Cheap Stocks: Stocks Selling Below Cash per Share with No Debt

by Fred Fuld III

If you are looking for a stock that has limited downside, it is hard to beat a stock that is trading at a price below the amount of cash it has per share, and on top of that, has little or no debt. 

If a debt free company is selling below its cash per share, and if the company were to go out of business today, assuming all the company’s assets are completely worthless except for the cash, then an investor would have a guaranteed profit.

This biggest problem with these below-cash stocks is that sometimes corporate spending can deplete cash very quickly.

There are actually a few companies that all into this category, in spite of the fact that the stock market is trading near an all time high.

LendingClub Corp. (LC), which provides an online marketplace that facilitates loans to borrowers and investments, is trading at a 27$ discount to cash per share.

LendingClub is a financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 2007 and is the first peer-to-peer lender to register its offerings as securities with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and to offer loan trading on a secondary market.

Today, LendingClub is more than just a peer-to-peer lender. It is a full-spectrum fintech marketplace bank that offers a variety of financial products and services to its members, including:

  • Personal loans: LendingClub offers personal loans for a variety of purposes, such as debt consolidation, home improvement, and medical expenses.
  • Savings accounts: LendingClub offers high-yield savings accounts with competitive interest rates.
  • Certificates of deposit (CDs): LendingClub offers CDs with a variety of terms and interest rates.
  • Checking accounts: LendingClub offers checking accounts with features such as mobile banking and bill pay.
  • Business loans: LendingClub offers small business loans for a variety of purposes, such as working capital, expansion, and equipment financing.
  • Auto refinance loans: LendingClub offers auto refinance loans to help borrowers lower their interest rates and monthly payments.
  • Patient solutions: LendingClub offers patient solutions to help borrowers with medical bills.
  • K-12 education loans: LendingClub offers K-12 education loans to help parents finance their children’s education.

As of December 31, 2023, the company had over 4.7 million members and had originated over $80 billion in loans.

The stock is selling at a 24% discount to its book value, and has an excellent price to sales ratio of 0.75.

This $946 million market cap company has a trailing price to earnings ratio of 24 and a forward P/E of 10. Earnings per share growth next year is anticipated to be 270.66%.

American Well Corp. (AMWL), which provides online healthcare services, is trading at an amazing 24% discount to its cash per share, and the amount of long term debt being very low. The market capitalization is $316 million.

American Well Corp., operating as Amwell, is a leading company in the telemedicine field, headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. They connect patients with doctors through secure video consultations, offering a convenient and flexible alternative to traditional in-person visits. Amwell primarily operates through two arms:

  1. Platform solutions: They provide a subscription-based platform to healthcare providers, enabling them to offer telehealth services to their patients. This includes features like scheduling, video conferencing, and electronic health record integration.
  2. Direct-to-consumer services: Through their Amwell Medical Group, patients can connect with licensed doctors directly for various non-emergency concerns,receiving diagnoses, prescriptions, and referrals if needed.

Amwell boasts a vast network, partnering with 55 health plans, 240 health systems, and over 40,000 providers, reaching millions of patients across the US. They also offer specialty consultations, chronic condition management programs, and are continuously expanding their services in this ever-evolving healthcare landscape.

The company has $538 million in cash, yet only $11.8 million in long term debt.

The stock has a reasonable price to sales ratio of 1.18 and an excellent price to book value of 0.63. Unfortunately, the company has been generating negative earnings.

NET Power, Inc. (NPWR), a $596 million market cap company, is a provider of clean energy technology.

Net Power Inc. is a clean energy technology company aiming to revolutionize power generation with their “energy trifecta”: clean, reliable, and low-cost energy. Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, they focus on natural gas as a fuel source while capturing and sequestering the resulting CO2 emissions.

Their key innovation lies in the NET Power Cycle, an oxy-combustion process that combusts natural gas with pure oxygen. This unique method captures over 97% of carbon dioxide at the source, significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional methods. Additionally, the captured CO2 can be used for industrial purposes or safely stored underground, further minimizing environmental impact.

The stock is trading at 92% of its cash per share and has no debt. Earnings have been negative.

Just Remember this About Below Cash Stocks

Often there are significant (negative) reasons why stocks sell below cash. In addition, these stocks are very low cap, so they should all be considered extremely speculative.

Disclosure: Author didn’t own any of the above at the time the article was written.

Top Debt Free Stocks Selling Below Cash per Share

Stocks selling below cash per share with no debt

by Fred Fuld III

With the stock market tanking during the last couple weeks, there are currently over 250 stocks that not only sell below book value but also sell below cash per share. Plus, many of these companies have little or no debt.

Selling below cash means that if the corporation were to go out of business immediately, assuming the inventory, real estate, machinery, and other assets were totally worthless, there would still be enough cash in the bank to distribute to all shareholders at an amount higher than the current stock price.

