Nate is a serial entrepreneur, part-time investor, and founder of WallStreetZen. He holds a Juris Doctor (JD) degree from UAlberta Law - but don’t hold that against him. He’s passionate about building great software that delights users. He occasionally writes about himself in the 3rd person.
What are the best cheap stocks to buy right now?
Sound like something you’ve asked Google before? You’re not alone.
It can be tricky to find the best cheap stocks to buy now out of the thousands of options available if you don’t have the right tools.
The good news is we’ve got you covered with 5 of the best cheap stocks to buy now based on a proven set of fundamental metrics and due diligence checks.
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Methodology for Finding the Best Cheap Stocks
To find the best cheap stocks to buy in June 2025, we used a combination of tools on WallStreetZen:
- WallStreetZen’s preset stock screeners: Notably, the Best Undervalued Stocks to Buy Now screener. It incorporates a minimum Zen Score (see #2 below) of 50 and a valuation score of 80 based on factors such as Benjamin Graham’s valuation formula, Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) valuation, and various price ratios, such as price-to-earnings and price-to-book.
- Zen Ratings: Our proprietary system that distills 115 factors that drive growth into an easy-to-read letter score. In addition to an overall score, you can see how each stock scores in different areas, including value, growth, momentum, and more. Stocks rated “A” through the Zen Ratings system have produced an average annual return of +32.52% since 2003.
- Strong Buy Ratings from Top Analysts. With WSZ’s Strong Buys from Top Analysts feature, you can zero in on ratings from ONLY top-rated analysts, and you have easy access to their track record and average win rate. In each entry, you can easily see the analyst’s track record, plus the “why” behind their rating.
Let’s dive in…
What are the Best Cheap Stocks to Buy Now?
Here are some of the potential best cheap stocks to buy now:
- IHS Holding (NYSE: IHS)
- BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: BCRX)
- Gates Industrial (NYSE: GTES)
- Penguin Solutions (NASDAQ: PENG)
- Super Group (NYSE: SGHC)
Note: This article does not provide investment advice. The stocks listed should not be taken as recommendations. Your investments are solely your decisions.
1. IHS Holding (NYSE: IHS)
Operating in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America, IHS Holding is one of the world’s largest independent operators and developers of telecommunications infrastructure. Despite strong capital appreciation in the last year, both Wall Street analysts and our rating system agree that there’s still plenty of growth potential left when it comes to IHS.
Zen Rating: A (Strong Buy) — see full analysis >
Recent Price: $5.54 — get current quote >
Max 1-year forecast: $17.00
Why we’re watching:
- IHS has a grand total of 4 analyst ratings — 3 are Strong Buys, and 1 is a Hold. See the ratings
- The average price target set by analysts is $9 — which equates to a hefty 65.75% upside from current prices.
- Citigroup researcher Michael Rollins (a top 11% rated analyst) doubled down on a Strong Buy rating after the company’s Q1 2025 earnings, and hiked his price target from $6 to $7.
- Financials performed “better” in Q1 “on the timing of interest expense and slower decommissioning of previously disclosed churn in Nigeria,” the analyst said, and IHS Holding’s underlying normalized organic growth was “fine.”
- Looking ahead, “Citigroup sees prospects for multiple expansion,” Rollins said.
- IHS Holding is currently the 5th highest rated stock in the Telecom industry, which has an Industry Rating of B.
- On the whole, IHS shares rank in the 96th percentile of the equities we track, giving them a Zen Rating of A.
- The stock ranks in the top 7% according to Momentum, which comes as little surprise once you factor in that it has seen a 62.57% increase in price in the past 365 days.
- However, IHS also ranks in the 94th percentile in terms of Artificial Intelligence — and, most importantly, in the top 1% of stocks when it comes to its Growth Component Grade rating. (See all 7 Zen Component Grades here >)
2. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: BCRX)
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals has been in business since 1986, and its primary claim to fame is the first and only once-daily treatment for a rare genetic condition. Wall Street seems to be confident in the company’s pipeline — analysts are quite bullish on BCRX, and our system ranks it quite highly in several categories.
Zen Rating: A (Strong Buy) — see full analysis >
Recent Price: $11.07 — get current quote >
Max 1-year forecast: $30.00
Why we’re watching:
- At present, 8 analysts issue ratings for BCRX shares. Of the 8, 2 rate them a Strong Buy, 5 rate them a Buy, and 1 analyst rates them a Hold. See the ratings
- The average 12-month price forecast for BCRX currently sits at $16.75, and implies a 51.72% upside from current prices.
