Contrary to a common belief, not every growth stock worth owning trades at a sky-high price. Plenty of them do, to be clear. Microsoft's shares are priced in excess of $300 right now, for instance, while one share of Booking Holdings stock currently costs over $2,600.
But you can still find great growth stocks at the other end of the price spectrum too. Here's a closer look at three of them you can buy for less than $100 apiece.
1. PDD Holdings
You may be more familiar with China's e-commerce outfit PDD Holdings (PDD 2.80%) than you realize. The company was formerly known as Pinduoduo but changed its name in February due to the development of shopping sites beyond the Pinduoduo moniker.
You've probably even seen ads for one of these other efforts, in fact. The aggressively marketed Temu? That's also a PDD entity, largely aimed at consumers in the western half of the world.
It's still mostly a Chinese e-commerce company, though, putting it in the right place at the right time.
See, last year was a lethargic one for the global economy, but particularly slow for China. Beijing was maintaining heavy-handed lockdowns in an effort to curb the continued spread of the coronavirus. In so doing, however, the country's government crimped the country's economy.
Indeed, China's GDP growth rate turned negative to the tune of 2.6% during the second quarter of last year, marking the worst GDP figure the country has seen since the first quarter of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic first began to spread from Wuhan.
But things are changing now in a big way. China's lockdown measures are all but lifted, allowing the country's economy to rekindle itself.
And it's doing just that. China's first-quarter GDP was up 4.5% year over year, and Beijing's full-year GDP growth target is a slightly healthier 5%.
It all bodes well for PDD Holdings, of course, which is expected to report revenue growth in excess of 34% this year, as well as top-line growth of nearly 22% next year. Operating profit growth rates for the two-year stretch should be about the same, setting the stage for strong performance from the stock.
2. Medtronic
If you've ever had a surgical procedure done, you've likely benefited from a product made by Medtronic (MDT 0.62%). The company manufactures hernia repair tools, wound closure solutions, ablation systems, ultrasonic dissection equipment, and more. It sold $31 billion worth of its wares last fiscal year, turning a little over $3.7 billion of it into net income.
Some might dispute whether it's a true growth stock. Last year's top line actually fell a bit, while this year's revenue is projected to grow a modest 3.1%. Next year's expected sales growth of 4.6% is better, but still seemingly anemic.
Earnings growth is similarly slow. That's the key reason shares are down nearly 40% from their 2021 high.
Take a step back and look at the bigger picture, though. Much of this recent weakness is the result of a recall of the batteries used in its HeartWare Ventricular Assist Device (HVAD) systems, paired with a lack of innovation and development in the right markets.
The thing is, the adverse impact of the recall has nearly run its course, and as CEO Geoff Martha pointed out during February's quarterly earnings call, Medtronic is now "investing disproportionately" in high-growth business like surgical innovation. Its recently launched cordless Sonicision 7, for instance, is already drawing strong interest. This hardware category only accounts for about one-fifth of the company's top line right now, but it's outgrowing other segments.
Meanwhile, Martha knows Medtronic needs a top-down structural overhaul. He also said during February's earnings call: "We are focused on reducing complexity, enhancing our culture, improving capital allocation and portfolio management, and upgrading our global manufacturing operations and supply chain capabilities. At the same time, we are progressing on our plans for significant cost reductions." Those plans are now being enacted, starting with the tough decision made in April to start shedding employees.
The stock's recent weakness is a chance to step into a great company on the verge of a turnaround that could make it a true growth stock again.
3. Palantir Technologies
Last but not least, add Palantir Technologies (PLTR 3.73%) to your list of great growth stocks you can buy right now for less than $100 per share.
It's not a household name, but there's a good chance you or someone in your household has been beneficially impacted by the company. Palantir offers AI-powered decision-making software for customers including factories, utility companies, retailers, banks, and more. The company was even recently awarded a contract from the U.S. Department of Defense. All told, Palantir did $1.9 billion worth of business last year, up 24% from 2021's top line.
That still only scratches the surface, though. Precedence Research believes the artificial intelligence software market will grow at an annualized pace of 23% through 2032, when it becomes a $1 trillion business. That growth outlook jibes with numbers from information technology market research house Gartner.
And Palantir Technologies is clearly expected to remain plugged into this rising tide. The analyst community is calling for sales growth of nearly 16% this year before accelerating to nearly 19% growth next year.
That's not the chief reason you'd want to own Palantir right now, though. Rather, the most bullish argument to be made for this particular stock at this time is what's in store this year. That's a swing to a net profit. While the company is already profitable on an operating basis, it's projected to book real net income of $94 million this year en route to $720 million worth of net income by 2027.
This shift to sustainable fiscal viability also marks the potential for a major shift in the market's perception of the stock, from being a highly speculative gamble to a proven blue chip. That's bullish in and of itself.
Just don't be too quick to pile into a trade. Shares have more than doubled in price since early May, eclipsing their current consensus target and leaving them vulnerable to some profit-taking pressure.
