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.
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 you should be greedy instead of fearful and two facing legitimate challenges.
Two Stocks to Sell:
Albany (AIN)
Consensus Price Target: $55.25 (-4.1% implied return)
Founded in 1895, Albany (NYSE:AIN) is a global textiles and materials processing company, specializing in machine clothing for paper mills and engineered composite structures for aerospace and other industries.
Why Do We Steer Clear of AIN?
- Annual revenue growth of 2.5% over the last two years was below our standards for the industrials sector
- Free cash flow margin shrank by 9.9 percentage points over the last five years, suggesting the company is consuming more capital to stay competitive
- Diminishing returns on capital from an already low starting point show that neither management’s prior nor current bets are going as planned
At $57.60 per share, Albany trades at 20.3x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than AIN.
STERIS (STE)
Consensus Price Target: $281.63 (7.8% implied return)
With a mission critical role in preventing healthcare-associated infections, STERIS (NYSE:STE) provides infection prevention products, sterilization services, and medical equipment that help healthcare facilities and life science companies maintain sterile environments.
Why Does STE Fall Short?
- Low returns on capital reflect management’s struggle to allocate funds effectively
STERIS is trading at $261.18 per share, or 24.3x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including STE in your portfolio.
One Stock to Buy:
Blackstone (BX)
Consensus Price Target: $178.41 (14% implied return)
With over $1 trillion in assets under management and investments spanning real estate, private equity, credit, and hedge funds, Blackstone (NYSE:BX) is a global alternative asset manager that invests capital on behalf of pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and other institutional investors.
Why Is BX a Top Pick?
- Market share has increased this cycle as its 19.2% annual revenue growth over the last five years was exceptional
- Fee-related earnings increased by 22.7% annually over the last five years as it refined its cost structure
- Earnings growth has easily exceeded the peer group average over the last five years as its EPS has compounded at 19.7% annually
Blackstone’s stock price of $156.50 implies a valuation ratio of 25.1x forward P/E. Is now the right time to buy? See for yourself in our comprehensive research report, it’s free.
Stocks We Like Even More
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 Kadant (+351% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.