We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Stocks Under $50 to Buy Right Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) stands against the other stocks.

From a certain perspective, domestic equities are off to a strong start this year. Despite a large selloff on February 21, the S&P 500 has gained a healthy 2.2% in less than two months, and the Nasdaq Composite and Dow Jones Industrial Average are not far behind. If they can keep this momentum going, they're probably in for another successful year. Looking at the market in detail however, US stock indexes appear to be riding the coattails of the significant lead they built up after Trump's election on November 5 last year, much unlike their overseas competitors. According to JPMorgan, the relative underperformance of US stocks this year represents a 10% - 20% reversal of the pro-US investment pattern seen from April 2023 until the end of last year. Furthermore, the current excitement around Chinese AI firm DeepSeek has caused investors to reconsider US equity values, making Chinese tech stocks more tempting in the short term.

Inflation expectations have also risen, with the one-year projected inflation rate for US consumers rising to 4.3% in February from 3.3% in January. This increase in inflation expectations, along with a slowing economy, has sparked fears about stagflation, which is characterized as stalled growth and rising prices. According to a Bank of America poll of global fund managers published on February 18, the number of investors expecting stagflation in the coming year has hit a seven-month high. At the same time, investors remained bullish on stocks, perceiving a trade war as a low-probability risk.

However, it would be foolish to rule out US stocks completely, given that US shares outperformed their international counterparts from the 2008 financial crisis to the end of 2024. Although international markets appear to be the hot place to be right now, analysts have much to like about US equities, particularly as S&P 500 companies report their most profitable quarter in years, with Wall Street projecting double-digit profit growth this year. According to Richard Ward, Chief Investment Officer of Curated Wealth Partners, overseas companies have performed better recently because stock pickers are seeking for bargains, not because of their fundamentals. Ward believes that investors should stay in US markets and look towards lower-cost sectors such as small caps and financials instead. He added:

"The US is the best place to be because we continue to benefit from innovation and a healthier economy."

Our Methodology

For this list, we made use of stock screeners to note down companies with stocks that are trading at less than $50 per share. These companies were then narrowed down based on their popularity among hedge funds. The stocks on this list are ranked in ascending order based on hedge fund sentiment around them, as of Q4 2024.

Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).

A medical technician wearing protective gloves and a mask mixing a biopharmaceutical solution.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Share Price as of February 20: $25.89

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 92

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) is a leading global pharmaceutical company that researches, manufactures, and markets prescription drugs, vaccines, and consumer healthcare products, with a focus on treatments for a wide variety of medical problems, from common illnesses to uncommon disorders.

On February 11, Jefferies analyst Akash Tewari raised the price target for Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) from $33 to $34, while maintaining a Buy rating on the company. The change followed the publication of Pfizer's abstract on mevrometostat (EZH2i) at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Genitourinary (ASCO GU) meeting. Tewari stated that the newly revealed findings may have good implications for Pfizer's current Phase 3 studies in both post-abiraterone and first-line metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) situations.

Overall PFE ranks 2nd on our list of the stocks under $50 to buy right now. While we acknowledge the potential of PFE as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that certain AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than PFE but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

 

READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and Complete List of 59 AI Companies Under $2 Billion in Market Cap.

 

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.