Top 5 ASX-listed cheap shares to watch in 2026

What are cheap shares?

It’s tricky to define what ‘cheap’ shares are – this largely depends on your point of view. But one thing you can say about them is that they tend to be undervalued.

For our article, we’ve looked at ASX-listed cheap stocks under A$5 per share, all of which the data indicate are undervalued.

The idea is that you buy a company’s shares cheaply before they rise in value, making yourself a decent profit. But buyer beware: Cheap stocks can be deceiving. Just because they’re priced for entry doesn’t mean they make good investments. They can be volatile – a factor that’s good for CFD trading – but not so much for share trading. 

How do I find cheap shares?

It’s important to do more than just read articles on potentially undervalued shares – you need to look at their financials in detail (like their balance sheet and income statements) and technical indicators to determine whether they’re truly worth investing in.

One way to start your search for cheap shares is to use our stock screener. You can filter by price and a range of other measures, such as sector, market cap and dividend yield. 

Advantages of cheap shares

• High return potential: If a company grows, its cheap shares can also increase – almost exponentially. There are major opportunities for share traders to make sizeable profits; many well-known blue-chip shares of today once started as cheap stocks, such as BHP and Afterpay
• Affordable shares: As the stocks don’t cost a lot, cheap shares provide an affordable entry point for share traders seeking to climb the stock market ladder
• Emerging industry investment: Cheap shares that grow as investors desire tend to be in emerging industries, such as tech, or have proprietary methods for producing their products. This gives share traders and CFD traders exposure to up-and-coming technology

Risks of cheap shares

• Low liquidity: Because they don’t get as much attention as more popular shares do, cheap stocks can often have lower liquidity, so you might find it difficult to offload your shares when you’re ready to sell them
• Potential for fraud: Scammers love a pump-and-dump scheme, and cheap shares are often the vehicle for them to con share traders out of their money
• Volatility: If you’re looking to trade CFDs on cheap shares, their volatility creates the ideal conditions for opportunities. However, when share trading, volatility is the enemy, because you want your shares to see a steady rise, ideally. This is rarely the case, as all stocks go through ups and downs in the market, but it’s what you hope for nonetheless

Top 5 ASX-listed cheap shares to watch in 2026

We chose the five shares on this list primarily due to their potential to be currently undervalued. All of them have seen gains in the past six months.

However, it’s vital to remember that these shares are extremely volatile and there’s no guarantee they’ll rise in value. You could lose all your money if you trade them.

Overview of the shares in this article

All the shares in our article can be traded via CFDs with us except for Hubify, whereas all shares can be bought via share trading through IG Australia.

All figures are accurate as of 2 April 2026.

1. Starpharma Holdings Limited (ASX: SPL)

Sector: Health technology

Market cap: A$197.36 million

Share price: A$0.50

Six-month share price gain: 47.06%⁶

Starpharma Holdings is a world leader in the development of dendrimer technology, which involves creating precise, nanoscale polymers for pharmaceutical and medical applications.

Its business model focuses on its proprietary Dendrimer Enhanced Product (DEP) platform, designed to improve the delivery of existing drugs by making them more effective or reducing side effects. It generates value through a mix of internal product development and high-value partnerships with global pharmaceutical giants.

For a share trader, risk involves the high costs and long timelines of drug development. Clinical trials can be unpredictable, and any setbacks in regulatory approvals or negative data from ongoing studies could impact the share price.

Additionally, the company relies on successfully licensing its technology to larger partners to achieve significant scale.

Why it could be undervalued

• Proven platform utility: Its technology has already been validated through multiple partnerships with ‘Big Pharma’ players, suggesting the underlying science has significant commercial worth that may not be fully reflected in the current market cap
• Streamlined operations: A recent decision to narrow its clinical focus is intended to preserve cash and accelerate the path to a high-value licensing deal, which could act as a major catalyst for the share price

2. Hubify Limited (ASX: HFY)

Sector: Communications

Market cap: A$8.79 million

Share price: A$0.017

Six-month share price gain: 112.50%⁷

Hubify is a managed service provider that offers a one-stop shop for IT, cloud and cybersecurity solutions, primarily targeting small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs).

Its business model relies on a mix of upfront service fees and, more importantly, high-margin recurring revenue from ongoing management and support contracts. By integrating various tech needs into a single platform, it helps businesses simplify their digital infrastructure.

Over the last six months, Hubify has focused heavily on expanding its cybersecurity and managed cloud divisions, which are currently high-demand areas. It has successfully integrated recent acquisitions and reported a growing pipeline of enterprise-level contracts.

