Laser Focus World is an industry bedrock—first published in 1965 and still going strong. We publish original articles about cutting-edge advances in lasers, optics, photonics, sensors, and quantum technologies, as well as test and measurement, and the shift currently underway to usher in the photonic integrated circuits, optical interconnects, and copackaged electronics and photonics to deliver the speed and efficiency essential for data centers of the future.

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Editorial Advisory Board

  • Professor Andrea M. Armani, University of Southern California
  • Ruti Ben-Shlomi, Ph.D., LightSolver
  • James Butler, Ph.D., Hamamatsu
  • Natalie Fardian-Melamed, Ph.D., Columbia University
  • Justin Sigley, Ph.D., AmeriCOM
  • Professor Birgit Stiller, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, and Leibniz University of Hannover
  • Professor Stephen Sweeney, University of Glasgow
  • Mohan Wang, Ph.D., University of Oxford
  • Professor Xuchen Wang, Harbin Engineering University
  • Professor Stefan Witte, Delft University of Technology

3 of Wall Street’s Favorite Stocks Facing Headwinds

PUBM Cover Image

Wall Street is overwhelmingly bullish on the stocks in this article, with price targets suggesting significant upside potential. However, it’s worth remembering that analysts rarely issue sell ratings, partly because their firms often seek other business from the same companies they cover.

Unlike the investment banks, we created StockStory to provide independent analysis that helps you determine which companies are truly worth following. Keeping that in mind, here are three stocks where Wall Street may be overlooking some important risks and some alternatives with better fundamentals.

PubMatic (PUBM)

Consensus Price Target: $15.50 (25.1% implied return)

Founded in 2006 as an online ad platform helping ad sellers, Pubmatic (NASDAQ: PUBM) is a fully integrated cloud-based programmatic advertising platform.

Why Do We Think PUBM Will Underperform?

  1. Sales trends were unexciting over the last three years as its 6.6% annual growth was well below the typical software company
  2. Estimated sales growth of 4.3% for the next 12 months implies demand will slow from its three-year trend
  3. Gross margin of 64.9% is below its competitors, leaving less money to invest in areas like marketing and R&D

PubMatic is trading at $12.39 per share, or 2x forward price-to-sales. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why PUBM doesn’t pass our bar.

SunOpta (STKL)

Consensus Price Target: $9.40 (54.9% implied return)

Committed to clean-label foods, SunOpta (NASDAQ: STKL) is a sustainability-focused food and beverage company specializing in the sourcing, processing, and packaging of organic products.

Why Are We Hesitant About STKL?

  1. Sales tumbled by 4.2% annually over the last three years, showing consumer trends are working against its favor
  2. Subscale operations are evident in its revenue base of $742.7 million, meaning it has fewer distribution channels than its larger rivals
  3. Commoditized products, bad unit economics, and high competition are reflected in its low gross margin of 16%

At $6.07 per share, SunOpta trades at 30.7x forward P/E. To fully understand why you should be careful with STKL, check out our full research report (it’s free).

Matrix Service (MTRX)

Consensus Price Target: $17 (25.9% implied return)

Founded in Oklahoma, Matrix Service (NASDAQ: MTRX) provides engineering, fabrication, construction, and maintenance services primarily to the energy and industrial markets.

Why Does MTRX Fall Short?

  1. Annual sales declines of 10.7% for the past five years show its products and services struggled to connect with the market during this cycle
  2. Competitive supply chain dynamics and steep production costs are reflected in its low gross margin of 4.2%
  3. Earnings per share decreased by more than its revenue over the last five years, partly because it diluted shareholders

Matrix Service’s stock price of $13.50 implies a valuation ratio of 17.7x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including MTRX in your portfolio.

Stocks We Like More

Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election sent major indices to all-time highs, but stocks have retraced as investors debate the health of the economy and the potential impact of tariffs.

While this leaves much uncertainty around 2025, a few companies are poised for long-term gains regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate, like 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

StockStory is growing and hiring equity analyst and marketing roles. Are you a 0 to 1 builder passionate about the markets and AI? See the open roles here.

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