One example is Wheels Up Experience (UP), a private aviation services company. This debt free company, with a market cap of $470 million, is trading 87% of its cash per share and 69% of its book value.

Earnings per share growth is expected to be over 30% next year. The price sales ratio for Wheels Up is an extremely superb 0.31.

Back in June, Goldman Sachs initiated coverage on the stock with a Buy recommendation. Wheels Up trades on the NYSE.

Another example is ContextLogic (WISH), which trades on NASDAQ. This ecommerce platform company has a market cap close to $1 billion. The stock price is trading at 97% of the cash per share, and the company has no debt.

The price sales ratio is a favorable 0.97 and earnings per share growth this year is 54.8%.

Here is a list of debt free and low debt stocks, selling below cash per share.

CompanySymbolMarket Cap
Wheels Up Experience Inc.UP470.27M
Atea Pharmaceuticals, Inc.AVIR650.02M
Bright Health Group, Inc.BHG1.03B
ContextLogic Inc.WISH919.01M
Ideanomics, Inc.IDEX304.08M

Keep in mind that these stocks are selling at a low price and have very low market caps for a reason, and are extremely speculative.

No recommendations are expressed or implied. Do your own due diligence.

Disclosure: Author didn’t own any of the above at the time the article was written.

MORE STOCK LISTS OF INTEREST

Top 10 Short Squeeze Plays

Stocks Going Ex Dividend

Business Development Companies Paying Over 10%

Stocks Selling for Less than Cash per Share

by Fred Fuld III

During the last six months, the stock market has taken a tumble, with the S&P 500 down almost 20% year-to-date.

Some investors and traders are now looking for bargains, hoping for a short term or even a long term bounce.

So how do you go about choosing a stock to buy in these volatile times? One strategy is to look for stocks that are not only selling below their book value, but also below their cash per share, especially if the company has low or no debt.

The cash per share is the amount of money that would be distributed for each share if the company went out of business today. In other words, if all the other company’s assets were totally worthless, how much would shareholders receive for each share, just from the cash in the bank the company has.

So if you can buy the stock for less than the cash per share, you should be getting a fairly good deal, not counting other factors.

If the company is also profitable, that is another benefit.

The following are four stocks with have low or no debt, are trading below the cash per share, and are profitable with price to earnings ratios below 32. As a matter of fact, three of the companies have P/E ratios below 15. All of the following are low cap or extremely low cap, so should be considered very, very speculative.

Atea Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AVIR), with a market cap of $577.00 million,  is a biopharmaceutical company, which is involved in the development of antiviral therapeutics for patients suffering from viral infections. The stock has a reasonable P/E of 14.02, debt amounting to 2.88 million, and is currently selling for 17% below its cash per share.

Rubicon Technology, Inc. (RBCN) is an Illinois based company, involved in the production of monocrystalline sapphire for applications in optical and industrial systems. It has a market cap of $22.61 million. The P/E ratio is 30.63 and the company has no debt. It is selling for 15% below cash.

Sesen Bio, Inc. (SESN), based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, develops  targeted fusion protein therapeutics for the treatment patients with cancer.  The market cap is $163.72 million and the P/E is 3.23. The company only has $100,000 in debt.  The stock is selling at 4% below cash.

SunLink Health Systems, Inc. (SSY) is a provider of healthcare products and services, and is based in Atlanta, Georgia. It has an extremely low, and therefore extremely speculative, market cap of only $7 million. The P/E is 1.47  and the amount of debt is $1.31 million. The stock is selling for 1% below cash.

As previously mentioned, all these stocks should be considered extremely speculative. Remember, often stocks sell for a very low price for a reason.

Disclosure: Author didn’t own any of the above at the time the article was written. No investment recommendations are expressed or implied. 

Debt Free Stocks Below Cash per Share & Paying Dividends

by Fred Fuld III

It may be hard to believe that with so many stocks selling at recently very high levels, that there are actually stocks that not only sell below book value but also sell below cash per share. In addition, some of these stocks have little or no debt. Plus a few of these even pay dividends.

What selling below cash means is that if the company were to go out of business today, assuming the inventory, buildings, real estate, machinery, patents, and other assets were totally worthless, there would still be enough cash to distribute to all shareholders at an amount higher than the current stock price.

Here is a list of debt free stocks, selling below cash per share, and all have been paying dividends. .

Company Symbol Mkt Cap Yield Business
DallasNews DALN 35M 9.84% Publishing
Communications Systems JCS 25M 1.94% Tech
Eneti NETI 261M 0.59% Shipping
Retail Value RVI 66M 19.08% REIT

Just remember, these stocks are selling at a low price and have very low market caps for a reason, and are extremely speculative. In addition, high dividend payouts can be a red flag, and companies can stop paying dividends at any time.

