Volatility cuts both ways - while it creates opportunities, it also increases risk, making sharp declines just as likely as big gains. This unpredictability can shake out even the most experienced investors.

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 is one volatile stock that could deliver huge gains and two best left to the gamblers.

Two Stocks to Sell:

Zeta (ZETA)

Rolling One-Year Beta: 2.22

Co-founded by former Apple CEO John Sculley, Zeta Global (NYSE: ZETA) provides software and data analytics tools that help companies market their products to billions of customers.

Why Does ZETA Give Us Pause?

1. Gross margin of 60.4% reflects its relatively high servicing costs
2. Operating losses show it sacrificed profitability while scaling the business
3. Poor free cash flow margin of 9.8% for the last year limits its freedom to invest in growth initiatives, execute share buybacks, or pay dividends

At $15.45 per share, Zeta trades at 2.6x forward price-to-sales. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including ZETA in your portfolio.

EPAM (EPAM)

Rolling One-Year Beta: 1.24

Founded in 1993 during the early days of offshore software development, EPAM Systems (NYSE: EPAM) provides digital engineering, cloud, and AI transformation services to help global enterprises and startups modernize their technology systems and create digital products.

Why Are We Wary of EPAM?

1. Underwhelming constant currency revenue performance over the past two years suggests its product offering at current prices doesn’t resonate with customers
2. Free cash flow margin shrank by 7.3 percentage points over the last five years, suggesting the company is consuming more capital to stay competitive
3. Eroding returns on capital suggest its historical profit centers are aging

EPAM’s stock price of $182.83 implies a valuation ratio of 16.8x forward P/E. If you’re considering EPAM for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.

One Stock to Buy:

Live Oak Bancshares (LOB)

Rolling One-Year Beta: 1.09

Founded during the 2008 financial crisis with a vision to reimagine small business banking through technology, Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE: LOB) is a bank holding company that specializes in providing online banking services and SBA-guaranteed loans to small businesses across targeted industries nationwide.

Why Are We Bullish on LOB?

1. Annual net interest income growth of 14.5% over the last four years was superb and indicates its market share increased during this cycle
2. Performance over the past five years shows its incremental sales were extremely profitable, as its annual earnings per share growth of 59.2% outpaced its revenue gains
3. Impressive 11.3% annual tangible book value per share growth over the last five years indicates it’s building equity value this cycle

Live Oak Bancshares is trading at $32.27 per share, or 1.3x forward P/B. Is now a good time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.

High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions

Market indices reached historic highs following Donald Trump’s presidential victory in November 2024, but the outlook for 2025 is clouded by new trade policies that could impact business confidence and growth.

While this has caused many investors to adopt a "fearful" wait-and-see approach, we’re leaning into our best ideas that can grow regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate. Take advantage of Mr. Market by checking out 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 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