Stocks trading between $10 and $50 can be particularly interesting as they frequently represent businesses that have survived their early challenges. However, investors should remain vigilant as some may still have unproven business models, leaving them vulnerable to the ebbs and flows of the broader market.
Luckily for you, our mission at StockStory is to help you make money and avoid losses by sorting the winners from the losers. Keeping that in mind, here is one stock under $50 that could 10x and two that could be down big.
Two Stocks Under $50 to Sell:
Scholastic (SCHL)
Share Price: $33.04
Creator of the legendary Scholastic Book Fair, Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) is an international company specializing in children's publishing, education, and media services.
Why Are We Out on SCHL?
- Sales trends were unexciting over the last five years as its 4.9% annual growth was below the typical consumer discretionary company
- Poor free cash flow margin of 1% for the last two years limits its freedom to invest in growth initiatives, execute share buybacks, or pay dividends
- Waning returns on capital from an already weak starting point displays the inefficacy of management’s past and current investment decisions
Scholastic’s stock price of $33.04 implies a valuation ratio of 23.9x forward P/E. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why SCHL doesn’t pass our bar.
Universal Technical Institute (UTI)
Share Price: $31.21
Founded in 1965, Universal Technical Institute (NYSE: UTI) is a leading provider of technical training programs, specializing in automotive, diesel, collision repair, motorcycle, and marine technicians.
Why Do We Avoid UTI?
- Performance surrounding its new students has lagged its peers
- Low free cash flow margin of 5.6% for the last two years gives it little breathing room, constraining its ability to self-fund growth or return capital to shareholders
- Shrinking returns on capital from an already weak position reveal that neither previous nor ongoing investments are yielding the desired results
At $31.21 per share, Universal Technical Institute trades at 16.1x forward EV-to-EBITDA. To fully understand why you should be careful with UTI, check out our full research report (it’s free).
One Stock Under $50 to Watch:
Leonardo DRS (DRS)
Share Price: $39.90
Developing submarine detection systems for the U.S. Navy, Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS) is a provider of defense systems, electronics, and military support services.
Why Do We Watch DRS?
- Annual revenue growth of 14.5% over the last two years was superb and indicates its market share increased during this cycle
- Backlog has averaged 9.1% growth over the past two years, showing it has a pipeline of unfulfilled orders that will support revenue in the future
- Earnings per share grew by 19.5% annually over the last two years and beat its peers
Leonardo DRS is trading at $39.90 per share, or 33.1x forward P/E. Is now a good time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.
Stocks We Like Even More
Your portfolio can’t afford to be based on yesterday’s story. The risk in a handful of heavily crowded stocks is rising daily.
The names generating the next wave of massive growth are right here in our Top 5 Strong Momentum Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 244% over the last five years (as of June 30, 2025).
Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,326% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Kadant (+351% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.