Our world has more uncertainty in it than ever before. At least financially speaking. And while many of us here on Steemit love cryptocurrencies, I believe it is vitally important to diversify into many different sectors. Along with gold/silver and cryptos, here are some risky and "safe" affordable stock picks.
SAFE:
Freeport-McMoRan INC. (FCX)
Freeport is a copper and gold mining company. In 2015 and 2016 it fell in the $3 range as the price of copper fell dramatically. It has since been very consistent and hasn't fallen far below $10 in the past year. During its struggles, it sold off a few mines to stay afloat, but now they have a few more in the works that will be opening in the next year to two years. Their stock price was well into the $30 price range before the mining community took a big hit and all mining stocks took a beating. Freeport is the largest copper mining company in the world and with prices of precious metals stabilizing and more projects on the way to increase cash flow, this is a good bet to go up. The only thing is, wait for the price to drop into the $12-$13 dollar range before investing. It's currently at $14.83. That's my strategy at least.
Ford Motor Company (F)
I know this one sounds boring, but cryptocurrencies can be risky and so this would be the perfect stock to be a backup. Ford has a great dividend and the price really doesn't fluctuate much. Its market cap stays around the $50 billion mark and the company always gets great volume. As far as safe goes, you can't really beat ford. Plus, if you own over 100 shares, you can get some pretty sweet deals on cars.
General Electric (GE)
This may seem as a bit of a stretch for "safe" at the moment, so let's call it a safe risk. General Electric has a market cap of over $200 billion. Always. It has recently fallen from grace and its last quarter earnings were horrific. However, they have a new CEO and I believe this company will see a turn around soon. The stock fell into the $22 range from its previously comfortable $29-$32 range. A bit of a drop off, but remember to be cautious still. They may lose their dividend and projections for next year are still down, but things are looking up. For this one, be patient.
RISKY:
Whiting Petroleum (WLL)
I know we all enjoy the price of gas at the moment. Sadly, we are in an oil governed world and still years away from getting away from that. Oil prices will go up. Probably not by a significant amount within the next year, but they won't stay at these levels for long. At the moment, there are many contributors to the oil industry and OPEC is keeping inventories up which is helping our oil prices. Whiting Petroleum has had three stock splits in its history and they were all 2-1. This is good news, but if prices stay at these levels without going up a few dollars, there could potentially be a reverse split which is why there is a "risky" label. In 2014, when oil was high and everyone was struggling to put a full tank of gas in their vehicles, Whiting was trading over $90 a share. Keep them in mind and watch their price.
Under Armour (UA)
Under Armour is a strange pick as I generally don't like clothing stocks. However, this company has hit its lowest stock prices since 2013, but I believe it's set for a turn around. Its market capitalization is nearly $7 billion at the moment, but there has been a lot of buzz around UA lately and I think it has hit the bottom of its fall. It will take some time for this stock so don't expect an immediate jump - it could even take a few years due to all the restructuring, but this one will eventually go up. Last year, this stock was in the $40 range often and it's all time high was over $50. It's currently sitting at $15.91. This is another one I would just say to be patient with.
Ritter Pharmaceuticals Inc (RTTR)
This one is extremely risky as it is a micro-cap company. I'm putting Ritter down only because it is one of a kind. It's the first company, at least that I know of, that is working on a treatment for lactose intolerance. It's going to begin phase 3 of their trials in the first half of next year and already began working and meeting with the FDA. They have a clear idea on how to become FDA approved and in the pharmaceutical world, that can increase your stock price exponentially. I had the opportunity to jump into ETRM when it was only a few cents, but I didn't give myself the time to study into the company more. Two weeks later, I watched it climb up to just over $30 a share because of an FDA approval. Remember, this is extremely risky, but like Robert Kiyosaki says, "learn to manage risk." I would just say, don't put too much money into this one.
Remember, I'm not a financial advisor. I have holdings in these, but do your own research. In all my investing, I'm always prepared to take a loss. Personally, I've been investing in the cryptocurrency space more as of late and putting less money in the stock market. If you can't afford to risk, take Robert Kiyosaki's advise and if you don't have a form of backup in case an investment fails, hold "gold, silver, guns, and bullets." - Those last two depend on how you feel about them.