3 Unpopular Stocks That Concern Us

Wall Street has issued downbeat forecasts for the stocks in this article. These predictions are rare - financial institutions typically hesitate to say bad things about a company because it can jeopardize their other revenue-generating business lines like M&A advisory.

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.

Shoals (SHLS)

Consensus Price Target: $7.72 (-13.5% implied return)

Started in Huntsville, Alabama, Shoals (NASDAQ:SHLS) designs and manufactures products that make solar energy systems work more efficiently.

Why Should You Dump SHLS?

1. Backlog growth averaged a weak 3.3% over the past two years, suggesting it may need to tweak its product roadmap or go-to-market strategy
2. Free cash flow margin dropped by 5.8 percentage points over the last five years, implying the company became more capital intensive as competition picked up
3. Diminishing returns on capital from an already low starting point show that neither management’s prior nor current bets are going as planned

At $8.93 per share, Shoals trades at 19.2x forward P/E. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why SHLS doesn’t pass our bar.

Veralto (VLTO)

Consensus Price Target: $115.83 (13.7% implied return)

Spun off from Danaher in 2023, Veralto (NYSE:VLTO) provides water analytics and treatment solutions.

Why Should You Sell VLTO?

1. Sales trends were unexciting over the last four years as its 4% annual growth was below the typical industrials company
2. Anticipated sales growth of 5.5% for the next year implies demand will be shaky
3. Earnings per share were flat over the last four years while its revenue grew, showing its incremental sales were less profitable

Veralto is trading at $101.84 per share, or 26x forward P/E. To fully understand why you should be careful with VLTO, check out our full research report (it’s free for active Edge members).

John Bean (JBTM)

Consensus Price Target: $150.25 (8.6% implied return)

Tracing back to its invention of the mechanical milk bottle filler in 1884, John Bean (NYSE:JBT) designs, manufactures, and sells equipment used for food processing and aviation.

Why Are We Cautious About JBTM?

1. Core business is underperforming as its organic revenue has disappointed over the past two years, suggesting it might need acquisitions to stimulate growth
2. Expenses have increased as a percentage of revenue over the last five years as its operating margin fell by 6.1 percentage points
3. Underwhelming 6.8% return on capital reflects management’s difficulties in finding profitable growth opportunities

John Bean’s stock price of $138.29 implies a valuation ratio of 20.9x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than JBTM.

Stocks We Like More

When Trump unveiled his aggressive tariff plan in April 2025, markets tanked as investors feared a full-blown trade war. But those who panicked and sold missed the subsequent rebound that’s already erased most losses.

Don’t let fear keep you from great opportunities and take a look at Top 6 Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025).

Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 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 for free. Find your next big winner with StockStory today. Find your next big winner with StockStory today

StockStory is growing and hiring equity analyst and marketing roles. Are you a 0 to 1 builder passionate about the markets and AI? See the open roles here.