Everyone wants to find the best cheap large-cap stocks. Those can be veritable gold mines in your investment portfolio because of their raw potential.
Large-cap stocks are popular because they represent companies that already had a lot of success. You don’t get to be a large-cap stock unless your company generates tremendous investor interest, which usually pays off on the balance sheet.
But finding cheap stocks can be a little more complicated. By cheap, I don’t mean the number of dollars and cents you need to pick up one or 100 shares.
Cheap stocks refer to the value of a stock being less than it should be. When you find cheap large-cap stocks, you want to move quickly because the names on this list are already moving higher.
You can identify cheap large-cap stocks by looking at metrics such as price-to-earnings ratio or price-to-book ratio. The P/E ratio measures a stock’s valuation in relation to the company’s earnings, while the P/B ratio compares the stock price and the company’s net worth.
Just don’t forget to check the Portfolio Grader before you buy. You’ll want to ensure that your cheap large-cap stocks also have a good grade. Here are seven with solid ratings now.
Ferrari (RACE)
The Italian maker of supercars and sports cars is racing up the list of my favorite automotive stocks. Because while most people like to focus on one or two U.S.-based automotive stocks, Ferrari (NYSE:RACE) is quietly having a heck of a year.
In 2023 Ferrari put up significant gains, up 38% so far. Its earnings report for Q1 was 20% better than a year ago, with earnings of $1.43 billion, or $1.62 per share.
Shipments in the first quarter were up 10% as well, as Ferrari began shipping its new high-performance sports car, the Roma Spider.
Ferrari added nearly more than $20 billion in market cap over the last year. And despite the gains in stock price, analysts are bullish on RACE going even higher; Barclays, RBC Capital, UBS and JPMorgan raised their price targets recently for Ferrari stock.
RACE has an “A” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
Nvidia (NVDA)
Let’s turn to Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA). And yes, we’re still talking about cheap large-cap stocks. But remember, cheap in this context is based on what the stock should or will trade for soon.
And by that calculation, Nvidia is still a cheap large-cap stock, despite its massive move higher this spring thanks to advances in artificial intelligence that are pushing NVDA to the moon.
Nvidia stock is up 165% this year, including a 25% gain since May 24. That late surge was powered by its exposure to AI and shocking guidance for the second quarter. Nvidia was expected to guide for revenue of $7.2 billion for the second quarter.
NVDA now says it expects $11 billion in sales thanks to increased demand from computing and generative AI end users.
The gain pushed Nvidia briefly over $400 per share and allowed it to touch a $1 trillion valuation. And even though it’s pulled back a little since then, I firmly believe Nvidia is off to the races.
NVDA stock has an “A” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
Oracle (ORCL)
Computing company Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) could be the poster child for cheap large-cap stocks. The company has been on a roll this year, gaining about 30% and putting up solid numbers.
Revenue of $4.1 billion in the first quarter was 45% better than a year ago for Oracle, which provides cloud services, software development tools, data management and business application tools.
But what makes Oracle cheap is its P/E of only 17. Anything under 20 is a good number, but a P/E of 17 is outstanding when dealing with an established company still putting up solid growth figures.
Jeffries analyst Brent Thill raised his price target on ORCL stock from $105 to $125 while maintaining a “buy” rating. That shows another 16% runaway for ORCL stock, which gets an “A” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
Netflix (NFLX)
After a rocky 2022, streaming services company Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) appears to be back in the game. NFLX is up 35% this year, powered by a massive 23% jump last month.
The boost in Netflix stock seems to be investor appreciation because Netflix increased its revenue. After years of winking and turning the other cheek, Netflix is finally cracking down on password sharing to monetize its accounts.
Yes, you can still share your Netflix account with someone who doesn’t live in your household, but now it will cost an extra $8 monthly.
That’s a significant and needed revenue stream as Netflix is working on generating original content to compete with a wave of streaming services that popped up over the last few years.
Netflix says 100 million people worldwide, or 43% of its user base, share passwords. That’s a lot of money that Netflix aims to recoup.
NFLX stock has an “A” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
First Solar (FSLR)
Solar energy powerhouse First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) has been one of my favorite green energy stocks for a while now. The company hits a lot of sweet spots for investors.
It’s a bet on AI and semiconductors because of the high-tech photovoltaic solar panels that First Solar uses. It profits from subsidies from Washington via the Inflation Reduction Act that incentivizes communities and businesses to adapt to solar energy.
And by any measurement, it’s still a cheap stock. FSLR has a P/B ratio of less than 4 and a P/E of only 25 – which is acceptable for any company growing as fast as First Solar.
How fast is it growing? Earnings in Q1 were 49.4% better than a year ago, at $548.3 million.
FSLR stock has an “A” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
MercadoLibre (MELI)
MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) is growing like gangbusters as well. Up 50% so far this year, MercadoLibre’s consumer-to-consumer online platform lets people buy and sell massive amounts of merchandise, more than 300 million items in the first quarter.
But MELI has a lot more going for it than just e-commerce. MercadoLibre offers payment solutions to people who choose not to use traditional banks; it operates a shipping business and a loan division.
Yes, it has a ridiculously high P/E and P/B ratio. But then you check out the increase in net income– up to $201 million last quarter from $65 million in 2022. And it has a price-to-sales ratio of less than 6, which makes MELI a lot more enticing.
MercadoLibre stock has an “A” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
Super Micro Computer (SMCI)
Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:SMCI) sells server systems, motherboards, power supplies and networking equipment. The stock is having an exceptional year, up nearly 30% in 2023.
In the company’s fiscal third quarter, revenue was $1.28 billion, with earnings per share of $1.63. But the company’s guidance for a significant increase for its fiscal Q4, with revenue of $1.8 billion and EPS of $2.46.
Part of that you can attribute to the growing interest in AI. Super Micro Computer uses AI, edge computing and 5G technologies to build networking and computer solutions for its customers. Northland analysts said Super Micro is “aligned with the AI megatrend” in raising the firm’s price target on SMCI stock.
SMCI has an attractive trailing P/E ratio of 21 and a P/B ratio of only 6. It has an “A” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
On the date of publication, Louis Navellier had a long position in NVDA, FSLR and SMCI. Louis Navellier did not have (either directly or indirectly) any other positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
The InvestorPlace Research Staff member primarily responsible for this article did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
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