1 Unpopular Stock That Deserves a Second Chance and 2 We Question

Wall Street’s bearish price targets for the stocks in this article signal serious concerns. Such forecasts are uncommon in an industry where maintaining cordial corporate relationships often trumps delivering the hard truth.

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 is one stock where Wall Street’s pessimism is creating a buying opportunity and two where the skepticism is well-placed.

Two Stocks to Sell:

MasTec (MTZ)

Consensus Price Target: $256 (4.1% implied return)

Involved in the 1996 Olympic Games MasTec (NYSE:MTZ) is an infrastructure construction company that specializes in the telecommunications, energy, and utility industries.

Why Are We Wary of MTZ?

1. Competitive supply chain dynamics and steep production costs are reflected in its low gross margin of 12.9%
2. Operating margin of 3.1% fell from an already low starting point over the last five years because it pursued growth instead of profits
3. Free cash flow margin dropped by 4.2 percentage points over the last five years, implying the company became more capital intensive as competition picked up

MasTec is trading at $246.02 per share, or 32.2x forward P/E. To fully understand why you should be careful with MTZ, check out our full research report (it’s free).

Orion (ORN)

Consensus Price Target: $13.13 (6.6% implied return)

Established in 1994, Orion (NYSE:ORN) provides construction services for marine infrastructure and industrial projects.

Why Do We Avoid ORN?

1. Sales pipeline suggests its future revenue growth won’t meet our standards as its backlog averaged 1.7% declines over the past two years
2. Revenue growth over the past five years was nullified by the company’s new share issuances as its earnings per share fell by 3.8% annually
3. Low free cash flow margin of -0.7% for the last five years gives it little breathing room, constraining its ability to self-fund growth or return capital to shareholders

Orion’s stock price of $12.31 implies a valuation ratio of 46.4x forward P/E. If you’re considering ORN for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.

One Stock to Buy:

O'Reilly (ORLY)

Consensus Price Target: $108.72 (8.8% implied return)

Serving both the DIY customer and professional mechanic, O’Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY) is an auto parts and accessories retailer that sells everything from fuel pumps to car air fresheners to mufflers.

Why Will ORLY Outperform?

1. Locations open for at least a year are seeing increased demand as same-store sales have averaged 3.5% growth over the past two years
2. Disciplined cost controls and effective management resulted in a strong two-year operating margin of 19.5%
3. Stellar returns on capital showcase management’s ability to surface highly profitable business ventures

At $99.90 per share, O'Reilly trades at 31x forward P/E. Is now a good time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.

Stocks We Like Even More

The market’s up big this year - but there’s a catch. Just 4 stocks account for half the S&P 500’s entire gain. That kind of concentration makes investors nervous, and for good reason. While everyone piles into the same crowded names, smart investors are hunting quality where no one’s looking - and paying a fraction of the price. Check out the high-quality names we’ve flagged in our 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 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.