If you are a contrarian investor looking for investment ideas, one of the best places to start your search is the list of companies hitting 52-week lows. These are stocks that are, clearly, unloved by investors and, perhaps, the declines are also overdone.

Right now, you’ll find that Intuitive Surgical (ISRG 1.63%), United Parcel Service (UPS 0.35%), and PepsiCo (PEP -1.41%) are all near their 52-week lows. Here’s a quick look at each one and why they could be right for your portfolio today.

1. Intuitive Surgical is building a foundation

In the second quarter of 2025, Intuitive Surgical placed 395 of its da Vinci surgical robot systems, which was up from 341 in the same quarter of 2024. The number of procedures performed with a da Vinci system rose 17% year over year. Basically, the healthcare company is continuing to grow its installed base of surgical systems. This is hugely important, even though investors are worried about short-term changes in the business environment.

The reason why Intuitive Surgical’s 25% decline from its 52-week high is so interesting is that selling new da Vinci systems isn’t the company’s most important business. In fact, selling surgical robots only accounted for around 25% of the top line of the income statement in the quarter. The rest of the company’s sales come from parts and services, which are recurring income streams. In other words, every new da Vinci sold helps to build the opportunity for future growth in parts and services.

Intuitive Surgical looks expensive on an absolute level, so only growth investors will likely be interested. However, its price-to-sales, price-to-earnings, and price-to-book value ratios are all below their five-year averages. So, the sell-off could be a growth at a reasonable price (GARP) opportunity for more aggressive investors.

2. United Parcel Services is a turnaround story

The first thing that most investors will probably be drawn to with United Parcel Service, or UPS as it is more commonly known, is its nearly 7.7% dividend yield. Be cautious; this is more of a turnaround story than an income story. Basically, the company is working to reset its business, and that risks the possibility of a dividend reset as well. This is why the stock is off its 52-week high by over 35%.

The list of changes that have taken place at UPS is material. There was a new, and more costly, union contract. Management has been making capital investments in technology to increase profitability. The investments being made have resulted in facilities being shut down and sold. And the company is trying to fine-tune its customer base, so it is focused on its most profitable end markets.

That last step has included the pre-emptive decision to drastically reduce UPS’s relationship with Amazon, its largest customer, but one that is also low-margin.

Basically, there are a lot of up-front costs in UPS’s turnaround plan. And that has investors worried about the future. But the necessary nature of package delivery and the fact that it would be hard, if not impossible, to replicate UPS’s infrastructure, suggest a turnaround is likely. Just go in knowing that the lofty dividend yield could be riskier than it seems.

3. PepsiCo is a Dividend King with a high yield

If you are an income investor, you’ll probably find PepsiCo more to your liking. The yield is lower at 4%, but the likelihood of the dividend surviving the current headwinds this consumer staples giant faces is fairly strong. After all, a company doesn’t become a Dividend King without dealing with bad times now and again. Right now is a bad time.

There are a couple of issues. First, consumer staples stocks in general have been having a rough go of it thanks to a push for healthier fare from consumers. PepsiCo’s strongholds of soda, salty snacks, and packaged food aren’t exactly in the sweet spot right now. Second, PepsiCo’s business is underperforming key peers, so Wall Street is extra negative. That’s fair, but given the company’s strong long-term history as a business, it’s probably short-sighted.

Consumer staples giants like PepsiCo have a strong history of adjusting to consumer trends. Sometimes it takes longer than other times, but that can open up an opportunity for income investors who think in decades and not days. Now is probably a good time to consider adding PepsiCo to your dividend portfolio if you don’t already own it.

Three different options for three different investors

You’ll find all kinds of stocks on the 52-week low list, which is the really exciting part for contrarian investors. Sometimes you’ll see a GARP opportunity like Intuitive Surgical pop up. Other times, the list will include solid turnaround stories like UPS. And the list of down-and-out stocks may even include some reliable dividend stocks like PepsiCo from time to time.

If you keep looking, regardless of your investment approach, you’ll eventually find something attractive to own.

If you have $50,000 to invest, you’re in a good position. That’s enough to make a significant difference for your retirement or whatever else you’re investing for.

With $50,000 to invest, you’ll likely want to find stocks that can deliver growth, but with relatively low risk. Luckily, there are a number of stocks available on the market that embody those characteristics. Keep reading to see two of them.

1. Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms (META -1.88%) may be the best example of a business that can burn through billions in cash on a side project, but is still overwhelmingly successful.

Meta has lost more than $60 billion on its metaverse and artificial intelligence (AI)-focused division, Reality Labs. But the success of its advertising business and the growth of its family of apps division has more than made up for it.

Over the last three years, the stock is up more than 300%. It’s fended off a threat from TikTok with its Reels. Meta’s AI tools are also helping the company better monetize its ad inventory and help its advertisers use AI for images and ad copy.

Meta effectively has a duopoly in digital advertising with Alphabet, but it’s outgrowing its large rival. In the first quarter, revenue jumped 16% to $42.3 billion, and Meta reported an operating profit of $17.5 billion, or an operating margin of 41%.

The company benefits from a dream business model where it sells ads on user-generated content, and has more than 3 billion daily active users across its apps, primarily including Facebook and Instagram.

Meta’s wide-moat advantage in digital advertising and social media isn’t likely to go anywhere, and the business should continue to experience solid growth as long as the economy is healthy.

Meta is also a top AI competitor. Meta AI’s chatbot now has nearly 1 billion users, giving it the biggest user base of any AI platform. The company’s deal with Scale AI should also accelerate its AI ambitions.

Finally, the stock trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of 27, which looks like a great valuation for a company growing at its pace.

Overall, Meta combines solid growth, wide profit margins, a strong competitive advantage, and a good valuation, making it a great stock for a large investment. The company looks like a good bet to continue outperforming the market at relatively low risk.

2. Axon Enterprise

Axon Enterprise (AXON 0.79%) may not be a household name the way Meta is, but it similarly dominates its niche of law enforcement technology.

Axon makes Taser electrical weapons, body and dashboard cameras, and software systems that help law enforcement agencies make use of the data the cameras generate.

The complementary hardware and software products have created a strong moat for Axon, and its stock has gained more than 2,000% over the last decade.

These days, Axon is expanding beyond its traditional core in law enforcement into private sector businesses like packaged delivery companies. In fact, its biggest contract in 2024 was with a large logistics company, which demonstrates that there are applications for its camera systems beyond law enforcement.

The company also released a generative-AI product called Draft One, which writes first drafts of police reports based on camera footage. The product has been well-received by law enforcement as it’s saving valuable time, allowing officers to focus on more pressing matters.

Axon continues to deliver strong growth, with revenue up 31% to $604 million in the first quarter. It reported adjusted net income of $115 million, showing that it’s growing fast and has wide profit margins.

The company also raised its full-year revenue guidance from $2.55 billion to $2.65 billion to $2.6 billion to $2.7 billion, showing confidence in its growth the rest of the year.

With little direct competition across its product portfolio, Axon looks poised for more long-term tailwinds due to its innovation and growth in new markets like logistics.

Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Jeremy Bowman has positions in Axon Enterprise and Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Axon Enterprise, and Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.