When Wall Street turns bearish on a stock, it’s worth paying attention. These calls stand out because analysts rarely issue grim ratings on companies for fear their firms will lose out in other business lines such as M&A advisory.
Accurately determining a company’s long-term prospects isn’t easy, especially when sentiment is weak. That’s where StockStory comes in - to help you find attractive investment candidates backed by unbiased research. Keeping that in mind, here is one stock where you should be greedy instead of fearful and two where the skepticism is well-placed.
Two Stocks to Sell:
Carter's (CRI)
Consensus Price Target: $39 (2.8% implied return)
Rumored to sell more than 10 products for every child born in the United States, Carter's (NYSE: CRI) is an American designer and marketer of children's apparel.
Why Are We Out on CRI?
- Poor same-store sales performance over the past two years indicates it’s having trouble bringing new shoppers into its stores
- Low free cash flow margin of 5.4% for the last two years gives it little breathing room, constraining its ability to self-fund growth or return capital to shareholders
- Waning returns on capital from an already weak starting point displays the inefficacy of management’s past and current investment decisions
Carter’s stock price of $37.95 implies a valuation ratio of 12x forward P/E. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why CRI doesn’t pass our bar.
Northwest Bancshares (NWBI)
Consensus Price Target: $13.86 (4.1% implied return)
Founded in 1896 and operating across Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, and Indiana, Northwest Bancshares (NASDAQ: NWBI) is a bank holding company that operates Northwest Bank, providing personal and business banking, investment management, and trust services.
Why Is NWBI Risky?
- Annual net interest income growth of 5.9% over the last five years was below our standards for the banking sector
- Performance over the past five years shows its incremental sales were less profitable, as its 1.5% annual earnings per share growth trailed its revenue gains
- 3% annual tangible book value per share growth over the last two years was slower than its banking peers
At $13.31 per share, Northwest Bancshares trades at 1x forward P/B. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than NWBI.
One Stock to Buy:
Piper Sandler (PIPR)
Consensus Price Target: $94.88 (5.4% implied return)
Tracing its roots back to 1895 and rebranded from Piper Jaffray in 2020, Piper Sandler (NYSE: PIPR) is an investment bank that provides advisory services, capital raising, institutional brokerage, and research for corporations, governments, and institutional investors.
Why Is PIPR a Good Business?
- Impressive 18.9% annual revenue growth over the last two years indicates it’s winning market share this cycle
- Performance over the past two years shows its incremental sales were extremely profitable, as its annual earnings per share growth of 38.3% outpaced its revenue gains
- Impressive 13.4% annual tangible book value per share growth over the last two years indicates it’s building equity value this cycle
Piper Sandler is trading at $90.05 per share, or 18.4x forward P/E. Is now the time to initiate a position? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.
Stocks We Like Even More
ONE MORE THING: Top 6 Stocks for This Week. This market is separating quality stocks from expensive ones fast. AI taking down whole sectors with no warning. In a rotation this fast, you need more than a list of good companies.
Our AI system flagged Palantir before it ran 1,662%. AppLovin before it ran 753%. Nvidia before it ran 1,178%. Each week it produces 6 new names that pass the same tests. Get Our Top 6 Stocks for Free HERE.
Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,326% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Tecnoglass (+1,754% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.
