The stocks featured in this article have all approached their 52-week highs. When these price levels hit, it typically signals strong business execution, positive market sentiment, or significant industry tailwinds.

While momentum can be a leading indicator, it has burned many investors as it doesn’t always correlate with long-term success. All that said, here are three stocks getting more buzz than they deserve and some you should buy instead.

Northrop Grumman (NOC)

One-Month Return: +4.6%

Responsible for the development of the first stealth bomber, Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) specializes in providing aerospace, defense, and security solutions for various industry applications.

Why Should You Dump NOC?

1. Organic revenue growth fell short of our benchmarks over the past two years and implies it may need to improve its products, pricing, or go-to-market strategy
2. Expenses have increased as a percentage of revenue over the last five years as its operating margin fell by 5.1 percentage points
3. Earnings per share lagged its peers over the last five years as they only grew by 2.2% annually

Northrop Grumman is trading at $710.25 per share, or 25.3x forward P/E. If you’re considering NOC for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.

Hope Bancorp (HOPE)

One-Month Return: -2.8%

With roots in serving Korean-American communities and now expanded to a multi-ethnic clientele across 12 states, Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ: HOPE) operates Bank of Hope, providing commercial and retail banking services with a focus on serving multi-ethnic communities across the United States.

Why Do We Pass on HOPE?

1. Flat net interest income over the last five years suggest it must find different ways to grow during this cycle
2. Flat earnings per share over the last five years underperformed the sector average
3. Tangible book value per share was flat over the last two years, indicating it’s failed to build equity value this cycle

At $11.82 per share, Hope Bancorp trades at 0.6x forward P/B. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why HOPE doesn’t pass our bar.

Fulton Financial (FULT)

One-Month Return: +6.4%

Tracing its roots back to 1882 in the heart of Pennsylvania, Fulton Financial (NASDAQ: FULT) is a financial holding company that provides banking, lending, and wealth management services to consumers and businesses across five Mid-Atlantic states.

Why Are We Cautious About FULT?

1. Sales trends were unexciting over the last five years as its 8.7% annual growth was below the typical banking company
2. Efficiency ratio is expected to worsen by 2.6 percentage points over the next year
3. Estimated tangible book value per share growth of 8.4% for the next 12 months implies profitability will slow from its two-year trend

Fulton Financial’s stock price of $21.69 implies a valuation ratio of 1.1x forward P/B. If you’re considering FULT for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.

Stocks We Like More

Your portfolio can’t afford to be based on yesterday’s story. The risk in a handful of heavily crowded stocks is rising daily.

The names generating the next wave of massive growth are right here in our Top 9 Market-Beating Stocks. 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 Exlservice (+354% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.