Big things can come from stocks with small price tags. The risks are certainly there. Most low-priced stocks are trading in the single digits for a reason. However, the right stocks break out all of the time. The potential upside can be scintillating for risk-tolerant investors.
Groupon (GRPN -0.34%), Sogou (SOGO), and Sirius XM Holdings (SIRI) are three names currently trading on the wrong side of $10, but their prospects are brighter than their sticker prices. Let's go over why they may be among the top stocks under $10.
Image source: Groupon.
1. Groupon
A quick peek at Groupon's top-line performance can be a deal breaker. Revenue growth has been negative for eight consecutive quarters, leading one the think that daily deals and flash sales giant is fading away like so many other online experience discounters. Thankfully for Groupon that isn't the case. Revenue is slipping by design, as Groupon bows out of unprofitable international markets and shifts away from low-margin merchandise sales to get back to its prepaid voucher roots.
Groupon's strategic shifts are paying off. It was profitable on an adjusted basis through all of 2017, and analysts see earnings continuing to grow in 2018. Groupon's relevance in its core business has never been stronger, and the stock has risen 60% since bottoming out last summer.
2. Sogou
Investors know all about China's leading search engine, but there may be money to be made by taking a chance on some of the country's smaller players in this high-margin niche. Sogou isn't a household name outside of China, and even there, it's a distant silver medalist in search if we go by mobile queries, according to industry watcher iResearch.
Sogou was spun off last year at a price of $13, and naturally it makes the cut here as a broken IPO in the single digits. Revenue rose 53% to hit $248.4 million in last week's quarterly report. Adjusted earnings grew even faster, up 56% to land at $19.6 million. The stock should bounce back as trade war tensions with China ease or after another quarter of two of platform-affirming growth.
3. Sirius XM Holdings
The country's lone provider of satellite radio service keeps growing. Sirius XM came through with another strong quarter last week. Revenue may have only inched 6% higher, but free cash flow, operating cash flow, and earnings grew surged 31%, 34%, and 40% higher, respectively.
Sirius XM had a record 33.1 million subscribers at the end of March. One would think that paying for a premium radio service would be a hard sell in this era of smartphone apps and connected cars, but Sirius XM has managed to grow its audience every quarter since the auto industry's recession hit eight years ago.
