We recently published a list of 12 Best Affordable Stocks To Buy Right Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) stands against other best affordable stocks to buy.

Economic and Market Outlook 2025

There has been a growing debate regarding whether the economy of the United States will have a soft landing. A recent report by Vanguard titled “Beyond Landing” released on November 25 discusses the economic outlook for the year ahead. The report highlighted that global inflation has significantly decreased over the past two years, nearing the target of 2%. However, this decline has been inconsistent across different regions, with many developed markets experiencing slowdowns due to monetary policy adjustments. The United States stands out as an exception, showcasing robust economic growth and full employment despite restrictive monetary policies.

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The report raised critical questions about whether the US has achieved a “soft landing” or if high interest rates will eventually lead to a “hard landing.” The narrative has largely focused on the Federal Reserve’s ability to time rate cuts effectively to facilitate painless disinflation. Vanguard suggests that the strong growth and falling inflation in the US may be better explained by supply-side dynamics, such as increased labor productivity and a surge in available labor, rather than solely by Federal Reserve policies.

Regarding the 2025 outlook, the firm anticipates that US real GDP growth may decline from around 3% to closer to 2%, influenced by potential policy risks like trade tariffs and stricter immigration regulations. Core inflation is expected to remain above 2.5% for most of 2025. The firm also predicts that interest rates will stabilize at levels higher than those seen during the 2010s, fostering better returns in cash and fixed-income markets over the next decade. However, they express caution regarding equity markets due to elevated valuations. The report highlights a tension between momentum and valuation in risk assets, suggesting that while some stocks may continue to perform well, their high valuations could pose risks if economic conditions change unexpectedly.

Our Methodology

To compile the list of the 12 best affordable stocks to buy right now, we used the Finviz stock screener, Yahoo Finance, and Seeking Alpha. Using the screener we shortlisted stocks trading below a Forward P/E of 15, as of December 4, and that are expected to experience earnings growth this year. Next, we sorted our initial list by market capitalization and cross-checked the Forward P/E of each stock from Seeking Alpha and earnings growth from Yahoo Finance. Lastly, we ranked the stocks in ascending order of the number of hedge fund holders as per Insider Monkey’s database for Q3 2024.

Why do we care about what hedge funds do? The reason is simple: our research has shown that 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 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)

Forward P/E Ratio: 10.97

Earnings Growth This Year: 586.63%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 107

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) specializes in storage solutions for various technology applications and has a robust portfolio of Dynamic Random-Access Memory (DRAM), NAND Flash Memory, and NOR Flash Memory, . It is one of the best affordable stocks to buy right now.

Despite a huge market capitalization of $111.23 billion, it might not be the biggest player in the storage solution industry, however the company exercises its competitive edge by manufacturing chips that are denser than its competitors. Considering the high demand for its products within the AI and Data Center industry, management has shifted its focus on enhancing its product portfolio. For instance, on November 12, Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) released one of its fastest and most efficient 60TB SSDs. The drive is designed to endure heavy workloads, making it compatible with Data Center and AI applications.

The most recent quarter, Q4 of fiscal 2024, was driven by a robust demand for its DRAM in the AI market. The company generated $7.75 billion in revenue, up 93% year-over-year. Moving forward, management anticipates continued demand from data centers and the artificial intelligence industry.

Alger Mid Cap Focus Fund stated the following regarding Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:

“Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) is a leading provider of innovative memory and storage solutions supporting key trends like AI, 5G, machine learning, and autonomous vehicles. Micron’s portfolio includes high-bandwidth memory (HBM), which is critical for efficient AI workloads, along with storage solutions like DRAM, NAND, and NOR. These are sold in various forms such as wafers, components, modules, SSDs (solid-state drives), and MCPs (multi-chip packages). We believe the company is well-positioned to potentially benefit from secular trends in AI, data centers, cloud computing, and 5G markets. In July, shares detracted from performance after management lowered expectations due to the slower-than-expected pace of clearing excess inventory. Weak demand in markets like PCs and smartphones led to lower shipment forecasts for the next fiscal quarter. However, towards the end of the quarter, Micron reported better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results, driven by strong data center demand and continued growth in AI-leveraged HBM sales. Although the share price rose after the announcement, shares were still down overall for the quarter.”

Overall, MU ranks 1st on our list of best affordable stocks to buy right now. While we acknowledge the potential of MU to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than MU but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.