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3 Unpopular Stocks We Think Twice About
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 are three stocks facing legitimate challenges and some alternatives worth exploring instead.
Amkor (AMKR)
Consensus Price Target: $39.22 (-23.8% implied return)
Operating through a largely Asian facility footprint, Amkor Technologies (NASDAQ:AMKR) provides outsourced packaging and testing for semiconductors.
Why Is AMKR Not Exciting?
- Products and services are facing significant end-market challenges during this cycle as sales have declined by 1.6% annually over the last two years
- Gross margin of 14.2% is below its competitors, leaving less money to invest in areas like marketing and R&D
- Poor free cash flow margin of 5.1% for the last two years limits its freedom to invest in growth initiatives, execute share buybacks, or pay dividends
At $51.49 per share, Amkor trades at 31.2x forward P/E. To fully understand why you should be careful with AMKR, check out our full research report (it’s free for active Edge members).
Bruker (BRKR)
Consensus Price Target: $52.36 (-0.7% implied return)
With roots dating back to the pioneering days of nuclear magnetic resonance technology, Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) develops and manufactures high-performance scientific instruments that enable researchers and industrial analysts to explore materials at microscopic, molecular, and cellular levels.
Why Does BRKR Give Us Pause?
- 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
- Capital intensity has ramped up over the last five years as its free cash flow margin decreased by 11.1 percentage points
- Shrinking returns on capital suggest that increasing competition is eating into the company’s profitability
Bruker’s stock price of $52.70 implies a valuation ratio of 25.6x forward P/E. If you’re considering BRKR for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.
Northern Trust (NTRS)
Consensus Price Target: $139.39 (-3.3% 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 Are We Wary of NTRS?
- 5.2% annual revenue growth over the last five years was slower than its financials peers
- Earnings per share lagged its peers over the last five years as they only grew by 6.6% annually
Northern Trust is trading at $144.12 per share, or 15.5x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than NTRS.
Stocks We Like More
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 9 Market-Beating Stocks. 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.