3 Unpopular Stocks We Approach with Caution

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. That said, here are three stocks where the outlook is warranted and some alternatives with better fundamentals.

Dayforce (DAY)

Consensus Price Target: $69.92 (1.2% implied return)

Rebranded from Ceridian in January 2024 to highlight its flagship product, Dayforce (NYSE:DAY) provides cloud-based software that helps organizations manage their entire employee lifecycle, including HR, payroll, workforce management, benefits, and talent development.

Why Are We Hesitant About DAY?

1. Products, pricing, or go-to-market strategy may need some adjustments as its 12% average billings growth over the last year was weak
2. Gross margin of 50.9% is way below its competitors, leaving less money to invest in areas like marketing and R&D
3. Operating margin failed to increase over the last year, indicating the company couldn’t optimize its expenses

At $69.06 per share, Dayforce trades at 5.2x forward price-to-sales. To fully understand why you should be careful with DAY, check out our full research report (it’s free for active Edge members).

Atkore (ATKR)

Consensus Price Target: $64 (0.3% implied return)

Protecting the things that power our world, Atkore (NYSE:ATKR) designs and manufactures electrical safety products.

Why Is ATKR Risky?

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. Free cash flow margin shrank by 7 percentage points over the last five years, suggesting the company is consuming more capital to stay competitive
3. Diminishing returns on capital suggest its earlier profit pools are drying up

Atkore’s stock price of $63.84 implies a valuation ratio of 12.5x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than ATKR.

Old Republic International (ORI)

Consensus Price Target: $46.50 (8.2% implied return)

Founded during the Roaring Twenties in 1923 and weathering nearly a century of economic cycles, Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI) is a diversified insurance holding company that provides property, liability, title, and mortgage guaranty insurance through its various subsidiaries.

Why Are We Cautious About ORI?

1. Sluggish 3.3% annualized growth in net premiums earned over the last five years indicates the firm trailed its insurance peers
2. Earnings growth underperformed the sector average over the last two years as its EPS grew by just 9.9% annually
3. Estimated book value per share decline of 1% for the next 12 months implies a challenging profitability environment

Old Republic International is trading at $42.96 per share, or 1.6x forward P/B. To fully understand why you should be careful with ORI, check out our full research report (it’s free for active Edge members).

Stocks We Like More

If your portfolio success hinges on just 4 stocks, your wealth is built on fragile ground. You have a small window to secure high-quality assets before the market widens and these prices disappear.

Don’t wait for the next volatility shock. Check out 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 Tecnoglass (+1,754% 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.