Wall Street’s bearish price targets for the stocks in this article signal serious concerns. Such forecasts are uncommon in an industry where maintaining cordial corporate relationships often trumps delivering the hard truth.
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 are three stocks facing legitimate challenges and some alternatives worth exploring instead.
C3.ai (AI)
Consensus Price Target: $8.90 (-28% implied return)
Named after the three Cs of its original focus—carbon, cloud computing, and customer relationship management—C3.ai (NYSE: AI) provides enterprise AI software that helps organizations develop, deploy, and operate large-scale artificial intelligence applications across various industries.
Why Should You Sell AI?
- Products, pricing, or go-to-market strategy need some adjustments as its billings have averaged 24.5% declines over the last year
- Bad unit economics and steep infrastructure costs are reflected in its gross margin of 29.1%, one of the worst among software companies
- Cash-burning history makes us doubt the long-term viability of its business model
C3.ai’s stock price of $12.36 implies a valuation ratio of 8.2x forward price-to-sales. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why AI doesn’t pass our bar.
Fortrea (FTRE)
Consensus Price Target: $21.71 (-9.9% implied return)
Spun off from Labcorp in 2023 to focus exclusively on clinical research services, Fortrea (NASDAQ: FTRE) is a contract research organization that helps pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device companies develop and bring their products to market through clinical trials and support services.
Why Do We Think FTRE Will Underperform?
- Annual sales declines of 3% for the past five years show its products and services struggled to connect with the market during this cycle
- Push for growth has led to negative returns on capital, signaling value destruction, and its falling returns suggest its earlier profit pools are drying up
- Eroding returns on capital from an already low base indicate that management’s recent investments are destroying value
At $24.09 per share, Fortrea trades at 25x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than FTRE.
Northern Trust (NTRS)
Consensus Price Target: $181.21 (7.9% implied return)
Founded in 1889 during Chicago's post-Great Fire rebuilding boom, Northern Trust (NASDAQ: NTRS) provides wealth management, asset servicing, and banking solutions to corporations, institutions, families, and high-net-worth individuals globally.
Why Is NTRS Not Exciting?
- Muted 6.9% annual revenue growth over the last five years shows its demand lagged behind its financials peers
Northern Trust is trading at $167.92 per share, or 13.1x forward P/E. If you’re considering NTRS for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.
High-quality stocks for all market conditions
ONE MORE THING: Top 6 Stocks for This Week. This market is separating quality stocks from expensive ones fast. AI is 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% between October 2022 and February 2026. AppLovin before it ran 753% between February 2024 and February 2026. Nvidia before it ran 1,178% between January 2023 and February 2026. 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 (+1,460% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Exlservice (+271% between June 2020 and June 2025). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.
