We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Stocks Under $3 to Buy Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) stands against the other stocks under $3.
Investors are grappling with Trump-fueled stock market volatility in 2025. On March 12, 2025, Yahoo Finance reported that Penny Pennington, CEO of Edward Jones, explained on Yahoo Finance’s Opening Bid podcast that this volatility should have been expected. She noted that after years of relatively calm markets where we didn’t see the usual pullbacks, typically ranging from 5% to 15%. She further pointed out that the current environment, marked with uncertainties from tariffs and policy changes, is bound to provoke market reactions.
READ ALSO: 8 Fastest Growing AI Stocks To Buy Right Now and 10 Cheap Technology Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds.
The markets have been particularly volatile this year due to concerns about tariffs and potential economic slowdowns. The market has taken a hit, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite all dropping around 5% on average in March alone. Large-cap tech companies have led this downturn. For the year, the Nasdaq has declined nearly 10%, the S&P 500 by 6%, and the Dow by 3%.
Recent economic data for consumer confidence from the Dallas Fed survey highlights growing caution among consumers and businesses. This has further fueled volatility as markets adjust to a potential slowdown in growth.
Pennington’s advice to investors is to stay prepared for several more years of volatility under the Trump administration.
The mix of policy uncertainty, tariff impacts, and inflation concerns has created a volatile environment, and this is likely to continue. Despite these concerns, some penny stocks continue to attract attention for their promising prospects.
Methodology
To compile our list of the 10 best stocks under $3 to buy now, we used the Finviz stock screener. We sorted our results based on market capitalization and picked the top 20 companies with a share price of under $3 as of March 10, 2025. Next, we focused on the top 10 stocks most favored by institutional investors. Data for the hedge fund sentiment surrounding each stock was taken from Insider Monkey’s Q4 2024 database of more than 1,000 elite hedge funds. Finally, the 10 best stocks under $3 to buy now were ranked in ascending order based on the number of hedge funds holding stakes in them as of Q4 2024.
Why do we care about what hedge funds do? 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 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
A drilling rig in action, operated by an oilfield services team.
Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG)
Share Price: $2.98
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 38
Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) is an international drilling company that ranks among the best stocks under $3. The company is one of the world’s largest providers of offshore contract drilling services for oil and gas wells. Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) specializes in technically demanding sectors of the global offshore drilling business and is focused on deepwater and harsh environment drilling services.
The company is strategically focused on maintaining strong operational execution and leveraging advanced technologies to grow its business. In 2024, Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) strengthened its position as the technological leader in offshore drilling by achieving the industry’s first two 20K subsea completions and introducing technologies that improved operational efficiency and differentiated its fleet. This focus on innovation and reliable operations helped the company secure $2.4 billion in backlog during the year. Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) currently has industry-leading contract coverage extending into 2026.
Overall, RIG ranks 1st on our list of the best stocks under $3 to buy now. While we acknowledge the potential of RIG as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some 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 RIG but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.