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.
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. That said, here are two stocks where you should be greedy instead of fearful and one facing legitimate challenges.
One Stock to Sell:
Allient (ALNT)
Consensus Price Target: $118 (1.7% implied return)
Founded in 1962, Allient (NASDAQ:ALNT) develops and manufactures precision and specialty-controlled motion components and systems.
Why Does ALNT Fall Short?
- Products and services are facing end-market challenges during this cycle, as seen in its flat sales over the last two years
- Lacking free cash flow generation means it has few chances to reinvest for growth, repurchase shares, or distribute capital
- Below-average returns on capital indicate management struggled to find compelling investment opportunities
Allient is trading at $115.98 per share, or 36.7x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including ALNT in your portfolio.
Two Stocks to Watch:
Zscaler (ZS)
Consensus Price Target: $209.68 (8.6% implied return)
Pioneering the "zero trust" approach that has fundamentally changed enterprise network security, Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) provides a cloud-based security platform that connects users, devices, and applications securely without traditional network-based security hardware.
Why Will ZS Beat the Market?
- Customers view its software as mission-critical to their operations as its ARR has averaged 25.2% growth over the last year
- Fast payback periods on sales and marketing expenses allow the company to invest heavily and onboard many customers concurrently
- ZS is a free cash flow machine with the flexibility to invest in growth initiatives or return capital to shareholders
Zscaler’s stock price of $193.15 implies a valuation ratio of 8.8x forward price-to-sales. Is now the right time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.
TaskUs (TASK)
Consensus Price Target: $8.50 (3.8% implied return)
Starting as a virtual assistant service in 2008 before evolving into a global digital services provider, TaskUs (NASDAQ:TASK) provides outsourced digital services including customer experience management, content moderation, and AI data services to innovative technology companies.
Why Are We Positive on TASK?
- Annual revenue growth of 15.1% over the last two years was superb and indicates its market share increased during this cycle
- Free cash flow margin increased by 17.6 percentage points over the last five years, giving the company more capital to invest or return to shareholders
- Returns on capital are growing as management capitalizes on its market opportunities
At $8.19 per share, TaskUs trades at 5.9x 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
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Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,460% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Comfort Systems (+1,154% between June 2020 and June 2025). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.