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Investors looking for hidden gems should keep an eye on small-cap stocks because they’re frequently overlooked by Wall Street. Many opportunities exist in this part of the market, but it is also a high-risk, high-reward environment due to the lack of reliable analyst price targets.

Value investing has created more billionaires than any other strategy, like Warren Buffett, who built his fortune by purchasing wonderful businesses at reasonable prices. But these hidden gems are few and far between - many stocks that appear cheap often stay that way because they face structural issues.

Growth is oxygen. But when it evaporates, the consequences can be extreme - ask anyone who bought Cisco in the Dot-Com Bubble (Nvidia?) or newer investors who lived through the 2020 to 2022 COVID cycle.

Expensive stocks typically earn their valuations through superior growth rates that other companies simply can’t match. The flip side though is that these lofty expectations make them particularly susceptible to drawdowns when market sentiment shifts.

The $10-50 price range often includes mid-sized businesses with proven track records and plenty of growth runway ahead. They also usually carry less risk than penny stocks, though they’re not immune to volatility as many lack the scale advantages of their larger peers.

Retailers are adapting their business models as technology changes how people shop. Still, demand can be volatile as the industry is exposed to the ups and downs of consumer spending. This has stirred some uncertainty lately as retail stocks have tumbled by 15.8% over the past six months. This performance was particularly disheartening since the S&P 500 held steady.

Many small-cap stocks have limited Wall Street coverage, giving savvy investors the chance to act before everyone else catches on. But the flip side is that these businesses have increased downside risk because they lack the scale and staying power of their larger competitors.