1 Surging Stock with Exciting Potential and 2 We Find Risky

The stocks featured in this article have all approached their 52-week highs. When these price levels hit, it typically signals strong business execution, positive market sentiment, or significant industry tailwinds.

However, not all companies with momentum are long-term winners, and many investors have lost money by following short-term trends. Keeping that in mind, here is one stock we think lives up to the hype and two that may correct.

Two Stocks to Sell:

Kulicke and Soffa (KLIC)

One-Month Return: +29.5%

Headquartered in Singapore, Kulicke & Soffa (NASDAQ: KLIC) is a provider of production equipment and tools used to assemble semiconductor devices

Why Is KLIC Risky?

1. Products and services are facing significant end-market challenges during this cycle as sales have declined by 1.6% annually over the last five years
2. Inability to adjust its cost structure while its revenue declined over the last five years led to a 40.3 percentage point drop in the company’s operating margin
3. Sales were less profitable over the last five years as its earnings per share fell by 29.8% annually, worse than its revenue declines

Kulicke and Soffa is trading at $73.44 per share, or 24.5x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including KLIC in your portfolio.

Crown Holdings (CCK)

One-Month Return: +9.1%

Formerly Crown Cork & Seal, Crown Holdings (NYSE:CCK) produces packaging products for consumer marketing companies, including food, beverage, household, and industrial products.

Why Are We Cautious About CCK?

1. Scale is a double-edged sword because it limits the company’s growth potential compared to its smaller competitors, as reflected in its below-average annual revenue increases of 1.3% for the last five years
2. Demand will likely be soft over the next 12 months as Wall Street’s estimates imply tepid growth of 4.6%
3. High input costs result in an inferior gross margin of 21.1% that must be offset through higher volumes

Crown Holdings’s stock price of $110.79 implies a valuation ratio of 13.6x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than CCK.

One Stock to Buy:

ESCO (ESE)

One-Month Return: +21.5%

A developer of the communication systems used in the Batmobile of “The Dark Knight,” ESCO (NYSE:ESE) is a provider of engineered components for the aerospace, defense, and utility sectors.

Why Are We Backing ESE?

1. Average backlog growth of 41.7% over the past two years shows it has a steady sales pipeline that will drive future orders
2. Incremental sales significantly boosted profitability as its annual earnings per share growth of 36.3% over the last two years outstripped its revenue performance
3. Free cash flow margin grew by 10.9 percentage points over the last five years, giving the company more chips to play with

At $268 per share, ESCO trades at 32.5x forward P/E. Is now the time to initiate a position? See for yourself in our full research report, it’s free.

High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions

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 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-small-cap company Exlservice (+354% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.