10 Best Cheap Stocks To Invest In Right Now

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Want to use your tablet as a phone? I'm sorry, Google (GOOG), but this is one area where Apple's (AAPL) iPad nails Android to the wall. Let me tell you why.

Android tablets have some obvious advantages over Apple's iPad. For starters, they're cheaper. Let's say you want a 32 gig 7-something inch tablet with LTE, so that you can use it as a cellphone for data access as you're walking down the street, never having to think about connecting to a WiFi network.

In this case, an iPad Mini will cost you $559. In contrast, Google's Asus Nexus 7 costs only $349. That's a $210 difference -- almost enough to buy you an additional 16 gig WiFi-only Nexus 7 for the money you saved.

5 Best Industrial Disributor Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Rent-A-Center Inc.(RCII)

Rent-A-Center, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, primarily engages in leasing household durable goods to customers on a rent-to-own basis. The company?s stores offer durable products, such as consumer electronics, appliances, computers, and furniture and accessories under flexible rental purchase agreements that allow the customer to obtain ownership of the merchandise at the conclusion of an agreed upon rental period. It also provides merchandise on an installment sales basis in its stores. As of December 31, 2010, the company operated 3,008 company-owned stores in the United States, and in Canada, Puerto Rico, and Mexico, including 42 retail installment sales stores under the names ?Get It Now? and ?Home Choice?; and 18 rent-to-own stores located in Canada under the ?Rent-A-Centre? name. It also operates 209 franchised rent-to-own stores in 32 states under the ColorTyme trade name; and 384 kiosk locations under the ?RAC Acceptance? model. In addition, the company, th rough its ColorTyme?s franchised stores, offers custom rims and tires for sale or rental under the trade names ?RimTyme? or ?ColorTyme Custom Wheels?. Rent-A-Center, Inc. was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Plano, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Grace L. Williams]

  Rent-A-Center (RCII) grabbed our attention when the new CFO joined a director for a cluster buy. Most notable were Guy Constant, who bought 10,000 shares for $248,400 and J.V. Lentell, a director, who bought 5,000 shares for $119,000. InsiderScore notes that the buys occurred in the wake of a three-year low at the rent-to-own durable goods retailer.

• [By Garrett Cook]

  Rent-A-Center (NASDAQ: RCII) shares tumbled 11.22 percent to $25.80 after the company issued a downbeat guidance for the second quarter. The company expected adjusted earnings of $0.36 to $0.38 per share on revenue of around $773 million.

• [By Garrett Cook]

  Rent-A-Center (NASDAQ: RCII) shares tumbled 12.42 percent to $25.45 after the company issued a downbeat guidance for the second quarter. The company expected adjusted earnings of $0.36 to $0.38 per share on revenue of around $773 million.

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Rent-to-own consumer products company Rent-A-Center (RCII) raised its quarterly dividend 10% to 23 cents per share, payable on Jan. 23 to shareholders of record as of Jan. 3.
  RCII Dividend Yield: 2.77%

10 Best Cheap Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Global Payments Inc.(GPN)

Global Payments Inc. provides electronic transaction processing services for merchants, independent sales organizations (ISO), financial institutions, government agencies, and multi-national corporations located in the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. It offers a comprehensive line of processing solutions for credit and debit cards; business-to-business purchasing cards; gift cards; and electronic check conversion and check guarantee, verification, and recovery, including electronic check services, as well as terminal management. The company also offers proprietary software products to establish revolving check cashing limits for the casinos? customers in the gaming industry. In addition, it sells, installs, and services automated teller machine and point of sale terminals; and provides card issuing services, including card management and card personalization. The company markets its products directly, as well as through ISOs, retail outlets, tra de associations, alliance bank relationships, and financial institutions. Global Payments Inc. has a joint venture with La Caixa Group to provide merchant acquiring services to merchants in Spain. Global Payments Inc. was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Global Payments (NYSE: GPN) is expected to post its Q1 earnings at $0.95 per share on revenue of $623.79 million.

  Synergetics USA (NASDAQ: SURG) is projected to post its Q4 earnings at $0.06 per share on revenue of $17.01 million.

• [By Wallace Witkowski]

  Shares of Global Payments Inc. (GPN) �advanced 4.8% to $67.50 on moderate volume after the company raised its earnings outlook for the year to a range of $4.03 to $4.10 a share. Analysts were forecasting $4.04 a share.

