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.
At StockStory, we look beyond the headlines with our independent analysis to determine whether these bearish calls are justified. Keeping that in mind, here are three stocks facing legitimate challenges and some alternatives worth exploring instead.
Polaris (PII)
Consensus Price Target: $49.73 (-17.1% implied return)
Founded in 1954, Polaris (NYSE: PII) designs and manufactures high-performance off-road vehicles, snowmobiles, and motorcycles.
Why Do We Steer Clear of PII?
- Annual sales declines of 13% for the past two years show its products and services struggled to connect with the market
- Earnings per share fell by 25.6% annually over the last five years while its revenue grew, showing its incremental sales were much less profitable
- Diminishing returns on capital suggest its earlier profit pools are drying up
Polaris’s stock price of $60 implies a valuation ratio of 8x forward EV-to-EBITDA. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than PII.
L.B. Foster (FSTR)
Consensus Price Target: $28 (4.9% implied return)
Founded with a $2,500 loan, L.B. Foster (NASDAQ: FSTR) is a provider of products and services for the transportation and energy infrastructure sectors, including rail products, construction materials, and coating solutions.
Why Should You Sell FSTR?
- 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
- Lacking free cash flow generation means it has few chances to reinvest for growth, repurchase shares, or distribute capital
- Underwhelming 4.5% return on capital reflects management’s difficulties in finding profitable growth opportunities
At $26.70 per share, L.B. Foster trades at 12.9x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including FSTR in your portfolio.
Lazard (LAZ)
Consensus Price Target: $61 (10.5% implied return)
Tracing its roots back to 1848 when it began as a dry goods merchant in New Orleans, Lazard (NYSE: LAZ) is a global financial advisory and asset management firm that provides strategic advice to corporations, governments, institutions, and wealthy individuals.
Why Are We Cautious About LAZ?
- Annual revenue growth of 3.6% over the last five years was below our standards for the financials sector
- Incremental sales over the last five years were much less profitable as its earnings per share fell by 5.2% annually while its revenue grew
Lazard is trading at $55.22 per share, or 17.9x forward P/E. To fully understand why you should be careful with LAZ, check out our full research report (it’s free).
Stocks We Like More
When Trump unveiled his aggressive tariff plan in April 2025, markets tanked as investors feared a full-blown trade war. But those who panicked and sold missed the subsequent rebound that’s already erased most losses.
Don’t let fear keep you from great opportunities and take a look at 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 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025).
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-small-cap company Comfort Systems (+782% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free. Find your next big winner with StockStory today. Find your next big winner with StockStory today
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