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 avoid and some better opportunities instead.
NXP Semiconductors (NXPI)
Rolling One-Year Beta: 1.49
Spun off from Dutch electronics giant Philips in 2006, NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ: NXPI) is a designer and manufacturer of chips used in autos, industrial manufacturing, mobile devices, and communications infrastructure.
Why Does NXPI Give Us Pause?
- Customers postponed purchases of its products and services this cycle as its revenue declined by 4.4% annually over the last two years
- Free cash flow margin shrank by 10.1 percentage points over the last five years, suggesting the company is consuming more capital to stay competitive
NXP Semiconductors’s stock price of $216.94 implies a valuation ratio of 16.5x forward P/E. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why NXPI doesn’t pass our bar.
Travel + Leisure (TNL)
Rolling One-Year Beta: 1.40
Formerly known as Wyndham Destinations, Travel + Leisure (NYSE: TNL) is a global vacation company that provides travelers with vacation ownership, exchange, and travel services.
Why Is TNL Risky?
- Sluggish trends in its tours conducted suggest customers aren’t adopting its solutions as quickly as the company hoped
- Waning returns on capital from an already weak starting point displays the inefficacy of management’s past and current investment decisions
- 8× net-debt-to-EBITDA ratio makes lenders less willing to extend additional capital, potentially necessitating dilutive equity offerings
At $70.53 per share, Travel + Leisure trades at 9.8x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than TNL.
ChargePoint (CHPT)
Rolling One-Year Beta: 1.60
The most prominent EV charging company during the COVID bull market, ChargePoint (NYSE: CHPT) is a provider of electric vehicle charging technology solutions in North America and Europe.
Why Is CHPT Not Exciting?
- Annual sales declines of 13.8% for the past two years show its products and services struggled to connect with the market during this cycle
- Cash burn makes us question whether it can achieve sustainable long-term growth
- Negative earnings profile makes it challenging to secure favorable financing terms from lenders
ChargePoint is trading at $6.65 per share, or 0.4x forward price-to-sales. If you’re considering CHPT for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.
Stocks We Like More
Check out the high-quality names we’ve flagged in 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 244% over the last five years (as of June 30, 2025).
Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,326% between June 2020 and June 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.
