carefully select emerging companies with innovative business models or disruptive technologies, and those that have the potential to deliver exponential growth as they capture market share, develop new products, or enter new markets.
Our Methodology
To identify the 10 best Nasdaq stocks under $5 to buy, we screened Nasdaq-listed companies with a market price below $5. We selected the 10 companies that were the most widely held by hedge funds and ranked them in ascending order of hedge fund holders, as of Q3 2024.
Note: All pricing data is as of market close on February 10.
At Insider Monkey we are obsessed with 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).
A graph with complex data points showing the company’s technological advancements in electronic tolling.
Conduent Inc. (NASDAQ:CNDT)
Current Market Price: $4.32
Number of hedge funds: 20
Conduent Inc. (NASDAQ:CNDT) offers business process services (BPS; outsourcing) and technology solutions to help businesses and government agencies manage critical tasks and interactions. The company provides a range of services, including customer experience management, digital payments, government healthcare claims, road usage charging, and transit. Conduent uses automation, cloud computing, and AI to deliver these mission-critical business process solutions.
Conduent Inc. (NASDAQ:CNDT) announced its mid-term outlook with its Q3 2024 results in November. The company expects adjusted revenue between $3.19 billion and $3.22 billion and an adjusted EBITDA margin between 3.75% and 4.0% for the full year 2024. Additionally, it has forecasted a 2%-4% revenue growth and a 2.0%-2.5% adjusted EBITDA margin expansion for 2025. Under its 2024 divestiture program, Conduent Inc. (NASDAQ:CNDT) has been rationalizing its offerings portfolio under its 2024 divestiture program, and by November, had already allocated 75% of the $1.0 billion of proceeds to debt prepayment and share repurchases, strengthening its financial position.
Overall, CNDT ranks 6th on our list of best Nasdaq stocks under $5 to buy. While we acknowledge the potential of CNDT to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than CNDT but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and Complete List of 59 AI Companies Under $2 Billion in Market Cap
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