10 Best Cheap Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Merck & Company Inc.(MRK)

Merck & Co., Inc. provides various health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. The company?s Pharmaceutical segment provides human health pharmaceutical products, such as therapeutic and preventive agents for the treatment of human disorders in the areas of bone, respiratory, immunology, dermatology, cardiovascular, diabetes and obesity, infectious diseases, neurosciences and ophthalmology, oncology, vaccines, and women's health and endocrine. This segment also offers human health vaccines, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines. Its Animal Health segment discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets animal health products. This segment offers antibiotics, anti-inflammatory products, vaccines, products for the treatment of fertility disorders, and parasiticides for cattle, swine, horses, poultry, dogs, cats, salmons, and fish. The Consumer Care segment develops, manufac tures, and markets over-the-counter, foot care, and sun care products. Its over-the-counter product line includes non-drowsy antihistamines; treatment for occasional constipation; decongestant-free cold/flu medicine for people with high blood pressure; nasal decongestant spray; and treatment for frequent heartburn. This segment?s foot care products comprise topical antifungal, and foot and sneaker odor/wetness products; and sun care products include sun care lotions, sprays and dry oils; and sunburn relief products. The company serves drug wholesalers and retailers, hospitals, government agencies, physicians, physician distributors, veterinarians, animal producers, and managed health care providers, as well as food chain and mass merchandiser outlets in the United States and Canada. Merck & Co., Inc. was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  Elsewhere on the Dow, Merck (NYSE: MRK  ) shares soared, climbing 4.7% during the day and another 1% after hours. After the trading session, the pharma giant announced a $5 billion accelerated share repurchase program, part of a previously declared $15 billion buyback plan. The driving force behind its gain during the open session was less clear, though investors may be anticipating a positive result from a review on its new sleep aid drug from a panel of outside experts.

• [By Trey Thoelcke]

  There has been some recent speculation about a possible break up of Novartis. Both Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK) and Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) reportedly may be interested in its animal health business.

10 Best Cheap Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Whole Foods Market Inc.(WFM)

Whole Foods Market, Inc. engages in the ownership and operation of natural and organic food supermarkets. The company offers produce, seafood, grocery, meat and poultry, bakery, prepared foods and catering, coffee and tea, nutritional supplements, and vitamins. It also provides specialty products, such as beer, wine, and cheese; body care and educational products, such as books; and floral, pet, and household products. As of February 9, 2011, the company operated 302 stores in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Whole Foods Market, Inc. was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Daniel Sparks]

  Growth investing relies on a simple premise: Find great companies that will outperform over the long haul, outgrowing their premium valuations over time. This, of course, is easier said than done. In the video below, Fool contributor Daniel Sparks discusses a great way to tell the gold from the fool's gold. To illustrate, he takes a look at Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFM  ) and Panera Bread (NASDAQ: PNRA  ) .

• [By Brian Stoffel]

  Two decades ago, investors scoffed at the idea that people would pay a premium to buy food that was certified organic. "They simply don't care," the naysayers quipped. But Whole Foods Market� (NASDAQ: WFM  ) �co-founder and co-CEO John Mackey knew better.

10 Best Cheap Stocks To Invest In Right Now: AeroVironment Inc.(AVAV)

AeroVironment, Inc. designs, develops, produces, and supports unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), and efficient energy systems for various industries and governmental agencies. Its UAS provide intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, including real-time tactical reconnaissance, tracking, combat assessment, and geographic data to the small tactical unit or individual war fighter. The UAS wirelessly transmit critical live video and other information generated by their payload of electro-optical or infrared sensors directly to a hand-held ground control system, enabling the operator to view and capture images during the day or at night on a hand-held ground control unit. AeroVironment also provides spare equipment, alternative payload modules, batteries, chargers, repair services, and customer support for the UAS. In addition, the company produces industrial productivity and clean transportation solutions for commercial and government customers, develops potential clean t ransportation solutions, and performs contract engineering services; offers PosiCharge electric vehicle charging systems for industrial electric material handling fleets, electric vehicle charging systems for passenger and fleet vehicles, and power cycling and test systems for developers and manufacturers of plug-in electric and hybrid vehicles, as well as battery packs, electric motors, and fuel cells; and supplies power cycling and test systems to research and development organizations that focus on developing electric propulsion systems, electric generation systems, and electricity storage systems. It supplies its UAS primarily to the organizations within the United States department of defense. AeroVironment, Inc. was incorporated in 1971 and is headquartered in Monrovia, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  Shares of unmanned aerial vehicle specialist-cum-battery fast-charger equipment maker AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV  ) surged in early Wednesday trading, helped by kind words from a new investor that's just taken a substantial stake in the company.

• [By Rich Smith]

  AlamyA US Navy X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System aircraft is towed into the hanger bay aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush -- the first aircraft carrier to successfully catapult launch an unmanned aircraft from its flight deck. With a fiscal 2013 defense budget of nearly $614 billion, the United States is widely known to be a big spender on defense. By some estimates, U.S. defense spending accounts for nearly 60 percent of the $1.19 trillion the top 10 military powers spent on defense in 2011. In fact, our country allocates more than five times more money to defense than does its closest spending rival, China. And that's not the half of it. In the cutting-edge field of military unmanned aerial vehicles, the United States has such a huge lead over its rivals that it makes their combined UAV fleets look like a rounding error in a world that's essentially 100 percent dominated by U.S. drones. Pax Americana As The Wall Street Journal recently reported, the U.S. military commands a fleet of 429 "large drone" aircraft such as the General Atomics Predator and Northrop Grumman (NOC) Global Hawk. Meanwhile, America's smaller drones, built by everyone from Boeing (BA) to Textron (TXT) to tiny AeroVironment (AVAV), maker of the ubiquitous Raven man-portable UAV, number in the thousands. In contrast, the military of the United Kingdom, not even a U.S. rival but a close ally, boasts a fleet of precisely 10 large drones, most of which we built for them, and the rest imported from Israel. Italy has nine, France, four, and Germany has three. As a result, when allied forces need a drone to "put eyes" on a target, more often than not, they have to ring up the U.S. military to get one. Who You Gonna Call? For allied nations, that has to be embarrassing -- but it's a situation unlikely to change soon. As the Journal reports, European defense giant European Aeronautic Defence & Space (EADSY), the parent company of Airbus, is only just now beginning to test a

