We recently compiled a list of the 12 Best Penny Stocks to Invest in According to the Media. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Marqeta, Inc. (NASDAQ:MQ) stands against other best penny stocks to buy according to the media.
Small-Cap Stocks Outlook for 2025
On December 24, Global Advisors’ managing partner, Tom Lee, shared his thoughts on the potential of small and mid-cap stocks in 2025. Lee pointed out that 2025 is going to be a good year for small and mid-cap stocks. Backed by interest rate cuts and the incoming administration, companies are going to be expansionary and feel confident about mergers, added Lee. Moreover, Lee has reiterated that small-cap stocks are trading at a discount with a medium P/E multiple of 10. In an interview with CNBC, Lee said:
“I think small caps could in the next couple of years outperform by more than 100%.”
New Street Advisors CEO Delano Saporu has similar thoughts and believes that small-cap stocks are well-positioned to outperform in 2025. The economy has shown resilience in 2024, especially the recovery in the last quarter has signaled a promising outlook for businesses. Donald Trump’s win has already driven significant gains in small-cap stocks amid the growing enthusiasm around the potential easing of regulations on businesses. Small-cap stocks are conventionally focused on the domestic market, with less exposure to international trade compared to large-cap counterparts. Therefore, Trump’s tariff policies will not have a major impact on small-cap stocks compared to large-cap stocks.
If you are interested in exploring the best penny stocks to buy in 2025, you can visit the 10 Best Penny Stocks to Buy for 2025.
Heading into 2025, the US stock market will deliver a second consecutive year of impressive gains. The S&P 500 index surged more than 25% in 2024. Whereas, the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 jumped up to 28%. The Russell 2000 index, which covers small-cap companies, soared more than 15% over the last year, while the Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Index has risen by 18%.
Torsten Slok, economist at Apollo Global Management (APO), released his 2025 economic outlook for the U.S. According to Slok, the U.S. economy will deliver strong results with no signs of major slowing in 2025. Slok added that interest rates will likely stay ‘higher for longer’ despite the Fed’s current interest rate-cutting cycle. The US economy is expected to register GDP growth of 2.2% in 2025, signaling a modest growth, driven by less restrictive monetary policy, resilient consumer spending, and a steadying labor market.
You can also visit and see 12 Cheap Chinese Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds.
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Our Methodology
To compile our list of the best penny stocks to invest in according to the media, we gathered over 50 penny stocks from financial media websites on the internet. We then selected the top 12 penny stocks that were the most widely held by hedge funds, as of Q3 2024. The list is ranked in ascending order based on the number of hedge fund holders in each stock.
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).
Marqeta, Inc. (NASDAQ:MQ)
Share Price (As of January 3): $3.86
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 33
Marqeta, Inc. (NASDAQ:MQ) is an innovative card issuer that empowers businesses to issue and process virtual, physical, and tokenized credit and debit cards. The company offers a modern cloud-based open application programming interface platform for card issuing and transaction processing. The company operates two business segments: Managed By Marqeta and Powered By Marqeta. The company’s major clients include platforms such as Square, DoorDash, and Instacart. Marqeta also offers Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), neobanking, on-demand delivery, expense management as well as crypto payment solutions.
Marqeta, Inc. (NASDAQ:MQ) is making solid progress with increasing revenue and expanding its product offerings. In Q3, the company posted an 18% year-over-year revenue increase, while gross profit margin reached 70%. Marqeta’s expanding product pipeline includes solutions such as Portfolio Migration, Marqeta Flex, and UX Toolkit. These new offerings and products will enhance the company’s competitive position and drive growth in the embedded finance market.
Marqeta, Inc. (NASDAQ:MQ) is focused on reducing complexity and minimizing disruption to attract more clients. During the third quarter, the company completed the migration of millions of Klarna cards across Sweden, Germany, and the U.K., marking significant progress in the global market. The Block contract renewal was another major development in the past quarter.
The company’s latest product Marqeta Flex is set to launch in mid-2025 and the company is currently working on gaining interest from customers and partners to scale this new service. Marqeta Flex will integrate BNPL payment options directly into payment apps and wallets. To support its BNPL payment network, Marqeta is working in collaboration with well-known BNPL providers including Klarna, Affirm, and Branch.
Overall, MQ ranks 2nd on our list of Best Penny Stocks To Invest In According to Media. While we acknowledge the potential of MQ 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 MQ 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.