No recommendations are expressed or implied. Do your own due diligence.

 

Disclosure: Author didn’t own any of the above at the time the article was written.

 

Stocks Selling Below Cash per Share

by Fred Fuld III

It may be hard to believe that with so many stocks selling a nosebleed levels, especially the meme stocks, that there are actually stocks that not only sell below book value but also sell below cash per share. In addition, these stocks have little or no debt.

What this means is that if the company were to go out of business today, assuming the buildings, real estate, machinery, patents, and other assets were totally worthless, there would still be enough cash to distribute to all shareholders at an amount higher than the current stock price.

Here are a couple stocks that sell below cash per share, have no or almost no debt and have a price to earnings ratio of less than 20.

Digital Ally (DGLY) has a market cap of $67.5  million and trades at 2.83 times earnings. The company, which makes and markets advanced video recording products, recently reported that second quarter earnings increased by 44% over the same quarter last year.

Voyager Therapeutics (VYGR) has a market cap of $107.4 million and a P/E ratio of 6.17. It is a biotech company that focuses on the development of treatments for patients suffering from severe neurological diseases.

Just remember, the stocks are selling at a low price and have low market caps for a reason, and are speculative.

 

Disclosure: Author didn’t own any of the above at the time the article was written.

 

Top Tax Selling Stocks Selling Below Cash per Share

by Fred Fuld III

A tax selling stock is a stock that is currently selling for a low price but was trading at much higher levels earlier in the year.

What is Tax Harvesting?

As the year-end approaches, many investors use the strategy called tax harvesting , which is selling stocks the have tanked to offset any gains that may have been established sometime during the year.

With strong selling, the price of stocks that have had big drops tends to fall far more than what would normally take place during the rest of the year.

So traders and investors are on the lookout for stocks that are heavily hit, hoping for a little (or big) bounce in January, once the tax selling is over.

What is Cash per Share?

But if you can find a stock that is selling below cash per share, you have a double bonus. The cash per share is the amount of cash the company has divided by the number of shares.

So if you are looking for these types of stocks, see below for a selection of some that have dropped by over 50% year-to-date. Most have low market capitalizations so they should be considered speculative. However, all of these stocks are selling below cash per share.

What is the Price to Book Ratio?

In addition, they all have a price to book ratio of less than one. The Price toBook ratio, in simple terms, is what each share would be worth if the company went out of business today and all assets sold off. The lower the ratio, the better. And if the number is less than one, it means that each share is worth more than the assets.

Here is the list. Dropped more than 50% this year, selling below cash per share, low priced to book ratio, and a price to sales ratio of less than one. All are United States based companies.

List of Tax Selling Stocks

Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. ACOR
Peabody Energy Corporation BTU
Cumulus Media Inc. CMLS
Express, Inc. EXPR
Francesca’s Holdings Corporation FRAN
Hallmark Financial Services, Inc. HALL
KLX Energy Services Holdings, Inc. KLXE
Nine Energy Service, Inc. NINE
PBF Energy Inc. PBF
Steel Connect, Inc. STCN
United Insurance Holdings Corp. UIHC

Just remember, these stocks may be trading at a very low price for a reason. Happy investing.

Stocks Selling Below Cash Per Share and Little Debt

Do you think a return of 40% over a period of less than three years is pretty good? How about 157%? Those are the actual returns of stocks that you could have bought less than three years ago that were selling for less than the cash per share.

What is cash per share?

In simple terms, cash per share is the amount of cash the company has sitting in the banks divided by the number of shares. So if the company has little or no debt, and you can buy the stock below the amount of cash per share, you are getting a bargain. If the company went out of business today and all the inventory and equipment and all other assets were totally worthless, you would still make a profit because the cash you would receive for each share would exceed the price you paid.

Real Life Examples of Stocks that were Selling Below Cash

Let’s get back to those real life examples mentioned in the first paragraph of this article. MEI Pharma (MEIP) is an oncology company focused on the clinical development of therapeutics to treat cancer. Back in November of 2015, the stock was selling for 1.64, yet it had cash per share of 1.70, providing a discount to investors of 3.5% to the cash. Since that time, the stock has risen to 2.31, a gain of 40.85%. Not a bad investment for less than three years. Then there is Support.com (SPRT), a provider of cloud-based software and services. In November 2015, it was trading at 1.09, with cash per share of 1.25, a 12.8% discount to cash. The stock has now shot up to 2.81, a spectacular gain of 157.8%.

But what about companies that have a reverse split?

This is a great question. Let’s look at bebe (BEBE), the women’s clothing company, over the same time frame as the previously mentioned stocks. It was trading at a 22.6% discount to cash. Back then, the stock was trading at 0.41 per share, but the company had a 10 for 1 reverse split in December of 2016. What this meant was that for every 10 shares that you own prior to the split, you would now only have one share. So the effective cost basis of the original purchase price would be 4.10. The stock just closed last Friday at 7.00 per share, giving investors a 70.7% return. (To clarify this, assume you buy 1,000 shares at 41 cents, for a total cost of $410. The reverse split takes place, you now only have 100 shares at 7.00 or $7.00 total value, a gain of over 70%.)

