We recently published a list of 8 Most Undervalued Penny Stocks To Buy According To Analysts. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Torrid Holdings Inc. (NYSE:CURV) stands against other most undervalued penny stocks according to analysts.

What Does the Stock Market Look Like for Small Cap Stocks?

Analysts have been bullish on small-cap stocks and their potential to outperform large caps in a slowing economy. However, the current environment is presenting some choppiness due to elections being just around the corner, thereby demanding some caution from investors.

To talk about what the stock market looks like today and in the near future. Tom Lee, co-founder of Fundstrat Global Advisors joined CNBC in a recent interview. He has been one of the strong proponents and supporters of small-cap stocks. Lee says that we are in a volatile environment currently, due to a few reasons, one being the elections in less than 30 days, the second being the Middle Eastern crisis which is scaring investors, and lastly the port strike that has the potential to cripple the economy. However, he still expressed his optimism that the year-end has a lot of tailwinds and investors shouldn’t be afraid to buy the dip. Moreover, Lee also highlighted that these current events are all short-term headwinds in a buying cycle and are expected to die down quickly.

Lee thinks that bottoms are tough and processed, and small caps are in the process of what could be a multi-year bottom. Therefore the conviction is that some people might want to buy the big names on NASDAQ and the AI market, however, with small caps trading at lower multiples of P/E less than 10, the risk and reward lie in small caps. Lee further mentioned that interest rate cuts and better earnings growth make the path for small-cap growth more visible.

Tom Lee has also reaffirmed his belief that the S&P 500 could close above 5,700 by year-end, supported by strong economic fundamentals and a dovish Federal Reserve beginning to cut interest rates. He noted that significant cash reserves are available for investment, which could drive stock prices higher in the next three to twelve months.

In addition to this, another important news highlight has been regarding the jobs report, which has shown par expectation results. We recently covered the 8 Most Undervalued Growth Stocks To Buy According To Wall Street Analysts, here’s a short excerpt from the article:

“Analysts and the market blamed the Fed for not cutting the interest rate earlier in July. However, the sentiments seemed to have shifted with the recent jobs report with above-expectation data. The data from the Job market shows that Nonfarm payrolls increased by 254,000 in September and unemployment rates fell to 4.1% from 4.2%.

These new statistics are making the market think, was the 50 basis point too much another question that comes up is what the Fed will do in the next meeting. Sylvia Jablonski, Defiance ETFs CEO and CIO joined CNBC to discuss the issue recently. She mentioned that the Fed is data dependent and every move they make is based on the latest available data. The market was questioning the Fed for the delay in rate cuts, however, the data that the Fed had at the time was pointing towards the job market going the other way. Jablonski thinks that they made the right call to cut the interest rates by 50 basis points. However, with the current jobs market report it is difficult to expect another 50 basis point cut. She thinks that it will either be by a 25 basis point cut or no cut at all.

As of now the market seems to be doing good, the job numbers came in above expectations, and wages are good which tells that the consumers are likely to spend more which will be feasible for the economy. Jablonski also mentioned that the S&P 500 has been up by 20% in 2024 and thinks that the earnings for stocks are strong.”

Our Methodology

To curate the list of the 8 most undervalued penny stocks to buy according to analysts we first defined a criteria. We defined penny stocks to be the ones trading under the price tag of $5 and called a stock cheap if it is trading at a forward P/E lower than the market average of 24.35 (the market’s P/E ratio as per Wall Street Journal) with earnings expected to grow during the year.

To get our stocks we used the Finviz screener and used the aforementioned criteria. Once an aggregated list was ready, then we ranked the stocks based on analyst upside potential sourced from CNN. Please note that the figures are as of October 9, 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 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).

Torrid Holdings Inc. (NYSE:CURV)

Share Price: $3.30

Forward P/E: 17.1

Earnings Growth: 63.60% 

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 3

Analyst Upside: 112.12%

Torrid Holdings Inc. (NYSE:CURV) is a retail company that designs and sells plus-size clothing for women. Its products are designed specifically for sizes 10 to 30. Its products range from tops, bottoms, dresses, activewear, intimates, and accessories. It sells products through both online and 655 physical stores spread across the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico.

Much like other apparel companies Torrid Holdings Inc. (NYSE:CURV) is also facing difficulty from a challenging consumer environment. However, management scaled down its markdowns to lift its profit margins during the most recent quarter. In the second quarter, comparable sales were down by 0.8% however, the full-price comparable sales were up 6.4%.

The company was able to successfully cut its inventory levels by 19% leading to a 323 basis points improvement in margins. Management expects its sales to return to positive single digits during the second half of 2024.

Argosy Investors made the following comment about Torrid Holdings Inc. (NYSE:CURV) in its second quarter 2023 investor letter:

“During the quarter, I did mostly housekeeping, selling a couple of smaller positions in Torrid Holdings Inc. (NYSE:CURV) and Ollie’s Bargain Outlet. First, Torrid Holdings was never a large position, but it performed horribly during my ownership of the position. Body positivity, as it turns out, was not a positive development for Torrid. Long operating somewhat alone in the plus size women’s apparel (that women actually want to wear) category, COVID and the advent of stars such as musical artist Lizzo shined a light on women who did not fit the traditional definition of beauty. As a result, every retailer from Victoria’s Secret to Sephora has embraced body positivity, featuring plus size models in their marketing content and making clothes for larger people. Torrid lost its differentiated position in the market, and I believe has been struggling to remain relevant when plus size women have so many more options than they used to. In any event, this women’s fashion has never been something I considered myself an expert in, so perhaps I should be a little more cautious next time I venture into this quixotic realm.”

Overall, CURV ranks 2nd on our list of most undervalued penny stocks to buy according to analysts. While we acknowledge the potential of CURV as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for a promising AI stock that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: $30 Trillion Opportunity: 15 Best Humanoid Robot Stocks to Buy According to Morgan Stanley and Jim Cramer Says NVIDIA ‘Has Become A Wasteland’.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.