Why cheap stocks are bad? (2024)

Why cheap stocks are bad?

A Risky Proposition

When it comes to risk, low-priced stocks possess high risk compared to high-priced stocks. The primary reason for low-priced stocks being highly risky is they are traded infrequently. They have been actively present in the stock market for a long time but may be performing poorly.

Potential risks of penny stocks

Lack of liquidity: Penny stocks are often illiquid, meaning it can be difficult to buy or sell your shares quickly without impacting the price. Unprofitable: Many penny stocks represent a stake in a company that has not and will not generate earnings for its shareholders.

When you buy $1 of stock, you become a part-owner of the company that issued the stock. This means that you have a claim on the company's assets and earnings, and you may receive dividends if the company is profitable. However, it also means that you are at risk of losing money if the company's stock price declines.

If you buy just a few shares, which could be all you can afford, you'll be holding a pittance of a position. But if you spend more to grab a larger stake, then your once-diversified portfolio may end up all skewed and out of balance.

It may seem like $100 isn't a lot of money to invest in the stock market. But over time, you can add to that total and grow your stake in a business. Investing even a small amount is a good way to at least get your feet wet and slowly gain some exposure to a stock without going all-in right away.

Sure, some penny stocks turned out to be massive success stories, like Apple, Ford Motor, and Monster Beverage. Find a similar success story like those top penny stocks, and you stand to make a fortune. However, you have to be willing to do the research to find them in a sea of duds.

In a best-case scenario, a penny stock has likely significantly underperformed the expectations of company management or it wouldn't be trading at such a low share price in the first place. These types of companies can always rebound, but an underperforming company isn't an ideal investment.

Penny stocks are legal, but they are often manipulated. Penny stocks get their name because of their low share price. Any stock trading below $5 a share is generally considered a penny stock.

Can the S&P 500 make you a millionaire?

As a result, the broad-market index has an excellent historical track record of generating wealth. Over its history, the S&P 500 has generated an average annual return of 9%, including re-invested dividends. At that rate, even a middle-class income is enough to become a millionaire over time.

Even $500 is more than enough, and it can grow to thousands of dollars if you pick a good investment and give it time. For example, had you invested $500 into the Vanguard Growth ETF (NYSEMKT: VUG) when it was created in 2004, you would have nearly $4,000 today.

Investing can help you turn your money into more money, even when you start small. A $1,000 investment—whether you pay down debt, invest in a robo-advisor, or get your 401(k) match—can help lay the foundation for a prosperous financial journey.

In short, the rise in Chipotle's shares is the result of the restaurant's opening new locations and growing revenue. The company opened 271 new locations in 2023 and reported $9.9 billion in revenue for the year, a 14.3% increase from 2022.

A Risky Proposition

Low-priced securities often are considered speculative investments, which you should only make with money that you can afford to lose. They tend to be volatile, and they trade in low volumes, which means they're subject to price fluctuations from even relatively small trades.

Historically, April, October, and November have been the best months to buy stocks, while September has shown the worst performance. Knowing when to hold or sell stocks depends on personal strategies, research, and confidence in the stock's potential for growth.

In conclusion, making an extra $100 a day is possible with some effort and creativity. You can start a blog, do freelance writing, complete online surveys, sell products online, drive for Uber or Lyft, rent out your home or space, sell photos online, or become a virtual assistant.

Reinvest Your Payments

The truth is that most investors won't have the money to generate $1,000 per month in dividends; not at first, anyway. Even if you find a market-beating series of investments that average 3% annual yield, you would still need $400,000 in up-front capital to hit your targets. And that's okay.

Your Retirement Savings If You Save $100 a Month in a 401(k)

If you're age 25 and have 40 years to save until retirement, depositing $100 a month into a savings account earning the current average U.S. interest rate of 0.42% APY would get you to just $52,367 in retirement savings — not great.

Before they made it big, Apple, Microsoft, Netflix, Nvidia, and Tesla all started as penny stocks. You could have bought stock for pennies and sold it for hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars per share. That's the dream for most penny stock investors.

What stocks have made people rich?

Some companies, such as Amazon (AMZN) originated as penny stocks but later grew into sizable blue-chip companies.

Penny stocks are a huge gamble. A casino might have better odds. Despite the short-term potential for gains, stick to a sustainably profitable approach by buying shares in proven companies with strong track records.

2 In 1999, Belfort and his associate Danny Porush were indicted for money laundering and securities fraud. Belfort pleaded guilty to fraud for the pump-and-dump schemes, which may have cost his investors as much as $200 million. He was sentenced to four years in prison. Ultimately, he served 22 months.