CRDO - Speculative Standouts: 7 'Strong Buy' Stocks to Snag for Under $20

2024-04-30 06:00:00 ET

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While speculative ideas are inherently treacherous, if you are going to take the risk, you might as well do so with strong buy stocks for under $20.

First, the low price of the securities could potentially give you greater leverage should positive news lift the target enterprises. Here, the law of small numbers can be your friend. Relatively speaking, it doesn’t take much for a “cheap” stock to move higher (though the opposite is also true).

Second, analysts aren’t about to blow up their professional reputation on complete garbage. That doesn’t guarantee upside but there are greater assurances that these endorsements are more than just kicks and giggles. With that, here are strong buy stocks for under $20 that speculators may consider.

Sonos (SONO)

Operating under the consumer electronics category, Sonos (NASDAQ: SONO ) designs, develops, manufactures and sells audio products and services. Per its public profile , the company offers wireless, portable and home theater speakers. In addition, it provides related components and accessories. Right now, experts rate shares a consensus strong buy with a $29.52 average price target, implying 74% upside potential.

Notably, the most optimistic price target stands at $55, which implies 224% upside potential from Friday’s close. At first glance, Sonos doesn’t seem particularly enticing. Projections for fiscal 2024 revenue sits at $1.65 billion. That’s slightly lower than last year’s tally of $1.66 billion. However, all eyes appear to be on the target for earnings per share.

Experts believe that EPS will reach 25 cents. If so, that would be a dramatic change of pace from 2023’s loss per share of 8 cents. Further, fiscal 2025 could see revenue rise to $1.78 billion on average, with a high-side target of $1.83 billion. It’s worth keeping on your radar of strong buy stocks for under $20.

Credo Technology (CRDO)

Based in San Jose, California, Credo Technology (NASDAQ: CRDO ) conducts operations in the communication equipment field. Its corporate profile states that it provides various high-speed connectivity solutions for optical and electrical ethernet applications in multiple international markets. Out of eight expert voices, seven of them rate shares a buy . The average price target comes out to $27.38, implying almost 48% upside potential.

Fundamentally, CRDO ranks among the strong buy stocks for under $20 due to the relevance of the underlying industry. According to The Insight Partners, the high-speed connector market size may reach a valuation of $7.95 billion by 2031. If so, that would represent a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.2% from 2023.

It’s a risky idea. However, analysts anticipate gradual improvement in fiscal 2024, with EPS coming in at 7 cents. That’s up from last year’s result of five cents. Further, revenue could rise 4.5% to $192.53 million. Still, the big target is fiscal 2025’s projected revenue of $303.96 million. For this reason, CRDO could be one of the top strong buy stocks for under $20.

TAL Education (TAL)

Headquartered in Beijing, China, TAL Education (NYSE: TAL ) provides after-school tutoring services in its home market. According to its public profile , TAL offers tutoring services to K-12 students covering various academic subjects, including math, the sciences and English. Notably, analysts rate shares a unanimous strong buy with a $14.80 price target. This implies over 10% upside potential.

Fundamentally, education is a huge deal in China so it’s no surprise that such businesses have sprouted. Now, it must be said that the financial performance is spotty. For example, in the quarter ended Nov. 30, 2023, TAL only mustered break even for earnings. However, analysts anticipated EPS to reach 2 cents. On the other hand, Q1 2024’s EPS was 8 cents, well above the consensus view of 2 cents.

For the current fiscal year, experts anticipate big growth, with sales possibly reaching $1.85 billion. That would be up 23.6% from the prior year’s tally of $1.5 billion. Therefore, TAL should be on your radar for strong buy stocks for under $20.

Zeta Global (ZETA)

Operating under the application software category, Zeta Global (NYSE: ZETA ) operates an omnichannel data-driven cloud platform. It provides its enterprise-level clients with consumer intelligence and marketing automation software. ZETA is notable because it carries a unanimous strong buy view . Further, the average price target comes in at $14.69, implying 14% growth potential. The high-side target hits $17.

Notably, over the past 52 weeks, ZETA gained nearly 33% of equity value. In the past six months, shares swung up more than 70%. Anticipation runs hot for a solid performance in 2024. Specifically, experts anticipate that EPS will reach 52 cents, up noticeably from last year’s print of 37 cents. On the top line, revenue could hit $874.91 million, up 20.1% from 2023’s haul of $728.72 million.

Even better, experts see fiscal 2025 as the point when Zeta will breach the $1 billion mark in revenue – $1.02 billion to be exact. Plus, the most optimistic sales forecast calls for $1.05 billion. With so much enthusiasm in place, ZETA represents one of the strong buy stocks for under $20.

Backblaze (BLZE)

Conducting business in the infrastructure software industry, Backblaze (NASDAQ: BLZE ) is a storage cloud platfo rm. It provides businesses and consumers with cloud services to store, use and protect dat a. Analysts rate BLZE stock a unanimous strong buy with a $13.63 average price target, implying over 46% upside potential. Moreover, the high-side target is $18, almost double the current price.

In fairness, Backblaze’s financial performance has been everywhere since the last fiscal year. For example, in Q1 and Q3, the company’s bottom-line misses averaged 17.6%. However, it ended 2023 on a positive, yielding a loss per share of 30 cents, better than the expected loss of 37 cents.

For the current fiscal year, experts see the red ink amount to $1.01, an improvement over last year’s loss of $1.63. However, the star of the show is the projected revenue of $127.04 million. That would be up 24.5% on a year-over-year basis. As well, fiscal 2025 sales could hit $148.56 million. Thus, BLZE is a speculative but intriguing candidate for strong buy stocks for under $20.

SkyWater Technology (SKYT)

Working its magic in the semiconductor arena, SkyWater Technology (NASDAQ: SKYT ) operates as a pure-play technology foundry. It engages in the provision of semiconductor development, manufacturing and packaging services in the U.S. Another enticing opportunity, SKYT has attracted a unanimous strong buy rating with a $15 average price target. This implies 54% upside potential, with the most optimistic target reaching $16.

Financially, SkyWater has been mostly consistent last year. The one speed bump occurred in Q2, when its loss per share of 14 cents exceeded expectations calling for only 11 cents in the red. On average, though, the company kept its losses favorably below forecast. Mathematically, the average quarterly surprise came out to 46.2%.

For the current fiscal year, analysts are looking for EPS of seven cents, a big shift from last year’s loss of 17 cents. Also, revenue could land at $330.73 million, up 15.4% from 2023’s tally of $286.68 million. For smart speculators, SKYT is one of the strong buy stocks for under $20.

Viant Technology (DSP)

Another enterprise working in the application software field, Viant Technology (NASDAQ: DSP ) is an advertising technology company. Per its corporate profile, Viant offers an advertising solution that reduces or even eliminates the need for cookies . Analysts rate shares a consensus strong buy with an $11.50 average price target, implying 38% upside potential. The high-side target goes to $12.

Fundamentally, Viant delivers two solutions in one: helping its clients expand their business profile while also doing it without being overly intrusive. With cookies representing a controversial topic amid the backdrop of greater demand for internet privacy, Viant could be a surprisingly robust bet among strong buy stocks for under $20.

What’s more, Viant has been performing much better than expected. In fiscal 2023, its average quarterly surprise came out to 82.55%. For the current year, analysts are targeting EPS of 2 cents, a far cry from last year’s loss per share of 23 cents. Also, revenue could hit $257.09 million, up 15.3% year-over-year. Given the 22% market loss in the trailing month, DSP could be a relative discount.

On the date of publication, Josh Enomoto 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 .

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