The $10-50 price range often includes mid-sized businesses with proven track records and plenty of growth runway ahead. They also usually carry less risk than penny stocks, though they’re not immune to volatility as many lack the scale advantages of their larger peers.
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 are three stocks under $50 to avoid and some other investments you should consider instead.
Kraft Heinz (KHC)
Share Price: $24.03
The result of a 2015 mega-merger between Kraft and Heinz, Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ: KHC) is a packaged foods giant whose products span coffee to cheese to packaged meat.
Why Is KHC Risky?
- Falling unit sales over the past two years suggest it might have to lower prices to stimulate growth
- Sales are expected to decline once again over the next 12 months as it continues working through a challenging demand environment
- Inability to adjust its cost structure while its revenue declined over the last year led to a 25.2 percentage point drop in the company’s operating margin
Kraft Heinz is trading at $24.03 per share, or 11.8x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including KHC in your portfolio.
Affirm (AFRM)
Share Price: $51.65
Founded by PayPal co-founder Max Levchin with a mission to create honest financial products, Affirm (NASDAQ: AFRM) provides a payment network that allows consumers to make purchases and pay for them over time with transparent, flexible installment loans.
Why Does AFRM Worry Us?
- Negative return on equity shows that some of its growth strategies have backfired
- High net-debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 7× increases the risk of forced asset sales or dilutive financing if operational performance weakens
At $51.65 per share, Affirm trades at 14.6x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than AFRM.
WaFd Bank (WAFD)
Share Price: $33.30
Founded in 1917 and rebranded from Washington Federal in 2023, WaFd (NASDAQ: WAFD) is a bank holding company that provides lending, deposit services, and insurance through its Washington Federal Bank subsidiary across eight western states.
Why Do We Pass on WAFD?
- Net interest income trends were unexciting over the last five years as its 6.9% annual growth was below the typical banking firm
- 48.8 basis point (100 basis points = 1 percentage point) decline in its net interest margin over the last two years reflects the firm’s willingness to accept lower profitability to defend its market position
- Incremental sales over the last two years were much less profitable as its earnings per share fell by 8.9% annually while its revenue grew
WaFd Bank’s stock price of $33.30 implies a valuation ratio of 0.9x forward P/B. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why WAFD doesn’t pass our bar.
Stocks We Like 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 Growth Stocks for this month. 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.
