Investors might be compelled to buy a certain company's shares only to find out that they sell for a high nominal price. For those who don't want to own fractional shares, this can be discouraging because it means some businesses are simply off limits to own directly. And this could get in the way of achieving your financial goals. 

The good news, however, is that there are fantastic companies that don't carry a high price tag. Here are three no-brainer stocks investors should look to buy right now. They all trade for less than $200 a share. 

1. Alphabet 

Macroheadwinds have definitely hurt the market for digital ads, and Alphabet (GOOGL 0.54%) (GOOG 0.51%) has felt this, with revenue growth slowing significantly in recent quarters. Because 78% of its overall revenue last quarter came from advertising, a potential recession is a huge near-term risk factor investors are worried about. 

Despite these concerns, it's hard to understate how great of a business Alphabet is. Its main business and cash machine, Google Search, has 93% market share. Google Cloud Platform grew revenue 28% in the latest quarter on a year-over-year basis, while generating positive operating income for the first time ever. And YouTube, with more than 800 million users, attracts more TV viewing time in the U.S. than streaming giant Netflix. 

Moreover, Alphabet's financials are excellent. As of March 31, the company had $115 billion of cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities on its balance sheet, with just $14 billion of debt. And it posted a profit margin of 22% in the last quarter. 

Alphabet shares have performed well in 2023, up 34% on the year (as of June 27). But the stock still trades at a reasonable forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 22. That means buying Alphabet for your portfolio looks like a smart move. 

2. Amazon 

Amazon (AMZN 1.62%) is also dealing with a noticeable slowdown across its enterprise. E-commerce shopping has normalized following a pandemic surge. And Amazon Web Services (AWS), the leader in cloud computing, is seeing growth decelerate as businesses cut back on information technology spending. Overall company revenue was up just 9% in the first three months of 2023. 

I believe all of this will prove to be a minor speed bump in the grand scheme of things. Amazon's position as the top e-commerce site means that it has a huge expansionary runway as more and more spending transitions from brick-and-mortar to online. Its massive logistics network, while very costly, is a key competitive strength that allows it to ship products cheaply. 

The market for cloud computing is projected to be worth more than $1.5 trillion in 2030, providing Amazon with another powerful growth engine. AWS is in a prime position to benefit. 

As of this writing, the stock is 31% below its all-time high, even though it has climbed 53% in 2023. Amazon shares are currently trading hands at a price-to-sales (P/S) multiple of 2.5. That's a huge discount to the stock's trailing three-year average P/S ratio of 3.4, an opportunity that investors should take advantage of. 

3. Apple 

At around $187 per share, Apple (AAPL 0.53%) is the last stock on this list to consider buying. Like its big-tech peers, the iPhone maker is experiencing a slowdown. Revenue declined 3% in its fiscal 2023 second quarter (ended March 31). And hardware sales showed a 5% year-over-year decline. 

But shareholders don't need to panic. Apple's products are still incredibly popular among consumers. And they are lucrative for the business, carrying a gross margin of 37%. 

And the services segment is becoming more important to Apple's investment story. This division represented 22% of revenue in the last quarter, but it has generally grown faster than hardware in recent years. Its gross margin of 71% should help lift overall company profitability over time.

And looking at services from a qualitative perspective, the segment makes Apple's ecosystem even more powerful by driving higher engagement and stickiness from consumers. 

Over the past five years, Apple shares have crushed the Nasdaq Composite Index, rising 307%. And unsurprisingly, they aren't cheap, selling at a forward P/E ratio of 31, above the average of the last 12 months. But this price might be warranted in order to own a piece of one of the most dominant businesses in the world.