• [By John Kell and Lauren Pollock var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); ]

  AeroVironment Inc.'s(AVAV) fiscal third-quarter profit nearly tripled as the pilotless-drones maker reported a sharp jump in revenue and booked a gain on an investment. Adjusted profit and revenue results for the latest quarter easily exceeded Wall Street’s expectations. Shares climbed 10% to $34.90 in light premarket trading.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV) was also up, gaining 19.50 percent to $37.92 after the company reported upbeat Q3 earnings.

  Equities Trading DOWN
  Shares of XOMA (NASDAQ: XOMA) were down 27.54 percent to $6.84 after the company reported Q4 results and provided anupdate on its gevokizumab development program. Credit Suisse downgraded the stock from Outperform to Neutral.

10 Best Cheap Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Wendy's/Arby's Group Inc.(WEN)

The Wendy's Company operates as a quick-service hamburger company in the United States. The company, through its subsidiary, Wendy's International, Inc., operates as a franchisor of the Wendy's restaurant system. As of December 26, 2011, the Wendy's system comprised approximately 6,500 franchise and company restaurants in the United States and the United States territories, as well as in 26 other countries worldwide. The company was formerly known as Wendy's/Arby's Group, Inc. and changed its name to The Wendy's Company in July 2011. The Wendy's Company was founded in 1884 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Asit Sharma]

  Last week,�Wendy's� (NASDAQ: WEN  ) announced in its second-quarter earnings report that it will sell 425 company-operated stores to franchisees. This will reduce the number of company-owned and -operated stores in the Wendy's system from 22% to 15%. �Coupled with earnings that beat expectations, Wendy's stock rose more than 8.5% on the day of the announcement. After a few years of rather aimless wandering while McDonald's (NYSE: MCD  ) increased its dominance, and Burger King� (NYSE: BKW  ) returned to the public markets courtesy of merger-savvy Brazilian billionaires, is Wendy's poised to excite investors again?

• [By Nicole Seghetti]

  Healthy menu choices: Offer the whole enchilada?
  A recently released Placed survey, "Dining Out in America, Part 2: The Impact of New Menu Items, Value, and Nutrition," found that consumers who would fork over more money for healthy menu options were 10% more likely to visit Wendy's (NASDAQ: WEN  ) , which ranked at the top of the list among big burger chains. In fact, Wendy's was the only burger joint where consumers stated a willingness to pay more for healthy menu items.

10 Best Cheap Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Sirius XM Radio Inc.(SIRI)

Sirius XM Radio Inc. provides satellite radio services in the United States and Canada. It broadcasts a programming lineup of approximately 135 channels of commercial-free music, sports, news and information, talk and entertainment, traffic, and weather on subscription fee basis through two satellite radio systems in the United States; and holds an interest in the satellite radio services offered in Canada. The company also simulcasts music and selected non-music channels over the Internet; and offers applications to allow consumers to access its Internet services on mobile devices. As of December 31, 2010, it had 20,190,964 subscribers. In addition, the company designs, establishes specifications, sources or specifies parts and components, and manages various aspects of the logistics and production of satellite radios; licenses its technology to various electronics manufacturers to develop, manufacture, and distribute radios under various brands; and imports radios distri buted through its Websites. The company?s satellite radios are primarily distributed through automakers, retailers, and its Websites. Further, it provides music services for commercial establishments; a satellite television service to offer music channels as part of certain programming packages on the DISH Network satellite television service; music and comedy channels to mobile phone users through mobile phone carriers; Backseat TV, a service offering television content designed primarily for children in the backseat of vehicles; Travel Link, a suite of data services that include graphical weather, fuel prices, sports schedules and scores, and movie listings; and real-time traffic and weather services. The company was formerly known as Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and changed its name to Sirius XM Radio Inc. in August 2008. Sirius XM Radio Inc. was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI  ) officially introduced its personalized radio offering on Monday. MySXM offers subscribers with online access plans the ability to create customized radio stations by tweaking up to 100 variations of 50 different Sirius XM channels.�

• [By Crunching Numbers]

  One of the more frequent questions asked recently about Sirius XM Radio (SIRI) is "With all the good news about this company, why hasn't the price moved higher?" Another common question is about whether or not Sirius XM or its majority shareholder, Liberty Media (LMCA), are somehow holding the price down by not disclosing information.

• [By Wallace Witkowski]

  Shares of Sirius (SIRI) , which had been halted following Friday�� close,�jumped 5% to $3.75 on heavy volume after Liberty Media offered to buy the satellite radio company in a stock swap that would value the company at $3.68 a share, just 3% above its closing price of $3.57. Liberty already holds a 52% stake in Sirius.