Market swings can be tough to stomach, and volatile stocks often experience exaggerated moves in both directions. While many thrive during risk-on environments, many also struggle to maintain investor confidence when the ride gets bumpy.

At StockStory, our job is to help you avoid costly mistakes and stay on the right side of the trade. Keeping that in mind, here are three volatile stocks to steer clear of and a few better alternatives.

Expedia (EXPE)

Rolling One-Year Beta: 1.42

Originally founded as a part of Microsoft, Expedia (NASDAQ: EXPE) is one of the world’s leading online travel agencies.

Why Does EXPE Give Us Pause?

1. Decision to emphasize platform growth over monetization has contributed to 1.8% annual declines in its average revenue per booking
2. Excessive marketing spend signals little organic demand and traction for its platform
3. Free cash flow margin dropped by 23.4 percentage points over the last few years, implying the company became more capital intensive as competition picked up

Expedia is trading at $183 per share, or 7.4x forward EV/EBITDA. If you’re considering EXPE for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.

Renasant (RNST)

Rolling One-Year Beta: 1.05

Founded in 1904 during a time when the South was rebuilding its economy, Renasant (NYSE: RNST) is a regional bank holding company that offers banking, wealth management, insurance, and specialized lending services throughout the Southeast.

Why Does RNST Worry Us?

1. Sales were flat over the last two years, indicating it’s failed to expand this cycle
2. Annual net interest income growth of 5% over the last four years was below our standards for the bank sector
3. Projected tangible book value per share decline of 9.9% for the next 12 months points to tough credit quality challenges ahead

Renasant’s stock price of $39.07 implies a valuation ratio of 1x forward P/B. To fully understand why you should be careful with RNST, check out our full research report (it’s free).

Glacier Bancorp (GBCI)

Rolling One-Year Beta: 1.10

Operating through seventeen distinct bank divisions with local brands and management teams, Glacier Bancorp (NYSE: GBCI) is a bank holding company that provides various banking services to individuals and businesses across eight western states.

Why Is GBCI Not Exciting?

1. Customers postponed purchases of its products and services this cycle as its revenue declined by 2.5% annually over the last two years
2. Muted 4% annual net interest income growth over the last four years shows its demand lagged behind its bank peers
3. Sales were less profitable over the last two years as its earnings per share fell by 16.5% annually, worse than its revenue declines

At $45.79 per share, Glacier Bancorp trades at 1.5x forward P/B. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including GBCI in your portfolio.

Stocks We Like More

When Trump unveiled his aggressive tariff plan in April 2024, 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-micro-cap company Tecnoglass (+1,754% 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

StockStory is growing and hiring equity analyst and marketing roles. Are you a 0 to 1 builder passionate about the markets and AI? See the open roles here.