In terms of risk, it competes with large global companies and small local providers. Furthermore, as a cybersecurity services provider, any security breach within its own systems or those it manages for clients could lead to significant reputational and financial damage.

Why it could be undervalued

• Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) potential: The company has a history of successful bolt-on acquisitions. As it continues to consolidate smaller players in a fragmented market, it builds scale that can lead to significant earnings growth
• Recurring revenue growth: The shift toward longer-term managed service contracts provides a predictable income stream that the market often undervalues compared to one-off hardware sales

3. Viva Energy Group Limited (ASX: VEA)

Sector: Energy minerals

Market cap: A$4.21 billion

Share price: A$2.57

Six-month share price gain: 42.78%⁸

Viva Energy Group is a major player in Australia's energy landscape, operating a massive refining, retail and distribution network. It owns and operates the Geelong Refinery and supplies roughly a quarter of the country’s liquid fuel. Its business model is diversified across its Convenience & Mobility arm (Shell-branded service stations), Commercial & Industrial supply and its infrastructure assets.

It’s recently focused on transforming its Geelong site into a diversified energy precinct, including potential green hydrogen and gas terminal projects.

It’s also been active in expanding its retail footprint through strategic acquisitions of convenience store networks, aiming to reduce its sensitivity to volatile global refining margins by growing its non-fuel income.

The risk context for Viva Energy is tied to global oil price volatility and refining margins, which are influenced by international supply and demand. Also, as a traditional fossil fuel business, it faces long-term structural risks from the global transition to electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy, requiring significant capital investment to adapt.

Why it could be undervalued

• Retail transformation: Its aggressive expansion into the convenience and on-the-go food market is diversifying its earnings. This shift toward a higher-margin retail model is often more highly valued by the market than pure refining operations

4. Titan Minerals Limited (ASX: TTM)

Sector: Non-energy minerals

Market cap: A$224.24 million

Share price: A$0.815

Six-month share price gain: 83.15%⁹

Titan Minerals is a mining exploration company with a primary focus on the Andean Copper Belt in Ecuador.

Its business model is based on identifying and defining large-scale gold and copper deposits. The company aims to de-risk these assets through extensive drilling and geological studies to a point where they can be developed into operating mines or become attractive takeover targets for major global miners.

It has consistently released positive drilling results on its flagship Dynasty Gold Project that confirm high-grade mineralisation and indicate the potential for a much larger resource than previously thought.

Risks are typical of a junior explorer: The company doesn’t yet have a producing mine and has no steady revenue. It’s also subject to ‘sovereign risk,’ as its assets are in Ecuador, where changes in mining laws or political instability could impact operations.

Why it could be undervalued

• High-grade discovery potential: Recent exploration results suggest a significant gold system that is currently under-appreciated by the broader market
• Strategic location: Ecuador is becoming a global hotspot for copper and gold exploration. Being an early mover with a large landholding in a proven belt makes the company a potential target for larger miners looking to replenish their reserves

5. Duratec Limited (ASX: DUR)

Sector: Industrial services

Market cap: A$657.52 million

Share price: A$2.74

Six-month share price gain: 26.27%¹⁰

Duratec is a multi-disciplined engineering and remediation contractor. Its business model involves providing whole-of-life asset protection and management services, with a focus on the defence, mining, oil and gas and commercial sectors. It specialises in the protection and life extension of high-value infrastructure, such as wharves, bridges and industrial plants, which are often in harsh or remote environments.

Over the past six months, Duratec has maintained strong operational momentum, particularly within the defence sector. It has secured several significant new contracts for wharf and base upgrades across Australia.

Risk lies in the fixed-price nature of many of its contracts. If the company mismanages a project or faces significant increases in labour and material costs, its profit margins can be squeezed.

Why it could be undervalued

• Defence spending tailwind: As the Australian government increases its commitment to regional security, Duratec is uniquely positioned to capture a significant portion of the spending on northern base and maritime infrastructure
• Recession-resilient demand: Infrastructure maintenance cannot be deferred indefinitely without risking safety or operational failure, providing a more stable revenue outlook than traditional construction firms

How to trade ASX-listed cheap shares with IG AU

CFDs

1. Open a CFD trading account with IG AU
2. Search for ASX-listed cheap shares on the IG platform
3. Decide whether to go long (buy) or short (sell)
4. Choose your position size
5. Set stop-loss and limit orders
6. Place your trade and monitor it

Share trading

1. Open a share trading account with IG AU
2. Search for ASX-listed cheap shares 
3. Choose the shares you want to buy
4. Determine how many shares you want to purchase
5. Place your order
6. Monitor your investment and collect any dividends

FAQs about cheap shares

Footnotes
 

1. TradingView, April 2026
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