For the price of a bar burger, two packs of supermarket brats or a tandem of mochas, you can satisfy your hunger in an altogether different way: Plunk down $10 on a share of stock.
While that may not sound like the gilded road to riches, it’s certainly more realistic than buying 1.3 percent of a Class A share in Alphabet (ticker: GOOGL), or roughly the same sliver in Amazon.com (AMZN). Besides, they don’t sell partial shares at 10 bucks a crack.
But that doesn’t mean 100 shares of a bargain stock — comparable in price to at least 52 extra large bacon cheeseburgers at Domino’s Pizza (DPZ), minus tip — won’t overstuff you at some point with enough profit to fill a buffet.
[See: 7 Global Goats That Could Bring Market Mayhem.]
Let’s consider McDonalds Corp. (MCD), which cost $10 a share at the start of 1992. Now fast forward a quarter century: millions and millions served a nice return. MCD now trades at $126; dividends and splits aside, we’re talking 100 shares bringing in $12,600. Would you like fries with that? Heck, yeah.
Here are seven other cheap stocks that might be worth taking a chance on. Even 75 shares of the most expensive one still costs less than that single share of Alphabet. And should the first stock on this list rise from $9 and change to $133 a share, you’d be looking at 75 shares turning into $10,000. Nice.
Boingo Wireless (WIFI) $9.38. The folks at this Los Angeles-based company somehow landed the unforgettable WIFI ticker. “To be honest, the first time we looked at the stock is because it has a cool ticker,” says K C Ma, director of the Roland George Investments Institute at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida. Indeed, WIFI provides Wi-Fi at airports, hotels, convention centers and the like. And buying some Boingo could be better than winning at bingo: WIFI is ripe for acquisition. “At this level, we’re waiting for some big guy to take them out,” Ma says.
Terra Tech Corp. 32 cents. Terra Tech is a tiny over-the-counter stock, with a market cap of just $110 million. But it stands on terra firma as more states make recreational and medicinal marijuana legal. “I like Terra Tech as a long-term hold because the management team is solid and they have been proven to be savvy when raising and deploying capital,” says Rob Hunt, partner at Tuatara Capital, the largest private equity fund in the U.S. cannabis industry. “Their business model is scalable and they are uniquely positioned to have rapid revenue growth in the Nevada and California markets.”
[See: Artificial Intelligence Stocks: 10 Companies Betting on AI.]
Callaway Golf Co. (ELY) $10.66. On June 29, this golfing goods maker closed at $9.97, planting it firmly on the $10 green. ELY is up 23 percent from a year ago; over five years it’s climbed more than 60 percent. Even better days might be ahead. (Wish you could say the same about your handicap?) It’s a “strong buy” among Wall Street analysts who recommend it by a 9-to-1 ratio when compared to the “hold” category. In April, Callaway boosted its full-year financial forecast while beating earnings per share forecasts, 40 cents versus 38. Hmm: Two cents equals “fore!”
Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASX) $5.69. With slumping PC sales expected to rebound, ASX stands ready to benefit. “It’s a major manufacturer of semiconductor chips and related services in the United States, Taiwan, Asia, Europe, and internationally,” Ma says. “This is the bellwether stock for the chip industry and has moved closely with Intel (INTC).” Down 25 percent since March 2015, ASX looks a textbook example of “buy low, sell high.” Besides, “Jim Simons of Renaissance Technologies, the notoriously successful hedge fund, owns it.”
Companhia Sigeururgica Nacional (SID) $3.13. SID — which operates in sectors from cement to energy — has resources to transcend Brazil’s horrible slump. “If someone wants to play a potential rebound in the Brazilian economy, SID may be the vehicle,” says Bob Johnson, president and CEO of the American College of Financial Services in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. At one time SID’s investors included Renaissance Technologies. (Do you sense a theme here?) Still, “it’s an extremely volatile stock and not for the faint of heart. Daily moves in excess of 5 percent are very common.”
Zoned Properties $1.90. Want to have cheap fun with an infamous market history maker? In the first quarter of 2014, ZDPY zipped from $41 to $1,968 per share. It’s since fallen, fallen, fallen to $1.90 per share: Imagine not selling in March 2014. “But it could be interesting as an infrastructure play for the cannabis industry,” Hunt says. “Should it succeed in its initial target market of Arizona, its model would be easy to replicate in other regions and it should have access to leverage should banking restrictions in cannabis erode.”
[Read: Why the ETF World Could Double by 2021.]
AgroFresh Solutions (AGFS) $5.66. So where’s the beef? Well, here’s the plum: AGFS provides data-driven specialty solutions that produce growers and packers use to guarantee freshness and quality. “Their products regulate the post-harvest ripening effects of ethylene to preserve the texture, firmness, taste, and appearance of produce,” Ma says. That means more shelf life for fruit — and perhaps for this company’s fruits. “We like the innovative business model of this young company, and they have survived the critical 24-month mark of the IPOs growing pains.”
More from U.S. News
8 Stocks to Buy For a Starter Portfolio
11 Ways President Trump’s Tax Plan Could Affect Americans
7 Ways to Tell if a Stock Is a Good Price
7 Great Stocks That Cost $10 or Less originally appeared on usnews.com
