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1 Unpopular Stock That Deserves Some Love and 2 We Ignore
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.
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 poised to prove Wall Street wrong and two facing legitimate challenges.
Two Stocks to Sell:
Paychex (PAYX)
Consensus Price Target: $114.93 (-8.1% implied return)
Once known as the go-to service for small business payroll needs, Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) provides payroll processing, HR services, employee benefits administration, and insurance solutions to small and medium-sized businesses.
Why Does PAYX Give Us Pause?
- Sales trends were unexciting over the last five years as its 9.9% annual growth was well below the typical software company
- Estimated sales growth of 5.4% for the next 12 months implies demand will slow from its two-year trend
- Costs have risen faster than its revenue over the last year, causing its operating margin to decline by 1.1 percentage points
Paychex is trading at $125.05 per share, or 6.5x forward price-to-sales. If you’re considering PAYX for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.
Murphy Oil (MUR)
Consensus Price Target: $39.64 (6.3% implied return)
Operating in waters over a mile deep in the Gulf of Mexico and extracting hydrocarbons from tight shale rock formations in Texas, Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) explores for and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids from fields in North America and Asia.
Why Is MUR Not Exciting?
- Efficiency has decreased over the last five years as its EBITDA margin fell by 5.1 percentage points
At $37.30 per share, Murphy Oil trades at 13.7x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including MUR in your portfolio.
One Stock to Watch:
Noble Corporation (NE)
Consensus Price Target: $48 (2% implied return)
With origins dating back over a century to 1921, Noble Corporation (NYSE:NE) operates drilling rigs that oil and gas companies charter to drill wells in deep ocean waters and shallow seas.
Why Is NE on Our Radar?
- Annual revenue growth of 29.7% over the past five years was outstanding, reflecting market share gains this cycle
- Economies of scale give it more fixed cost leverage than its smaller competitors
- EBITDA margin expanded by 15.3 percentage points over the last five years as it scaled and became more efficient
Noble Corporation’s stock price of $47.05 implies a valuation ratio of 59.6x forward P/E. Is now the right time to buy? See for yourself in our comprehensive research report, it’s free.
Stocks We Like Even More
ONE MORE THING: Top 5 Growth Stocks. The biggest stock winners almost always had one thing in common before they ran. Revenue growing like crazy. Meta. CrowdStrike. Broadcom. Our AI flagged all three. They returned 315%, 314%, and 455%, respectively.
Find out which 5 stocks it’s flagging this month — FREE. Get Our Top 5 Growth 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.