- JP Morgan’s Jessica Fye (a top 6% rated analyst) recently doubled down on a Strong Buy rating and increased her price target from $10 to $13.
- In a similar vein, Serge Belanger of Needham (a top 5% rated analyst) reiterated a Buy rating and increased his price forecast from $15 to $17.
- Lastly (or rather, concurrently, as all of these updates came on the same day), Andrew Fein, a HC Wainwright & Co. researcher (and a top 7% rated analyst) reaffirmed a Buy rating with a Street-high price target of $30.
- For a better idea as to why analysts are so bullish, we have to take a closer look at the data that’s available to us.
- The biotech stock has a Zen Rating of A, and currently ranks in the top 4% of stocks based on an analysis of 115 proprietary factors.
- So, what are BCRX’s specific strengths? The stock ranks in the top 1% of the stocks we track in terms of Growth, but it also ranks in the top 19% in terms of Value and Artificial Intelligence. (See all 7 Zen Component Grades here >)
3. Gates Industrial (NYSE: GTES)
Founded 114 years ago and headquartered in Denver, Colorado, GTES is our second industrial machinery stock this week. Gates Industrial, which makes power transmission and fluid power solutions for a wide variety of industries, delivered a double beat in Q1 2025 — and the showing was good enough to warrant an upward revision from one of Wall Street’s best.
Zen Rating: A (Strong Buy) — see full analysis >
Recent Price: $22.15 — get current quote >
Max 1-year forecast: $26.00
Why we’re watching:
- Researchers are largely bullish on GTES shares — which currently have 5 Strong Buy ratings, 1 Buy rating, and 3 Hold ratings — with no Sell or Strong Sell ratings. See the ratings
- Gates Industrial is the 4th highest rated stock in the Specialty Industrial Machinery industry, which has an Industry Rating of B. In fact, it’s right ahead of one of our picks earlier this week, Regal Rexnord (NYSE: RRX).
- Julian Mitchell of Barclays (a top 1% rated analyst), the researcher we mentioned when we covered Regal Rexnord, also maintained a Strong Buy rating on GTES, and increased his price target from $22 to $23.
- As mentioned previously in our RRX entry, after reviewing results, the analyst concluded that the risk-reward profile for short-cycle industrial shares focusing on small or medium-caps is “more attractive now than going in.”
- GTES shares have a Zen Rating of A, and rank in the top 5% of the equities that we track.
- Our rating system has identified stock price stability, stable and predictable revenue flows, and predictable earnings as some of Gates Industrial’s biggest strengths — which have given it a place in the top 3% of stocks according to Safety. (See all 7 Zen Component Grades here >)
4. Penguin Solutions (NASDAQ: PENG)
An end-to-end provider of IT infrastructure, Penguin Solutions dabbles in everything from solid state drives and DRAM modules to LED lights. Dabbles might be underselling it, though — the $1 billion company has been in business since 1988. Semiconductor stocks are still in hot water — but this is the pick of the litter, and it’s currently trading at a steep discount.
Zen Rating: A (Strong Buy) — see full analysis >
Recent Price: $19.08 — get current quote >
Max 1-year forecast: $30.00
Why we’re watching:
- At present, 7 analysts issue ratings for Penguin Solutions stock — 4 have given it a Strong Buy rating, 2 have deemed it a Buy, and 1 analyst has given the stock a Hold rating.
- The average 12-month price forecast for PENG stands at $24.64, a figure that implies a hefty 29.16% upside from current prices.
- Rosenblatt researcher Kevin Cassidy (a top 6% rated analyst) recently maintained a Strong Buy rating on Penguin Solutions shares, and kept a $27 price target.
- In addition, Michael Ng of Goldman Sachs (a top 6% rated analyst) recently maintained a Strong Buy rating, but slashed his price target from $26 to $22.50.
- PENG is the top-rated stock in the entire Semiconductor industry.
- The stock currently carries an overall Zen Rating of A, and ranks in the top 3% of the more than 4,600 equities that we track.
- A lot of PENG’s appeal is down to its valuation — as it currently ranks in the top 4% of stocks in terms of Value.
