Best Cheap Stocks Under $10 to Buy Now in February

The S&P 500 is trading slightly below its all-time highs as it continues chopping around in the early months of 2026.

Despite all the noise and a recent wave of selling across software, AI, and beyond, Wall Street is showing resilience as the big money remains focused on massive projected earnings growth in 2026 and more rate cuts.

See the Zacks Earnings Calendar to stay ahead of market-moving news.

Of course, selling could begin again tomorrow, or we could see stocks rally higher.

In seemingly uncertain times, it’s best to remember a popular Peter Lynch quote: “Far more money has been lost by investors preparing for corrections, or trying to anticipate corrections, than has been lost in corrections themselves.”

This is why long-term investors are often well-served to continue buying strong stocks, especially if they know where to look.

One area of Wall Street that investors might want to consider buying into is best-in-class, cheap stocks trading under $10 a share.

On top of their cheap stock prices, the stocks we learn to find earn strong Zacks Ranks, driven by improving earnings outlooks. Wall Street is also very high on these cheap stocks trading for under $10 a share.

Penny Stocks

One dollar or less used to be the common threshold for what we call “penny stocks.” Today, the SEC has expanded penny stocks to securities that trade for less than $5 a share. Many investors avoid these stocks because they are speculative in nature.

Meanwhile, penny stocks often trade infrequently and hold wide bid/ask spreads. These stocks also carry many other traits that, in many cases, cause excessive volatility. With that said, some penny stocks perform incredibly well, which helps them remain attractive.

How to Find the Best Cheap Stocks Under $10 to Buy

Moving on, let’s briefly discuss the next class of cheap stocks. Stocks that trade in the $5 to $10 range are generally less risky than their penny stock counterparts. Investors might be more likely to have heard of these companies or seen the tickers. They are, however, still inherently more speculative than many other higher-priced stocks.

Investors can obviously find winning stocks for under $10 if they are extremely selective. So today, we narrowed the list of thousands of these more speculative stocks down to a more manageable group of $10 and under stocks that might help boost your portfolio.

Screen Parameters

• Price less than or equal to $10

• Volume greater than or equal to 1,000,000

• Zacks Rank less than or equal to 2

(No Holds, Sells or Strong Sells.)

• Average Broker Rating less than or equal to 3.5

(Average Broker Rating of a Hold or Better.)

• # of Analysts in Rating greater than or equal to 2

(Minimum of at least two analysts covering the stock.)

• % Change F1 Earnings Estimate Revisions -- 12 Weeks greater than or equal to 0

(Preferably upward earnings estimate revisions, but definitely no downward revisions.)

Here is one stock out of the 55 highly-ranked stocks trading under $10 a share that made it through the screen today…

Buy Surging Cheap Financial Stock ITUB Now Before it Breaks Out?

Itaú Unibanco ITUB is one of the largest private banks in Brazil and one of the biggest in Latin America. ITUB provides a full range of financial services, including retail and wholesale banking, loans, credit cards, investment products, insurance, asset management, and other services to individual and corporate clients primarily in Brazil, along with some international presence.

ITUB stock has soared 75% in the past year as its earnings and revenue growth surge. The stock is now on the verge of breaking out above the trading range it’s been stuck in for the past 20 years.

Itaú Unibanco is projected to grow its adjusted earnings by 18% in FY26 and another 10% next year on the back of 7% sales growth in both periods.

ITUB’s surging earnings revisions help it land a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) right now. On top of that,  Itaú Unibanco is part of the Banks – Foreign industry that ranks in the top 16% of roughly 250 Zacks industries. This is important since studies have shown that roughly half of a stock's price movement can be attributed to a stock's industry group. In fact, the top 50% of Zacks Ranked Industries outperforms the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.

Get the rest of the stocks on this list and start looking for the newest companies that fit these criteria. It's easy to do. And it could help you find your next big winner. Start screening for these companies today with a free trial to the Research Wizard. You can do it.

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Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.

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