2018 was an extremely challenging year in the market. 2019 will undoubtedly pose more obstacles in a stock pickers market!!! Contributing blogger Tom Muir and Investment Mob saw a solid year thanks to his 8% gain in his 18 Stocks for under $18 in 2018. We will definitely smile as we take a gain after seeing a market getting absolutely crushed from Nov. 2018 to present.

Success in the 2019 stock market will be like surviving a Kingda Ka rollercoaster ride. Insane volatility can be anticipated as numerous political, economical and financial roadblocks are lurking in the shadows. Due diligence, research, and executing a disciplined game plan will separate the pretenders from the contenders. Below you will find a list of Investment Mob’s annual 19 stocks for under $19 in 2019. Utilize these investing ideas to unlock new sectors and prospective portfolio selections for the New Year. Please read the disclosure statement at the end of this article.

1. Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI $14.93) designs, manufactures, and sells various fiber-optic networking products worldwide. It offers optical modules, lasers, transmitters and transceivers, turn-key and distribution equipment.

2. Apple Hospitality (APLE $14.26) portfolio consists of 241 hotels with more than 30,700 guest rooms located in 88 markets throughout 34 states. Franchised with industry-leading brands, the Company's portfolio comprises 115 Marriott-branded hotels and 126 Hilton-branded hotels. APLE yields 7.6%.

3. Array Biopharma (ARRY $14.43) - biopharmaceutical company focused on targeted small molecule drugs to treat patients afflicted with cancer. Array's pipeline includes the following programs currently in registration trials: selumetinib (with AstraZeneca), LOXO-292 (with Loxo Oncology), ipatasertib (with Genentech), tucatinib (with Seattle Genetics) and ARRY-797. Vitrakvi® (larotrectinib, with Loxo Oncology) is approved in the United States and Ganovo® (danoprevir, with Roche) is approved in China.

4. Box (BOX $16.84) - provides cloud content management platform that enables organizations of various sizes to manage and share their enterprise content from anywhere or any device. Box serves healthcare and life sciences, financial services, legal services, media and entertainment, retail, education, and energy industries.

5. Carbon Black (CBLK $13.26) - leading provider of next-generation endpoint security delivered via the cloud. In 2018, Carbon Black Integration Network (CBIN) grew more than 40 percent featuring over 110 partners and 150 product integrations.

6. Fireye (FEYE $16.09) cybersecurity solution for detecting, preventing, and resolving cyber-attacks. Major data breaches including hacks, trojan horses, malware and numerous hosts of digital disruption will become tougher to prevent in 2019.

7. Habit Restaurant (HABT $10.65) operates 242 fast casual restaurants in nine states offering charbroiled hamburgers and sandwiches.

8. Invesco (IVZ $16.48) global investment manager of equities. Most recently acquired the Oppenheimer Funds, which has $250 billion in Assets Under Management (AUM). Current yield 7%.

9. JetBlue (JBLU $16.07) provides air transportation services to 101 destinations in 30 states in the United States. In 2019, airlines may reap significant year-over-year fuel-cost savings, however competition from carriers has made unit revenue growth challenging.

10. Kemet (KEM $17.26) manufactures solid, film and electrolytic capacitors and serve as distributors in automotive, communications, computer-related, industrial, consumer, military/aerospace, and alternative energy.

11. Marvel Technology (MRVL $15.47) designs, develops, and markets analog, mixed-signal, digital signal processing, and embedded and standalone integrated circuits.

12. NIO (NIO $6.36) - designs, manufactures, and sells electric vehicles in the People's Republic of China, the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom. The company is also involved in the manufacture of e-powertrain, battery packs, and components.

13. People’s United Financial (PBCT $14.37) - provides commercial banking, retail banking, and wealth management services to individual, corporate, and municipal customers. Operates through a network of 403 branches, including 147 full-service Stop and Shop supermarket branches, as well as 598 ATMs.

14. Pivotal Software (PVTL $15.60) provides cloud native platform that makes software development a strategic advantage. Pivotal Software posted an amazing third quarter earnings report that beat Wall Street's expectations on the top and bottom lines.

15. Pure Storage ($15.63) Serves large and mid-size organizations across various industries, such as cloud-based software and service providers, consumer Web, education, energy, financial services, government, healthcare and retail.

16. QuinStreet (QNST $16.01) - An online media and marketing company that provides vertically oriented customer acquisition programs for its clients. It also has its presence in the home services business-to-business and healthcare industries.

17. Under Armour (UAA $17.82) develops, markets, and distributes branded performance apparel, footwear, and accessories for men, women, and youth.

18. Yext (YEXT $14.11) - They put your business on the map. Yext manages your digital knowledge, and online presence in the cloud and syncs it to over 100 services.

19. Viking Therapeutic (VKTX $8.00) focuses on the development of novel therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. Viking has a hip fracture drug (VK5211) set to enter late-stage development, as well as a mid-stage fatty liver disease medicine (VK2809). These drugs could generate in excess of $1 billion a year in annual sales.

Disclosure: Tom currently own shares of Array Biopharma (ARRY), Invesco (IVZ), and People’s United Financial (PBCT) as speculative investments in his portfolio. These stock picks are in no way, shape, or form intended to be financial advice. They are just investment ideas that encourage the reader to do further research on his/her own. Tom receives no financial compensation for this article.

*Investment Mob Results are not typical and may vary from investor to investor. Making money in the stock market does not happen overnight. Your time, study habits, and market timing all factor into trading. There are inherent risks involved with investing in the stock market, including the loss of your investment. Past performance in the market is not indicative of future results. Any investment made is at your own risk.