3 of Wall Street's Favorite Stocks We Find Risky

Wall Street has set ambitious price targets for the stocks in this article. While this suggests attractive upside potential, it’s important to remain skeptical because analysts face institutional pressures that can sometimes lead to overly optimistic forecasts.

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’s enthusiasm may be misplaced and some other investments worth exploring instead.

BlackLine (BL)

Consensus Price Target: $61.83 (23.9% implied return)

Born from the vision to eliminate tedious manual spreadsheet work for accountants, BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL) provides cloud-based software that automates and streamlines financial close, intercompany accounting, and invoice-to-cash processes for accounting departments.

Why Does BL Give Us Pause?

1. Offerings struggled to generate meaningful interest as its average billings growth of 7.2% over the last year did not impress
2. Estimated sales growth of 8.3% for the next 12 months implies demand will slow from its two-year trend
3. Operating margin improvement of 1.3 percentage points over the last year demonstrates its ability to scale efficiently

BlackLine is trading at $49.90 per share, or 4.4x forward price-to-sales. If you’re considering BL for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.

Quest Resource (QRHC)

Consensus Price Target: $3.08 (153% implied return)

Recycling corporate waste to help companies be more sustainable, Quest Resource (NASDAQ:QRHC) is a provider of waste and recycling services.

Why Are We Out on QRHC?

1. Customers postponed purchases of its products and services this cycle as its revenue declined by 2.4% annually over the last two years
2. Diminishing returns on capital from an already low starting point show that neither management’s prior nor current bets are going as planned
3. Limited cash reserves may force the company to seek unfavorable financing terms that could dilute shareholders

At $1.22 per share, Quest Resource trades at 129x forward P/E. To fully understand why you should be careful with QRHC, check out our full research report (it’s free for active Edge members).

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (GLDD)

Consensus Price Target: $15 (37.6% implied return)

Founded as Lydon & Drews dredging company, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (NASDAQ:GLDD) provides dredging services, land reclamation, and coastal protection projects in the United States and internationally.

Why Are We Wary of GLDD?

1. Muted 2.9% annual revenue growth over the last five years shows its demand lagged behind its industrials peers
2. Issuance of new shares partly offset its revenue growth over the last five years as its earnings per share were flat
3. Cash-burning tendencies make us wonder if it can sustainably generate shareholder value

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock’s stock price of $10.90 implies a valuation ratio of 13x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than GLDD.

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 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 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 Exlservice (+354% 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

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