Since the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 have gained 6% and 10% year-to-date, now is the time to buy undervalued stocks under $20.
Investors are anticipating three rate cuts from a now dovish Federal Reserve, and even though GDP growth slowed down in Q1, corporate profits are strong, which is often a good sign of how healthy the market is.
Investors are happy because the economy is neither too hot (which may produce inflation and an overheated economy) nor too cold (which could bring a recession)—a Goldilocks state. This equilibrium boosts stock prices; Goldman Sachs predicts the S&P 500 will rise 6% to 4,700 in 2024.
In the middle of this, we will explore three undervalued stocks under $20, all with more than 50% upside.
The first competitor, a former mobile phone service giant, is making a strong return by shifting its focus to 5G technology. The second pick works in quantum computing, a niche area expected to expand by 33% in five years. The final stock is a key oil transportation provider, profiting from increased worldwide shipping costs.
Nokia (NOK)
Former mobile phone giant Nokia (NYSE:NOK) is a 5G contender, with a potential 60% upside from a $6 average price target versus the last close of $3.74.
Nokia plans to achieve a 13% operating margin by 2026 in its new company strategy and business goals. To streamline operations and focus on 5G, safety, and SaaS, Nokia will sell Lumine Group its Device Management and Service Management Platform businesses to improve efficiency for $203.1 million.
Nokia’s portfolio management is shown by its sale of VitalQIP technology to Cygna Labs Corp. and the adoption of Red Hat as its network app infrastructure. Nokia is also changing how Mobile Networks work to expand its business into O-RAN, Cloud RAN, and the military.
Patents are very important to Nokia because they protect its new ideas and keep the company ahead of the competition in the tech industry. On that note, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Samsung now have long-term technology license deals with Nokia, covering cars, media players, and consumer gadgets.
Regarding recent milestones, Nokia finished the first Cloud RAN test with In-Line acceleration for MEA, which improved mobile network technology. Additionally, Nokia and Zayo set a record for North America’s longest live network transfer distance at 800Gb/s.
Finally, Nokia is developing new products and revamping models, such as the Nokia 2660 Flip, which has new colors. It also hints at a 5G version for India, perhaps the Nokia G42 5G.
IonQ (IONQ)
Quantum computing play IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) is not profitable as of yet. However, considering the allure of quantum computing, a market expected to grow at 33% between 2024 and 2029, the market opportunity is tremendous, reflected by its “Strong Buy,” rating and 86% upside potential.
But the proof is in the pudding: IonQ reached 35 algorithmic qubits on its IonQ Forte platform, one year ahead of schedule, a major engineering milestone.
IonQ also took a big step toward building future quantum networks by adding to its technology skills. It’s working on adding optical interconnects to allow processing across quantum networks, which is very different from traditional setups, where work is split up among many separate cores and processors.
IonQ also revealed that the first specialized quantum computing production plant will open in the U.S. in Bothell, Washington. This is a big step toward making quantum computing available to the public.
Additionally, IonQ’s systems are now available on almost all major cloud platforms, such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud, and can accessed directly through APIs.
DHT Holdings (DHT)
DHT Holdings (NYSE:DHT) completes our list of undervalued stocks under $20, a large oil tanker firm potentially benefitting from global shipping price improvements.
Wall Street analysts rate DHT a “moderate buy,” with an average price goal of $19, implying 63% upside.
DHT Holdings predicted $50,900 per day from time charters in Q1 2024 in April. Its spot market and time charter VLCCs make $54,000 and $39,500 daily, respectively. Despite being lower than the spot market, the time charter rate provides steady income, but spot market charters illustrate strong demand.
Along with the $54,200 discharge-to-discharge rate, 42% of second-quarter 2024 spot days are booked. Spot and time-charter days—54% of possible earnings—are at $46,900 per day.
Geopolitical energy and transportation events benefit DHT Holdings. The oil produced worldwide could go down by 500,000 to 2 million barrels per day in a “small disruption” scenario, increasing DHT Holdings’ oil tanker demand.
Middle Eastern conflict has increased “ton-miles” (cargo volume and distance) by raising crude oil prices and road length. Very large crude carriers, or VLCCs, allow DHT’s tanker fleet to transport large amounts over long hauls during geopolitical tensions, boosting profits.
DHT Holdings will build four VLCCs in South Korea from April to December 2026, helping leverage increased demand and charter prices.
On the date of publication, Faizan Farooque did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.