3 Stocks Under $10 with Questionable Fundamentals

Value stocks typically trade at discounts to the broader market, offering patient investors the opportunity to buy businesses when they’re out of favor. The key risk, however, is that these stocks are usually cheap for a reason – five cents for a piece of fruit may seem like a great deal until you find out it’s rotten.

Separating the winners from the value traps is a tough challenge, and that’s where StockStory comes in. Our job is to find you high-quality companies that will stand the test of time. Keeping that in mind, here are three value stocks climbing an uphill battle and some other investments you should look into instead.

Sprinklr (CXM)

Forward P/S Ratio: 2.7x

With a proprietary AI engine processing 450 million data points daily across 30+ digital channels, Sprinklr provides cloud-based software that helps large enterprises manage customer experiences across social, messaging, chat, and voice channels.

Why Should You Dump CXM?

• Average billings growth of 4% over the last year was subpar, suggesting it struggled to push its software and might have to lower prices to stimulate demand
• Estimated sales growth of 3.4% for the next 12 months implies demand will slow from its three-year trend
• Efficiency has decreased over the last year as its operating margin fell by 3.6 percentage points

At $8.66 per share, Sprinklr trades at 2.7x forward price-to-sales. To fully understand why you should be careful with CXM, check out our full research report (it’s free).

United Parcel Service (UPS)

Forward P/E Ratio: 12x

Trademarking its recognizable UPS Brown color, UPS offers package delivery, supply chain management, and freight forwarding services.

Why Do We Pass on UPS?

• Declining unit sales over the past two years show it’s struggled to increase its sales volumes and had to rely on price increases
• Performance over the past two years shows each sale was less profitable as its earnings per share dropped by 18.4% annually, worse than its revenue
• Waning returns on capital imply its previous profit engines are losing steam

United Parcel Service’s stock price of $87.79 implies a valuation ratio of 12x forward P/E. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why UPS doesn’t pass our bar.

Acadia Healthcare (ACHC)

Forward P/E Ratio: 8x

With a network of over 250 facilities serving patients in 38 states and Puerto Rico, Acadia Healthcare operates facilities providing mental health and substance use disorder treatment services across the United States.

Why Is ACHC Not Exciting?

• Underwhelming admissions over the past two years indicate demand is soft and that the company may need to revise its strategy
• Free cash flow margin dropped by 24.8 percentage points over the last five years, implying the company became more capital intensive as competition picked up
• Shrinking returns on capital from an already weak position reveal that neither previous nor ongoing investments are yielding the desired results

Acadia Healthcare is trading at $22.19 per share, or 8x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including ACHC in your portfolio.

High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions

Donald Trump’s April 2025 "Liberation Day" tariffs sent markets into a tailspin, but stocks have since rebounded strongly, proving that knee-jerk reactions often create the best buying opportunities.

The smart money is already positioning for the next leg up. Don’t miss out on the recovery - check out our Top 6 Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025).

Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Tecnoglass (+1,754% five-year return).

StockStory is growing and hiring equity analyst and marketing roles. Are you a 0 to 1 builder passionate about the markets and AI? See the open roles here.

Quarterly earnings results are a good time to check in on a company’s progress, especially compared to its peers in the same sector. Today we are looking at First Solar and the best and worst performers in the renewable energy industry.

Renewable energy companies are buoyed by the secular trend of green energy that is upending traditional power generation. Those who innovate and evolve with this dynamic market can win share while those who continue to rely on legacy technologies can see diminishing demand, which includes headwinds from increasing regulation against “dirty” energy. Additionally, these companies are at the whim of economic cycles, as interest rates can impact the willingness to invest in renewable energy projects.

The 15 renewable energy stocks we track reported a strong Q2. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 7.7% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.

Luckily, renewable energy stocks have performed well with share prices up 18.7% on average since the latest earnings results.

First Solar

Headquartered in Arizona, First Solar specializes in manufacturing solar panels and providing photovoltaic solar energy solutions.

First Solar reported revenues of $1.10 billion, up 8.6% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 4.9%. Overall, it was a strong quarter for the company with full-year revenue guidance exceeding analysts’ expectations and a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.

“In our view, the recent policy and trade developments have, on balance, strengthened First Solar’s relative position in the solar manufacturing industry,” said Mark Widmar, Chief Executive Officer.

Interestingly, the stock is up 13.9% since reporting and currently trades at $199.60.

We think First Solar is a good business, but is it a buy today? Read our full report here, it’s free.

Best Q2: Generac

With its name deriving from a combination of “generating” and “AC”, Generac offers generators and other power products for residential, industrial, and commercial use.

Generac reported revenues of $1.06 billion, up 6.3% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 3.4%. The business had an incredible quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 27.6% since reporting. It currently trades at $193.13.

Is now the time to buy Generac? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Weakest Q2: Blink Charging

One of the first EV charging companies to go public, Blink Charging is a manufacturer, owner, operator, and provider of electric vehicle charging equipment and networked EV charging services.

Blink Charging reported revenues of $28.67 million, down 13.8% year on year, exceeding analysts’ expectations by 35.2%. Still, it was a softer quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

Blink Charging delivered the biggest analyst estimates beat but had the slowest revenue growth in the group. As expected, the stock is down 2.9% since the results and currently trades at $1.

