Have $3,000? These 3 Stocks Could Be Bargain Buys for 2026 and Beyond.

By James Brumley – Feb 24, 2026 at 2:00AM ESTKey PointsLanguage-learning service Duolingo seems to have figured out a winning formula.You may have utilized Nice’s technology without even realizing it.Iconic computer brand Dell Technologies is deeper into the artificial intelligence (AI) business than most investors might realize.We’re bullish on these 10 stocks ›NASDAQ: DUOLDuolingoMarket Cap$4.9BToday's Changeangle-down(-6.20%) $7.00Current Price$105.94Price as of February 23, 2026 at 3:58 PM ETInvestors should be willing to pay a premium for a quality stock, but that doesn't always mean you must pay a premium price.There's never a bad time to buy a good stock. A good stock is an even better buy, however, at a lower price. With that premise in mind against a backdrop of relatively steep valuations for most stocks, here's a closer look at three long-term prospects currently trading at bargain prices. 1. Duolingo Duolingo (DUOL 6.20%) is one of those names that rings a bell, but you may not be exactly sure why. This will help: This company helps people learn a new language via its website or through its mobile app. Most of its 50 million daily users are learning for free, but 11.5 million of them are paying a small monthly fee for access to its premium tools. ExpandNASDAQ: DUOLDuolingoToday's Change(-6.20%) $-7.00Current Price$105.94Key Data PointsMarket Cap$4.9BDay's Range$104.59 - $112.3152wk Range$104.51 - $544.93Volume108KAvg Vol2MGross Margin71.39% And Duolingo is growing like crazy. Its third-quarter revenue of $271.7 million was up 41% year over year, easily outpacing total user growth of only 20%. Moreover, it turned $80 million of that into earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and further expects its fourth-quarter revenue to grow by more than 30% to somewhere in the ballpark of $275 million, with 28% of that number being turned into EBITDA. And that's one of the more quietly compelling details of the Duolingo story: Despite being a small and relatively young company, it's profitable, and consistently so. Even more compelling is the fact that you can step into this stock at about 14 times analysts' expected 2026 per-share earnings of around $8. 2. Nice Have you heard the term agentic artificial intelligence (AI) but aren't quite sure what it means? Simply put, it's an artificial intelligence technology used to facilitate what seems like a normal text-based conversation between a real person and an AI platform. While once clunky and obvious, AI-powered chats are now convincing enough that you may not realize you aren't actually talking to a real person. A handful of companies now offer this tech to outfits that want an off-the-shelf solution rather than building their own. But Nice (NICE 2.83%) is arguably the best-established pure play in the business. That's why its customer list includes leading names like Visa, Accenture, Morgan Stanley, and Valvoline, just to name a few. Image source: Getty Images. It's not driving massive growth just yet, mind you; last year's top-line year-over-year growth of 8% has more or less been the long-term norm. That's still pretty good though and sustainable, particularly now that it's incorporating true artificial intelligence into its offerings; as of the end of last year, its annualized recurring revenue rate for its AI-powered tech reached $328 million, up 66% year over year. Moreover, a stake in Nice gets you into the agentic AI industry that's yet -- but set -- to explode. Mordor Intelligence predicts this business will grow at an average annualized pace of 42% through 2031. You'd be buying into this stock at about 10 times its projected 2026 profit of roughly $11 per share, by the way. 3.

Dell Technologies Last but not least, add computer company Dell Technologies (DELL 2.49%) to your list of bargain stocks to buy while you can get it at about 12 times this year's anticipated per-share earnings of nearly $10. It's been conspicuously left out of most discussions of artificial intelligence so far. Don't be fooled, though. It's very much getting into the business now. AI is a big reason the company's third-quarter revenue grew 11% year over year to $27 billion, in fact, reflecting the iconic company's ability to offer well-customized high-performance platforms. ExpandNYSE: DELLDell TechnologiesToday's Change(-2.49%) $-3.05Current Price$119.22Key Data PointsMarket Cap$79BDay's Range$118.94 - $124.2052wk Range$66.25 - $168.08Volume333KAvg Vol7MGross Margin20.68%Dividend Yield1.76% That's still just the beginning, though. As CFO David Kennedy commented in the Q3 fiscal year 2026 report published in November 2025, "FY26 will be another record year, and we're raising our AI shipment guidance to roughly $25 billion, up over 150% year over year, and revenue guidance to $111.7 billion, up 17%." COO Jeff Clarke added, "Our five-quarter pipeline is multiples of our $18.4 billion backlog with a mix of neocloud, sovereign, and enterprise customers." Investors have sold off the stock since then anyway, despite the encouraging news. All told, Dell shares are now down nearly 30% from their early-November peak. This weakness is mostly the result of a broader malaise surrounding most artificial intelligence stocks, though, not an indictment of Dell's likely future. Once more investors see that smaller and nimbler Dell is equipped to navigate the rocky road ahead, don't be surprised to see shares of the technology outfit start making their way back toward analysts' current consensus price target of $115.39.Read NextFeb 17, 2026 •By Lawrence NgaCan AI Actually Improve Duolingo's Financials in 2026?Feb 17, 2026 •By Lawrence Nga3 Risks Duolingo Investors Should Watch in 2026Feb 16, 2026 •By Lawrence Nga3 Key Takeaways From Duolingo's 2025Feb 16, 2026 •By Marc GubertiHow Buying Duolingo Today Could 10x Your Net WorthFeb 15, 2026 •By Lawrence Nga1 Important Thing Duolingo Must Prove in 2026Feb 9, 2026 •By Rick OrfordIs Duolingo Stock a Buy After the Sell-Off?About the AuthorJames Brumley is a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst covering consumer staples and consumer discretionary stocks. James is a former licensed stockbroker with Charles Schwab, and a registered investment adviser. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business management with a specialization in finance from Transylvania University.TMFjbrumleyX@jbrumleyStocks MentionedDuolingoNASDAQ: DUOL$105.94 (6.20%) $7.00NiceNASDAQ: NICE$114.36 (2.83%) $3.33Dell TechnologiesNYSE: DELL$119.22 (2.49%) $3.05*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.