Cheap stocks offer the possibility of spectacular profits in a short time. But you have to know where to look. Institutions sometimes fail at this – and it can work to your advantage.

The best cheap stocks today have fallen to to prices that scream “buy” when you look at their fundamentals. And the fact that the smart money hasn’t yet caught on could mean huge gains later.

We see these cheap stock gains now and then. Just last year, a penny stock called Blink Charging Co. (NASDAQ: BLNK) jumped 4,290%, from $1.25 to $56.12 after EV stocks started getting attention in 2020.

These stocks probably won’t gain 1,000% or more. But they all have the type of growth potential to eventually attract the institutional money and double or triple the stock price.

Here are our best cheap stocks buy now.

A Cheap Stock with Rapid Growth Potential

VirTra Inc. (NASDAQ: VTSI) provides force training simulators, firearms training simulators, and driving simulators for law enforcement, military, educational, and commercial markets worldwide.

It helps law enforcement officers learn the best course of action during high-stress events. Using realistic simulations, officers develop skills to handle situations officers will encounter while executing their duties.

It also offers simulators that help the military prepare for a wide range of possible developments in a combat situation. Its combat simulation system is used by elite special forces, federal law enforcement agencies, and military contractors in 32 countries worldwide.

Customers in law enforcement and the military alike are huge fans of VirTra’s training simulators. As a result, the company has a 95% customer retention rate.

Analysts expect the company to grow earnings at a blistering 40% annual pace for the next five years. If VirTra comes anywhere near that level of growth, this stock should easily be worth five times or more than the current price.

But this next cheap stock could more likely double your money…

This Medical Stock Commands Its Niche

Sharps Compliance Corp. (NASDAQ: SMED) is a medical waste management business.

It picks all these little containers that you see at doctors’ offices labeled “sharps” and “biohazard” and properly disposes of them. It collects sharps (needles, scalpels, and other sharp objects that have been contaminated), regulated medical waste, universal waste, and unused medications.

Sharps’s core customers are not the big hospitals. Medical care is shifting toward pharmacies and urgent care facilities along with in-office care and home healthcare. Those are the areas where Sharps has focused since it started back in 1992.

Sharps services 69% of the retail pharmacies in the United States offering vaccination services.

Along with its route-based collection service, Sharps now offers the industry-leading mail-back service for offices that generate smaller amounts of medical waste.

The route-based medical waste collection business focuses on areas with dense populations and includes about 80% of the United States.

It has two large autoclaves to sterilize medical waste to dispose of it. And it has one of just 10 permitted medical waste incinerators to dispose of the waste after it is picked up or mailed in. So, scarcity is on its side.

Sharps is also offering programs to collect and destroy unneeded or expired prescriptions. The potential market for disposing of the 250 million pounds of unused prescription drugs is over $1 billion. Sharps expects to be a big player in this fast-growing segment of the medical waste market.

It installs its MedSafe collection boxes in pharmacies, long-term care facilities, law enforcement stations, and narcotic treatment centers.

Medical Waste is an enormous and growing industry, and Sharps is steadily growing its market share. The analysts expect this company to grow by over 20% annually for the next five years. This type of earnings growth could easily drive the stock to more than three times the current depressed level.

The average analyst projection for this stock is $20.40 from today’s $9.40. That’s potential for a 112% gain if you buy today.

Now, here’s the cheap stock today with the highest growth potential…

The Best Cheap Stock to Buy Now

Root Inc. (NASDAQ: ROOT) is the Columbus, Ohio-based insurance company working to digitally transform the insurance industry. It describes itself as a technology company that just happens to sell insurance.

Root uses technology, including big data analytics and artificial intelligence, to manage its insurance platform. First, it uses data to price the policy according to the risk levels found in the data. Then, when a claim is filed, it uses the data to determine who was at fault and assess the damages.

It also uses artificial intelligence to determine if it has subrogation claims against another insurance company in the event of an accident. If Root pays out a claim when the other driver is at fault, it can get its money back from the other driver’s insurance company by filing a subrogation claim.

Root is now licensed to write auto insurance in 50 states and is working on getting approvals in Florida and Massachusetts to expand coverage to the entire country.

Analysts are projecting that ROOT can grow by as much as 37% over the next five years, which should make the stock worth two to three times the current price.

The high analyst target for this stock is $30 from today’s $7.96. That’s a 276% pop.

— Money Morning Staff

Source: Money Morning