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.
Navigating these stocks isn’t easy, which is why StockStory helps you find Comfort In Chaos. Keeping that in mind, here are three volatile stocks best left to the gamblers and some better opportunities instead.
Asana (ASAN)
Rolling One-Year Beta: 1.51
Born from the founders' frustration with the inefficiencies of email-based collaboration at Facebook, Asana (NYSE: ASAN) provides a work management platform that helps organizations track projects, set goals, and manage workflows in a centralized digital workspace.
Why Does ASAN Give Us Pause?
- Offerings struggled to generate meaningful interest as its average billings growth of 9.6% over the last year did not impress
- Competitive market dynamics make it difficult to retain customers, leading to a weak 95.7% net revenue retention rate
- Complex implementation process for enterprise clients means customers take longer to ramp up, as seen in its extended payback periods
At $13.79 per share, Asana trades at 4x forward price-to-sales. To fully understand why you should be careful with ASAN, check out our full research report (it’s free).
Palo Alto Networks (PANW)
Rolling One-Year Beta: 1.38
Founded in 2005 by security visionary Nir Zuk who sought to reimagine firewall technology, Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) provides AI-powered cybersecurity platforms that protect organizations' networks, clouds, and endpoints from sophisticated threats.
Why Are We Wary of PANW?
- Annual revenue growth of 18.8% over the last three years was below our standards for the software sector
- Products, pricing, or go-to-market strategy may need some adjustments as its 1.8% average billings growth over the last year was weak
Palo Alto Networks is trading at $197.10 per share, or 13.3x forward price-to-sales. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including PANW in your portfolio.
Installed Building Products (IBP)
Rolling One-Year Beta: 1.08
Founded in 1977, Installed Building Products (NYSE: IBP) is a company specializing in the installation of insulation, waterproofing, and other complementary building products for residential and commercial construction.
Why Are We Cautious About IBP?
- Annual revenue growth of 3.5% over the last two years was below our standards for the industrials sector
- Sales are projected to tank by 3.1% over the next 12 months as demand evaporates
- Earnings growth underperformed the sector average over the last two years as its EPS grew by just 5.3% annually
Installed Building Products’s stock price of $279.40 implies a valuation ratio of 28x forward P/E. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why IBP doesn’t pass our bar.
High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions
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 Strong Momentum Stocks for this week. 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 Kadant (+351% 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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