7 A-Rated Stocks to Buy for Less Than $25

The overall stock market may be demonstrating resilience, but as uncertainty continues to run high, stocks have only made a modest, partial recovery. However, this works to your advantage, as many stocks remain at low prices, including the best stocks to buy for less than $25 per share.

Although investors are starting to wager on a 2023 pivot on interest rates by the Federal Reserve, inflation remains at multi-decade highs. The Fed could still decide to keep raising rates until inflation starts to ease. With this, there may be a round or two of additional volatility before the bull market returns.

Yet if you focus on high-quality lower-priced stocks, this isn’t a major concern. These names can handle additional volatility. Some of these could perform strongly with secular growth catalysts even if the overall stock market stays in a slump throughout the year.

So, what are the best stocks to buy for less than $25 per share? Consider these seven. Each one earns an A rating in Portfolio Grader.

Ares Acquisition (AAC)

Ares Acquisition (NYSE:AAC) is a special purpose acquisition company. The “SPAC bubble” has long since passed, but while these types of stocks are no longer the subject of speculative frenzy, Ares is a promising opportunity because of its recently-announced acquisition target.

Back in December, Ares announced plans to acquire X Energy Reactor Company and take it public. Although currently an early-stage enterprise, X Energy may have a massive growth runway in the decades to come.

As a developer of small modular reactors X Energy may be poised to capitalize on growing renewed interest in nuclear energy.

According to the company’s investor presentation detailing the pending deal, SMRs could be a trillion-dollar industry by 2050. With SPACs currently out of favor, you can pick up A-rated AAC stock at just over its initial offering price of $10 per share.

Armada Acquisition (AACI)

Armada Acquisition (NASDAQ:AACI) is another SPAC with a pending merger, albeit one that was announced all the way back in 2021. Armada still plans to close on its merger with e-commerce software company Rezolve. At present, AACI has a deadline to consummate the transaction by Feb. 17.

Sure, this deadline could yet again be extended, but given how AACI stock has perked up in recent weeks (back above its $10 per share original SPAC price), the market seems to be placing its bets that the deal will soon close.

Even as growth has cooled since the relaxation of Covid restrictions, the e-commerce megatrend isn’t going away. This points to Rezolve continuing to grow in the year ahead, especially as current economic headwinds subside. With all this in mind, consider AACI another one of the best A-rated stocks to buy under $25 per share.

ABG Acquisition (ABGI)

Unlike the two SPACs mentioned above, ABG Acquisition (NASDAQ:ABGI) still hasn’t found a merger partner.

ABGI stock shareholders will vote next month, to decide whether to amend this blank-check company’s articles of association to give its sponsors more time to find a suitable merger partner.

If shareholders decide not to amend, ABGI will likely proceed with redeeming its common shares, when the in-place deal consummation due date arrives on Feb. 19.

Given that it may soon liquidate, what makes ABGI an A-rated opportunity? Consider this a sort of asymmetric wager. With a redemption price of $10.05 per share and a stock price of $10.14 per share, there is little downside risk. On the flip side, if shareholders vote for the extension, ABG could soon lock down a worthy merger partner.

Ace Global Business Acquisition (ACBA)

Ace Global Business Acquisition (NASDAQ:ACBA) announced its plans to merge with LE Worldwide on Dec. 23.

LE Worldwide is a producer of consumer and commercial LED lighting products. Admittedly, this SPAC’s merger target may sound less exciting than Ares’ and Armada’s acquisition targets.

However, there may be substantial growth potential with LE Worldwide. Per the deal announcement, the company’s products are used in areas such as greenhouse farming and the internet of things (or IoT), along with smart city projects. All of these are fast-growing industries, which could in turn pave the way for high growth for LE.

Although this transaction is months away (at the least) from consummation, you may want to take the opportunity to grab this A-rated stock. Shares have been trending higher since the merger news and could stay on their current trajectory in the lead-up to the deal close.

Ardelyx (ARDX)

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) has been on a tear lately. In the past month alone, this stock has rallied by more than 76.4%, and for a good reason. This biotech firm has made major progress in bringing its flagship drug candidate, kidney disease treatment tenapanor (branded as Xphozah) to market.

As InvestorPlace’s Ian Cooper recently discussed, a panel from the Food and Drug Administration has recommended approval for this drug. There is now a very high chance of obtaining full regulatory approval in the United States.

This drug could improve the lives of over half a million, and provide a tremendous financial payoff for the company.

Last April, analysts at Piper Sandler forecasted that Xphozah could generate around $800 million in sales within five years of its launch. Achieving this would likely send A-rated ARDX stock to even higher prices over a multi-year timeframe.

Geron (GERN)

Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) is another biotech play that is one of the best stocks to buy under $25 per share. Even as GERN has taken off since December, more runway may lie ahead as the result of its flagship drug candidate, Imetelstat.

As I discussed back in September, when I last wrote about GERN stock, the company has two active clinical trials for this drug. Earlier this month, Geron announced that, in one of these two trials, Imetelstat demonstrated positive results for patients with lower-risk myelodysplastic syndromes, or MDS.

Geron’s other active Phase 3 clinical trial is testing Imetelstat’s effectiveness in treating refractory myelofibrosis. If the trial data from this study shows similarly-positive findings, the company’s prospects of reaching the commercialization stage will keep climbing.

Forecasts call for peak annual sales of $1.2 billion for this drug. GERN stock earns an A rating in Portfolio Grader.

Voyager Therapeutics (VYGR)

Voyager Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VYGR) is a developer of gene therapies. More than doubling in price during 2022, the company’s shares have continued to fly high thus far in 2023.

VYGR stock has rallied more than 52% since the first trading day of the year, thanks to some game-changing news. On Jan. 9, the biotech firm announced that it has licensed the worldwide rights to its GBA1 gene therapy program to Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX). In exchange, Neurocrine will provide $175 million in upfront consideration.

Add in milestone payments and tiered royalties along with program funding, and Voyager could receive up to $1.5 billion from this partnership. Not too shabby, when you consider VYGR has a market cap of only $356.7 million.

That’s not all. This A-rated biotech stock has other catalysts on tap, as the company keeps working on gene therapies tackling a variety of diseases, including Alzheimer’s.

On the date of publication, neither Louis Navellier nor the InvestorPlace Research Staff member primarily responsible for this article held (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.