- However, Penguin Solutions is no slouch when it comes to Growth either — as the stock ranks in the top 2% in this regard. (See all 7 Zen Component Grades here >)
5. Super Group (NYSE: SGHC)
The owner of online sports betting brands Betway and Spin ,Super Group Ltd is currently trading at a very attractive valuation — and Wall Street is projecting a significant upside in the next 12 months. SGHC depends on an asset-light, tech-driven model, and with a recent move to concentrate on core operations in the United States, there’s hope that the business can continue to scale in a cost-effective manner.
Zen Rating: A (Strong Buy) — see full analysis >
Recent Price: $8.28 — get current quote >
Max 1-year forecast: $12.00
Why we’re watching:
- A consensus Strong Buy, SGHC stock currently has 3 Strong Buy ratings, 2 Buy ratings, and 0 Hold, Sell, or Strong Sell ratings. See the ratings
- In addition, the average price target set by Wall Street analysts currently sits at $11 — which implies a 32.85% upside from current prices.
- SGHC is also currently the top-rated stock in the Gambling industry, which has an Industry Rating of A.
- Canaccord Genuity researcher Jason Tilchen (a top 24% rated analyst) recently maintained a Strong Buy rating on Super Group shares, and raised his price target from $11, in line with the average outlook, to a Street-high $12, which implies a 44.93% upside.
- Tilchen backgrounded that momentum in Africa has been a core growth driver for Super Group.
- Super Group stock currently has a Zen Rating of A — and it ranks in the top 1% of all equities based on a holistic analysis of 115 factors that correlate with outsized returns.
- SGHC’s strongest Component Grade rating is momentum — which comes as little surprise once you factor that it is up 32.06% on a year-to-date (YTD) basis, and a staggering 136.57% compared to this time last year.
- However, the stock also ranks highly in terms of Artificial Intelligence and Growth — in the 94th and 91st percentile, respectively.
- (See all 7 Zen Component Grades here >)
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What Makes a Stock Cheap?
What makes a stock cheap depends on your perspective and investment strategy.
Some investors may consider stocks under $30 (or any other number) cheap.
On the other hand, value investors would consider undervalued stocks cheap because they’re trading at a price under their intrinsic value — like the stocks on this list. But it depends on your chosen valuation metric.
One of the hardest parts of stock market investing? Choosing the right stocks.
WallStreetZen offers one of the top stock-picking services out there.
To find these stock picks, I used one of WallStreetZen’s preset stock screeners, Best Undervalued Stocks to Buy Now. But it’s not the only tool the platform has to offer. Not by a long shot.
WallStreetZen’s Top Analysts is our most frequently visited page — here’s why:
Other stock-picking services constantly brag about their winning stock picks — but fail to mention when they’re wrong.
Instead of providing direct picks, we built a service that aggregates the research and recommendations from nearly 4,000 Wall Street analysts — then backtests their performance over multiple years.
Based on this research, analysts are ranked based on average return, frequency of ratings, and win rate — so you can rest assured you’re only following top performers.
Summary: Cheap Best Stocks to Buy Now
In this list, we covered 5 of the best stocks to buy now cheap based on key valuation metrics, such as Discounted Cash Flow and price-to-earnings.
But, while these are potentially good investment candidates, they must be part of a balanced portfolio.
Make sure you understand the risks you take with small and micro-cap stocks as they tend to be much more volatile than larger companies.
For that reason, their performance is less predictable, so it’s wise to spread your bets rather than concentrate them on just a few companies.
And always remember, stocks can stay undervalued for a long time so you need an investment horizon of at least a few years. But that’s not to say that one of these stocks couldn’t surge tomorrow — anything can happen and understanding that is key!
Try out our screener to discover more of the best cheap stocks to buy right now.
FAQ:
What are the best cheap stocks to buy right now?
At writing, the best cheap stocks to buy right now based on analyst ratings include:
1. IHS Holding (NYSE: IHS)
2. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: BCRX)
3. Gates Industrial (NYSE: GTES)
4. Penguin Solutions (NASDAQ: PENG)
5. Super Group (NYSE: SGHC)
Where to Invest $1,000 Right Now?
Did you know that stocks rated as "Buy" by the Top Analysts in WallStreetZen's database beat the S&P500 by 98.4% last year?
Our June report reveals the 3 "Strong Buy" stocks that market-beating analysts predict will outperform over the next year.
