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. That said, here are two stocks where Wall Street’s pessimism is creating a buying opportunity and one facing legitimate challenges.
One Stock to Sell:
Intel (INTC)
Consensus Price Target: $21.34 (-5.4% implied return)
Inventor of the x86 processor that powered decades of technological innovation in PCs, data centers, and numerous other markets, Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is a leading manufacturer of computer processors and graphics chips.
Why Are We Out on INTC?
- Sales tumbled by 6.9% annually over the last five years, showing market trends are working against its favor during this cycle
- Overall productivity fell over the last five years as its plummeting sales were accompanied by a decline in its operating margin
- 25 percentage point decline in its free cash flow margin over the last five years reflects the company’s increased investments to defend its market position
Intel’s stock price of $22.55 implies a valuation ratio of 37.5x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including INTC in your portfolio.
Two Stocks to Watch:
CrowdStrike (CRWD)
Consensus Price Target: $411.55 (-6.3% implied return)
Founded by George Kurtz, the former CTO of the antivirus company McAfee, CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD) provides cybersecurity software that protects companies from breaches and helps them detect and respond to cyber attacks.
Why Are We Backing CRWD?
- Ability to secure long-term commitments with customers is evident in its 29% ARR growth over the last year
- Projected revenue growth of 21.1% for the next 12 months suggests its momentum from the last three years will persist
- Robust free cash flow margin of 27% gives it many options for capital deployment
At $439.44 per share, CrowdStrike trades at 22.7x forward price-to-sales. Is now the right time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.
Colgate-Palmolive (CL)
Consensus Price Target: $98.77 (12.4% implied return)
Formed after the 1928 combination between toothpaste maker Colgate and soap maker Palmolive-Peet, Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL) is a consumer products company that focuses on personal, household, and pet products.
Why Does CL Stand Out?
- Economies of scale give it negotiating power with retailers and suppliers as well as fixed cost leverage when sales grow
- CL is a free cash flow machine with the flexibility to invest in growth initiatives or return capital to shareholders, and its rising cash conversion increases its margin of safety
- Stellar returns on capital showcase management’s ability to surface highly profitable business ventures, and its returns are climbing as it finds even more attractive growth opportunities
Colgate-Palmolive is trading at $87.88 per share, or 23.4x forward P/E. Is now a good time to buy? See for yourself in our comprehensive research report, it’s free.
High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions
Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election sent major indices to all-time highs, but stocks have retraced as investors debate the health of the economy and the potential impact of tariffs.
While this leaves much uncertainty around 2025, a few companies are poised for long-term gains regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate, like our Top 5 Growth Stocks for this month. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 176% over the last five years.
Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 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 for free.
