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3 of Wall Street’s Favorite Stocks We Steer Clear Of
The stocks in this article have caught Wall Street’s attention in a big way, with price targets implying returns above 20%. But investors should take these forecasts with a grain of salt because analysts typically say nice things about companies so their firms can win business in other product lines like M&A advisory.
Luckily for you, we at StockStory have no conflicts of interest - our sole job is to help you find genuinely promising companies. Keeping that in mind, here are three stocks where Wall Street may be overlooking some important risks and some alternatives with better fundamentals.
ZoomInfo (GTM)
Consensus Price Target: $12.39 (21.3% implied return)
Operating a platform it calls "RevOS" - short for Revenue Operating System - ZoomInfo (NASDAQ:GTM) provides sales, marketing, and recruiting teams with business intelligence and analytics to identify prospects and deliver targeted outreach.
Why Is GTM Risky?
- Customers had second thoughts about committing to its platform over the last year as its average billings growth of 1% underwhelmed
- Sales are projected to be flat over the next 12 months and imply weak demand
- Operating margin expansion of 5.1 percentage points over the last year shows the company optimized its expenses
At $10.21 per share, ZoomInfo trades at 2.5x forward price-to-sales. If you’re considering GTM for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.
Owens Corning (OC)
Consensus Price Target: $139.31 (23.1% implied return)
Credited with the discovery of fiberglass, Owens Corning (NYSE:OC) supplies building and construction materials to the United States and international markets.
Why Do We Avoid OC?
- Organic sales performance over the past two years indicates the company may need to make strategic adjustments or rely on M&A to catalyze faster growth
- Efficiency has decreased over the last five years as its operating margin fell by 13.6 percentage points
- Waning returns on capital imply its previous profit engines are losing steam
Owens Corning is trading at $113.15 per share, or 11.3x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than OC.
Fortune Brands (FBIN)
Consensus Price Target: $62.56 (23.2% implied return)
Targeting a wide customer base of residential and commercial customers, Fortune Brands (NYSE:FBIN) makes plumbing, security, and outdoor living products.
Why Do We Steer Clear of FBIN?
- Organic revenue growth fell short of our benchmarks over the past two years and implies it may need to improve its products, pricing, or go-to-market strategy
- Costs have risen faster than its revenue over the last five years, causing its operating margin to decline by 10.4 percentage points
- Earnings per share fell by 5.3% annually over the last five years while its revenue grew, showing its incremental sales were much less profitable
Fortune Brands’s stock price of $50.78 implies a valuation ratio of 12.7x forward P/E. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why FBIN doesn’t pass our bar.
Stocks We Like More
The market’s up big this year - but there’s a catch. Just 4 stocks account for half the S&P 500’s entire gain. That kind of concentration makes investors nervous, and for good reason. While everyone piles into the same crowded names, smart investors are hunting quality where no one’s looking - and paying a fraction of the price. Check out the high-quality names we’ve flagged in our Top 5 Strong Momentum 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-micro-cap company Kadant (+351% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free. Find your next big winner with StockStory today. Find your next big winner with StockStory today.