1 Unpopular Stock That Deserves Some Love and 2 Facing Headwinds

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.

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 where the outlook is warranted.

Two Stocks to Sell:

Academy Sports (ASO)

Consensus Price Target: $60.21 (3.6% implied return)

Founded in 1938 as a tire shop before expanding into fishing equipment, Academy Sports & Outdoor (NASDAQ:ASO) sells a broad selection of sporting goods but is still known for its outdoor activity merchandise.

Why Do We Think Twice About ASO?

1. Products have few die-hard fans as sales have declined by 2.4% annually over the last three years
2. Weak same-store sales trends over the past two years suggest there may be few opportunities in its core markets to open new locations
3. Capital intensity has ramped up over the last year as its free cash flow margin decreased by 3.9 percentage points

At $58.11 per share, Academy Sports trades at 8.8x forward P/E. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why ASO doesn’t pass our bar.

Universal Logistics (ULH)

Consensus Price Target: $17 (-10% implied return)

Founded in 1932, Universal Logistics (NASDAQ:ULH) is a provider of customized transportation and logistics solutions operating throughout the United States and in Mexico, Canada, and Colombia.

Why Should You Dump ULH?

1. Annual sales declines of 2.7% for the past two years show its products and services struggled to connect with the market during this cycle
2. Investment activity picked up over the last five years, pressuring its weak free cash flow margin of -0.9%
3. Diminishing returns on capital suggest its earlier profit pools are drying up

Universal Logistics’s stock price of $18.89 implies a valuation ratio of 26.5x forward P/E. To fully understand why you should be careful with ULH, check out our full research report (it’s free).

One Stock to Buy:

Fluence Energy (FLNC)

Consensus Price Target: $16.82 (-35.2% implied return)

Pioneering the use of lithium-ion batteries for grid storage, Fluence (NASDAQ:FLNC) helps store renewable energy sources with battery systems.

Why Will FLNC Outperform?

1. Demand is greater than supply as the company’s 21.5% average backlog growth over the past two years shows it’s securing new contracts and accumulating more orders than it can fulfill
2. Incremental sales over the last two years have been highly profitable as its earnings per share increased by 27.4% annually, topping its revenue gains
3. Cash burn has decreased over the last five years, showing the company is becoming a more self-sustaining business

Fluence Energy is trading at $25.95 per share, or 75.4x forward EV-to-EBITDA. Is now a good time to buy? See for yourself in our comprehensive research report, it’s free.

High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions

Check out the high-quality names we’ve flagged in our Top 5 Growth Stocks for this month. 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.