Why spend a fortune on expensive stocks when there are still tons of bargain buys available in the market? The key thing is to focus on stocks that have low valuations and promising growth prospects. Buying these types of stocks today and just hanging on could lead to terrific returns down the road.
While price is not the same as value, a couple of stocks that trade at less than $100 right now that could make for underrated buys are Viking Therapeutics (VKTX 0.90%) and PayPal (PYPL 2.61%). Here's what you need to know about these stocks, and why they're worth buying today.
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Viking Therapeutics
Shares of healthcare stock Viking Therapeutics finished last week at just under $34. Its market cap is $3.8 billion, and its return over the past 12 months has been mild, at just 4%.
The big risk with Viking is that it doesn't generate any revenue right now. But there's plenty of hope for growth investors that it will get an approved GLP-1 weight loss product at some point in the future. The company is in the midst of phase 3 trials for its VK2735 subcutaneous treatment, which has been demonstrating encouraging results in clinical trials thus far. In a 13-week trial, participants lost an average of 14.7% of their weight on the highest dosage.
Back in August of last year, however, investors went into all-out panic mode because of news of high discontinuation rates for the oral version of VK2735 (it's earlier in development than the subcutaneous version). The stock crashed an incredible 40%. But the drug is still in development, and a high discontinuation rate can be due to myriad issues. The drug didn't lead to a concerning injury or side effect. The market grossly overreacted and the stock has rallied since then. I predicted shortly afterward that the stock would double in value within the next 12 months, and it still looks on track to do so.
NASDAQ: VKTX
Key Data Points
Approval of a GLP-1 drug or even just the anticipation of it could lead to a surge in Viking's value. Not only could approval mean billions in potential revenue for the business, but it could also lead to an acquisition as large healthcare companies have been chomping at the bit to get in on the GLP-1 gold rush. There's risk with Viking's stock, but there's also some tremendous potential upside.
PayPal
Fintech stock PayPal entered this week trading at less than $60. At a market cap of $54 billion, this is a much more established stock to own than Viking, yet it has lost 36% of its value in the past 12 months.
There's a rising number of payment options in the market, and investors are growing concerned about PayPal's ability to remain a leader in the payments industry. But with more than 45% market share, it still remains the go-to payment option for more than 430 million active users. The simplicity of sending PayPal payments and the comfort people have in the name give it a strong advantage over other options.
NASDAQ: PYPL
Key Data Points
While business isn't doing terribly well and its growth rate has been falling in recent years, economic conditions also aren't strong, either. As those improve, so too could PayPal's growth rate. Meanwhile, the company is putting itself in a position to take advantage of new opportunities, such as its partnership with OpenAI, the company that owns ChatGPT. The partnership will enable merchants to sell their products through the chatbot.
PayPal is also working on expanding the use of its Venmo app so that it's utilized for everyday purchases rather than just transferring money between friends. The company has begun offering cash back for the Venmo debit card at major retailers as an incentive to help increase spending.
Trading at just 11 times earnings, PayPal is a deeply discounted stock worth buying today. The business is still in good shape, and while its growth rate is in just the single digits, management is making an effort to strengthen that.
