3 Unpopular Stocks We Keep Off Our Radar
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.
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 are three stocks where the outlook is warranted and some alternatives with better fundamentals.
Live Nation (LYV)
Consensus Price Target: $186.87 (3.9% implied return)
Owner of Ticketmaster and operator of music festival EDC, Live Nation (NYSE:LYV) is a company specializing in live event promotion, venue management, and ticketing services for concerts and shows.
Why Should You Sell LYV?
- 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 4.6% for the last two years
- Subpar operating margin of 3.6% constrains its ability to invest in process improvements or effectively respond to new competitive threats
- Capital intensity will likely ramp up in the next year as its free cash flow margin is expected to contract by 1.5 percentage points
At $179.78 per share, Live Nation trades at 138.5x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than LYV.
Knight-Swift Transportation (KNX)
Consensus Price Target: $85.61 (13.9% implied return)
Covering 1.6 billion loaded miles in 2023 alone, Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:KNX) offers less-than-truckload and full truckload delivery services.
Why Is KNX Risky?
- Sales trends were unexciting over the last two years as its 1.1% annual growth was below the typical industrials company
- Incremental sales over the last five years were much less profitable as its earnings per share fell by 19.3% annually while its revenue grew
- Shrinking returns on capital from an already weak position reveal that neither previous nor ongoing investments are yielding the desired results
Knight-Swift Transportation’s stock price of $75.18 implies a valuation ratio of 29.7x forward P/E. If you’re considering KNX for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.
Sysco (SYY)
Consensus Price Target: $87.07 (4.3% implied return)
Powering more than 730,000 commercial kitchens across North America and Europe, Sysco (NYSE:SYY) is a global food distributor that supplies restaurants, healthcare facilities, schools, hotels, and other foodservice establishments with food products and related services.
Why Should You Dump SYY?
- Average unit sales growth of 1.1% over the past two years reflects steady demand for its products
- Ability to fund investments or reward shareholders with increased buybacks or dividends is restricted by its weak free cash flow margin of 2.4% for the last two years
- Waning returns on capital from an already weak starting point displays the inefficacy of management’s past and current investment decisions
Sysco is trading at $83.48 per share, or 17.2x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including SYY in your portfolio.
High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions
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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 Kadant (+351% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.