Read our full analysis of Blink Charging’s results here.

Fluence Energy

Pioneering the use of lithium-ion batteries for grid storage, Fluence helps store renewable energy sources with battery systems.

Fluence Energy reported revenues of $602.5 million, up 24.7% year on year. This result came in 21.1% below analysts' expectations. Taking a step back, it was still a strong quarter as it recorded a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

Fluence Energy had the weakest performance against analyst estimates and weakest full-year guidance update among its peers. The stock is down 18.2% since reporting and currently trades at $7.57.

Read our full, actionable report on Fluence Energy here, it’s free.

Shoals

Started in Huntsville, Alabama, Shoals designs and manufactures products that make solar energy systems work more efficiently.

Shoals reported revenues of $110.8 million, up 11.7% year on year. This number beat analysts’ expectations by 6.3%. Overall, it was an exceptional quarter as it also put up an impressive beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates and full-year revenue guidance exceeding analysts’ expectations.

The stock is up 26.9% since reporting and currently trades at $6.81.

Read our full, actionable report on Shoals here, it’s free.

Market Update

Thanks to the Fed’s rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has been on a steady path downward, easing back toward that 2% sweet spot. Fortunately (miraculously to some), all this tightening didn’t send the economy tumbling into a recession, so here we are, cautiously celebrating a soft landing. The cherry on top? Recent rate cuts (half a point in September 2024, a quarter in November) have propped up markets, especially after Trump’s November win lit a fire under major indices and sent them to all-time highs. However, there’s still plenty to ponder — tariffs, corporate tax cuts, and what 2025 might hold for the economy.

What Happened?

A number of stocks fell in the morning session after President Donald Trump announced his administration would not approve new solar or wind power projects, causing a sell-off in the renewable energy sector. The move came after President Donald Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, that "We will not approve wind or farmer destroying Solar," adding, "The days of stupidity are over in the USA!!!" This statement escalated his campaign against renewable energy development. The remarks prompted a sector-wide sell-off, pressuring solar and wind stocks broadly. Other renewable energy companies also saw their shares plummet following the announcement, reflecting investor concern over the future of green energy projects under his administration.

The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.

Among others, the following stocks were impacted:

• Renewable Energy company Blink Charging fell 3.3%. Is now the time to buy Blink Charging? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Renewable Energy company FuelCell Energy fell 3.3%. Is now the time to buy FuelCell Energy? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Renewable Energy company First Solar fell 6.7%. Is now the time to buy First Solar? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Renewable Energy company Nextracker fell 3.4%. Is now the time to buy Nextracker? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Renewable Energy company EVgo fell 3.7%. Is now the time to buy EVgo? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.

Zooming In On First Solar (FSLR)

First Solar’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 36 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 2 days ago when the stock dropped 4.9% on the news that investors took some profits off the table as markets awaited signals on future monetary policy from the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole symposium later in the week.

The downturn in the market was largely attributed to a significant sell-off in megacap tech and chipmaker shares. Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and Broadcom all saw notable drops, dragging down the VanEck Semiconductor ETF. Other major tech-related companies like Tesla, Meta Platforms, and Netflix were also under pressure.A key reason for this trend is that much of the recent market gains have been concentrated in the "AI trade," which includes these large technology and semiconductor companies. So this could also mean that some investors are locking in some gains ahead of more definitive feedback from the Fed.

First Solar is up 3.1% since the beginning of the year, but at $192.18 per share, it is still trading 24.9% below its 52-week high of $255.75 from September 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of First Solar’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $2,594.

What Happened?

Shares of solar energy systems company Shoals fell 6.8% in the afternoon session after President Donald Trump announced his administration would not approve new solar or wind power projects, causing a sell-off in the renewable energy sector.

The move came after President Donald Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, that "We will not approve wind or farmer destroying Solar," adding, "The days of stupidity are over in the USA!!!" This statement escalated his campaign against renewable energy development. The remarks prompted a sector-wide sell-off, pressuring solar and wind stocks broadly. Other renewable energy companies also saw their shares plummet following the announcement, reflecting investor concern over the future of green energy projects under his administration.

The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks. Is now the time to buy Shoals? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.

What Is The Market Telling Us

Shoals’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 62 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 3 days ago when the stock gained 9.7% after it announced the groundbreaking of a major solar and energy storage project in Australia. The company, in partnership with PCL Construction and Gentari, has started work on the Maryvale Solar and Energy Storage Project in New South Wales. This facility is notable for being one of Australia's largest DC-coupled solar and battery energy storage systems. It is expected to deliver approximately 243 MW of solar generation capacity, which will be paired with 172 MW of battery storage. This significant project highlights Shoals' expansion and leadership in providing key electrical systems for the global energy transition market. The positive development was also complemented by recent analyst optimism, with Guggenheim recently raising its price target on the stock from $6.00 to $8.00.

Shoals is down 4.4% since the beginning of the year, and at $5.79 per share, it is trading 11% below its 52-week high of $6.50 from September 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Shoals’s shares at the IPO in January 2021 would now be looking at an investment worth $186.73.