Does the stock need to trade at a huge discount to make money?

Absolutely not. Here is a great example. GenCorp Industries (GENC) traded at a 0.1% discount to cash back then, actually one penny below the cash per share. The stock has gone from 10.18 to 15.50 a share, a very decent gain. But that’s not all. The stock declared a 3 for 2 stock split (what I call a “good stock split”) in July of 2016, which was effectively a 50% stock dividend. In other words, one and a half shares for every one share that you own. So the true gain on this stock from November 2015 is an incredible 128.3%.

Risks of Buying Below Cash Stocks

  • Possibility that the company is what we used to call the “walking dead” and what we now call “zombies”. These are companies that will continue to stumble along, never really grow but never go out of business, and they’ll just hold on to all their cash
  • Possibility that management may spend the company’s cash like a drunken sailor.
  • For biotech companies, the possibility that they will burn all their cash before they come out with an FDA approved drug

Advantages of Buying Below Cash Stocks

  • Provides a downside cushion for the stock price
  • In the event of bankruptcy or liquidation, excellent chance of getting back more money than your investment
  • Provides the company with a solid balance sheet – they can easily make payroll, buy new equipment, make acquisitions, without having to borrow

But the stock market is trading at lofty levels

Are there still stocks that can be purchased for less than cash per share? Yes, there are actually over a dozen different companies with stock prices below cash per share with little or no debt.

So what are some other companies selling below cash?

WStNN.com has come up with a list of over a dozen companies that are currently trading below their cash per share, and have little or no debt. If you are interested in getting this list, just subscribe to our newsletter. We will be emailing the list in an Excel format to all subscribers who have subscribed by 11:59 pm on Tuesday, May 8. The list, which will be sent out the following day, will provide the following:

  • Company name
  • Stock ticker symbol
  • Country where the company is based
  • Price per share
  • Cash per share
  • Percentage discount to cash
  • Debt to Equity

However, you must subscribe by May 8 in order to get this free list. The reason why we have this short timeframe is that the information may become stale a week from now, and we want you to get timely information.

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Debt Free Stocks Selling Below Cash

Are you looking for stocks that are almost guaranteed not to go out of business? If so, you should look for stocks selling below cash per share. In fact, if you want an almost certain way of of making a profit, putting your money into stocks selling below cash is the way to go. Many stocks have been beaten down to very low prices due to tax selling, creating bargain basement opportunities.

Here is what it means when a stock sells below cash per share? First, assuming the company has no debt,  you take the amount of cash that the company has in the bank and divide it by the outstanding number of shares. That represents the cash per share. If a stock is trading for less than that amount, it is a bargain, because if the company went out of business immediately, everything would be liquidated and disbursed on a per share basis. Even if all the company’s inventory, equipment, and real estate were worth nothing, all that cash would provide the investor with a profit.

Once a stock sells for below cash per share, it starts to attract t6he attention of hedge funds, analysts, and companies looking for a takeover candidate, all of which can drive the price of a stock up. You may be wondering, do such stocks really currently exist? The answer is ‘Yes’ and here are a few of them.

Emerson radio (MSN) is a marketer of consumer electronic products and various housewares. The company has about $1.91 in cash per share, yet sells for less than half that amount. The stock trades at 7.5 times forward earnings. The company is debt free.

NeuroMetrix (NURO) makes and markets wearable neuro-stimulation therapeutic devices. Cash per share is $1.37, with the stock selling more than 20% below that. This debt free company has been generating negative earnings, but the stock has a favorable price to sales ratio of 0.70.

OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals (OGXI) develops products that are designed to block the production of specific proteins that promote treatment resistance in cancer. The stock is selling for less than half the amount of cash per share. The company has a small amount of debt.

Here are a list of several below cash stocks.

Symbol Price Cash/shr Discount to Cash Debt/Equity
MSN 0.82 1.91 57.07% 0
NURO 1.06 1.37 22.63% 0
OGXI 0.46 1.09 57.80% 0.01
ONTX 2.63 3.50 24.86% 0
PCO 6.20 6.58 5.78% 0
RBCN 0.52 0.60 13.33% 0
SPRT 0.70 0.97 27.84% 0
VICL 2.55 3.40 25.00% 0
WGA 0.20 0.22 9.09% 0

Remember to do your research before investing, since most of these have very low market caps and limited trading which reduces liquidity. If you like interesting stock lists like this, you should check out many of the stock lists here.

Disclosure: Author owns RBCN, SPRT, and VICL.