1 Unpopular Stock That Deserves Some Love and 2 We Avoid

September 25, 2025 at 00:34 AM EDT

FFIV Cover Image

When Wall Street turns bearish on a stock, it’s worth paying attention. These calls stand out because analysts rarely issue grim ratings on companies for fear their firms will lose out in other business lines such as M&A advisory.

At StockStory, we look beyond the headlines with our independent analysis to determine whether these bearish calls are justified. Keeping that in mind, here is one stock where you should be greedy instead of fearful and two facing legitimate challenges.

Two Stocks to Sell:

F5 (FFIV)

Consensus Price Target: $325.82 (0.1% implied return)

Originally named after the F5 tornado, the most powerful on the meteorological scale, F5 (NASDAQ: FFIV) provides security and delivery solutions that protect applications across cloud, data center, and edge environments for large organizations.

Why Are We Hesitant About FFIV?

Challenges in acquiring and retaining long-term customers were reflected in its average ARR declines of 9.4% over the last year
Demand will likely be soft over the next 12 months as Wall Street’s estimates imply tepid growth of 4.5%
Operating profits and efficiency rose over the last year as it benefited from some fixed cost leverage

F5 is trading at $325.65 per share, or 6x forward price-to-sales. To fully understand why you should be careful with FFIV, check out our full research report (it’s free).

Principal Financial Group (PFG)

Consensus Price Target: $86 (7.3% implied return)

Founded in 1879 by a Civil War veteran seeking to provide financial security for families, Principal Financial Group (NASDAQGS:PFG) provides retirement solutions, asset management, and employee benefits to businesses, individuals, and institutional clients globally.

Why Are We Out on PFG?

Annual sales declines of 1.1% for the past five years show its products and services struggled to connect with the market during this cycle
Net premiums earned contracted by 1.8% annually over the last five years, showing unfavorable market dynamics this cycle
Policy losses and capital returns have eroded its book value per share this cycle as its book value per share declined by 1.7% annually over the last five years

Principal Financial Group’s stock price of $80.14 implies a valuation ratio of 1.6x forward P/B. If you’re considering PFG for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.

One Stock to Watch:

Abbott Laboratories (ABT)

Consensus Price Target: $142.72 (6.3% implied return)

With roots dating back to 1888 when founder Dr. Wallace Abbott began producing precise, dosage-form medications, Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) develops and sells a diverse range of healthcare products including medical devices, diagnostics, nutrition products, and branded generic pharmaceuticals.

Why Should ABT Be on Your Watchlist?

Economies of scale in a highly regulated sector make the company difficult to replace, giving it meaningful negotiating power
Share repurchases have increased shareholder returns as its annual earnings per share growth of 10.2% exceeded its revenue gains over the last five years
Impressive free cash flow profitability enables the company to fund new investments or reward investors with share buybacks/dividends

At $134.25 per share, Abbott Laboratories trades at 24.7x forward P/E. Is now the right time to buy? See for yourself in our in-depth research report, it’s free.

High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions

Trump’s April 2025 tariff bombshell triggered a massive market selloff, but stocks have since staged an impressive recovery, leaving those who panic sold on the sidelines.

Take advantage of the rebound by checking out our 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-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

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