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.
Whatever the consensus opinion may be, our team at StockStory cuts through the noise by conducting independent analysis to determine a company’s long-term prospects. Keeping that in mind, here is one stock where you should be greedy instead of fearful and two facing legitimate challenges.
Two Stocks to Sell:
IPG Photonics (IPGP)
Consensus Price Target: $96.08 (4% implied return)
Both a designer and manufacturer of its products, IPG Photonics (NASDAQ: IPGP) is a provider of high-performance fiber lasers used for cutting, welding, and processing raw materials.
Why Do We Avoid IPGP?
- Sales tumbled by 3.8% annually over the last five years, showing market trends are working against its favor during this cycle
- Sales were less profitable over the last five years as its earnings per share fell by 20% annually, worse than its revenue declines
- Capital intensity has ramped up over the last five years as its free cash flow margin decreased by 15.1 percentage points
IPG Photonics’s stock price of $92.35 implies a valuation ratio of 67.9x forward P/E. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why IPGP doesn’t pass our bar.
Carter's (CRI)
Consensus Price Target: $33.40 (-3.4% 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
- Ability to fund investments or reward shareholders with increased buybacks or dividends is restricted by its weak free cash flow margin of 6.5% for the last two years
- Diminishing returns on capital from an already low starting point show that neither management’s prior nor current bets are going as planned
Carter's is trading at $34.59 per share, or 12.9x forward P/E. If you’re considering CRI for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.
One Stock to Buy:
Bloom Energy (BE)
Consensus Price Target: $123.92 (-18.1% implied return)
Working in stealth mode for eight years, Bloom Energy (NYSE: BE) designs, manufactures, and markets solid oxide fuel cell systems for on-site power generation.
Why Is BE a Top Pick?
- Annual revenue growth of 19.1% over the past five years was outstanding, reflecting market share gains this cycle
- Free cash flow turned positive over the last five years, showing the company has crossed a key inflection point
- Historical investments are beginning to pay off as its returns on capital are growing
At $151.35 per share, Bloom Energy trades at 180.3x forward P/E. Is now a good time to buy? See for yourself in our comprehensive research report, it’s free.
High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions
Your portfolio can’t afford to be based on yesterday’s story. The risk in a handful of heavily crowded stocks is rising daily.
The names generating the next wave of massive growth are right here in our Top 6 Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 244% over the last five years (as of June 30, 2025).
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-small-cap company Comfort Systems (+782% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.
