In this article, we will highlight 10 Affordable Blue Chip Stocks to Buy.
Growing fears of an artificial intelligence bubble continue to send jitters in an equity market that has been trending up for the better part of the past two years. Tensions and warning bells are getting louder by the day as Wall Street strategists cite indicators signaling historically extreme valuations.
The mega-cap stock sell-off in recent weeks has once again underscored how institutional investors are increasingly balking at lofty valuations and spending on artificial intelligence. The S&P 500 is down by more than 3% over the past month as investors increasingly shun the large-cap stocks that have rallied to record highs amid the artificial intelligence trade.
“At any point in time you could have a very big drawdown in these stocks, and that would not be unusual because these are volatile stocks,” said Hank Smith, the director & head of investment strategy at The Haverford Trust Company. “I don’t think a lot of investors understand the risk they’re taking buying the S&P 500 index when you consider 10 names in a 500 stock index represent 40% plus of the index,” He added.
Nevertheless, amid the ongoing pullbacks, some Wall Street strategists remain bullish heading into year-end as the US Federal Reserve embarks on interest rate cuts. Strategists at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley expect interest rate cuts to drive more stock gains. David Kostin, chief US equity strategist at Goldman Sachs, expects the S&P 500 to rally 2% before year’s end and gain 6% by the middle of 2026
“Aggressive rate cuts are coming,” said Dennis DeBusschere, president and chief market strategist at 22V Research LLC. “Assuming economic activity data holds up, which it is for now, that should be a support for markets,” he wrote in a note.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the affordable blue chip stocks to buy and ride the current wave of uncertainty.
Our Methodology
To compile our list of the 10 Affordable Blue Chip Stocks to buy, we used various blue chip ETFs to identify blue chip companies. We focused on stocks with an upside potential of more than 20% and are popular among elite hedge funds in the second quarter of 2025. We narrowed our list to cheap blue-chip stocks with a forward price-to-earnings multiple of less than 15 as of November 24. Finally, we ranked the stocks in ascending order by upside potential.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research shows 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 427.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 264 percentage points (see more details here).
Affordable Blue Chip Stocks to Buy
10. Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO)
Stock Upside Potential: 21.01%
Forward P/E: 14.06
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 86
Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO) is an affordable blue-chip stock to buy. On November 20, Morgan Stanley upgraded Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO) to an Overweight from Equalweight. The investment bank also hiked the price target to $180 from $151 amid expectations of growth acceleration in 2026 and 2027.
Morgan Stanley expects the asset management firm to achieve fee-related earnings growth of over 20%, which should support a rally in the stock. The investment firm also expects the company to deliver spread-related earnings growth. Earnings per share are expected to grow by 7% in 2025, 18% in 2026, and 20% in 2027.
Meanwhile, on November 14, Piper Sandler’s John Barnidge reiterated that Apollo Global is a Buy. Benjamin Budish from Barclays also maintains a buy rating on the stock with a $158 price target. Goldman Sachs has also raised its price target of the stock to $155, citing a strong fundraising outlook and expanding capital markets revenues.
Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO) is a global alternative asset manager that provides capital solutions for businesses and investment and retirement solutions for clients. The firm focuses on three main strategies: equity, hybrid, and yield, and has expertise in areas like credit, private equity, and real assets.
9. Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF)
Stock Upside Potential: 23.51%
Forward P/E: 9.82
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 132
Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF) is an affordable blue-chip stock to buy. On November 21, BTIG analyst Vincent Caintic reiterated a Buy rating on Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF) and assigned a price target of $264. A day earlier, on November 20, analysts at UBS reiterated a Buy rating on the stock with a $270 price target.
The research firm remains optimistic about the company’s prospects despite its HOLT framework analysis indicating no improvement to the company’s cash flow return following the Discover Financial Services acquisition. The HOLT analysis, which factored in revenue synergies and recession scenarios, points to a share price of $260 in the discounted cash flow model.
The buy stance also comes on the company delivering strong third-quarter results, with adjusted earnings per share of $5.95, better than the $4.38 a share expected. Revenue in the quarter totaled $15.36 compared to $15.08 expected. In addition, the company announced a $0.80 dividend payable on December 1.
Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF) is a diversified financial services company primarily focused on consumer lending and deposits. It offers a wide range of products, including credit cards, auto loans, and other motor vehicle financing, as well as commercial and small-business banking services. The company also provides banking services and investment products.
