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

1 of Wall Street’s Favorite Stock with Solid Fundamentals and 2 We Find Risky

SEMR Cover Image

Wall Street has set ambitious price targets for the stocks in this article. While this suggests attractive upside potential, it’s important to remain skeptical because analysts face institutional pressures that can sometimes lead to overly optimistic forecasts.

Luckily for you, we at StockStory have no conflicts of interest - our sole job is to help you find genuinely promising companies. Keeping that in mind, here is one stock where Wall Street’s positive outlook is supported by strong fundamentals and two where analysts may be overlooking some important risks.

Two Stocks to Sell:

Vail Resorts (MTN)

Consensus Price Target: $181.09 (20.1% implied return)

Founded by two Aspen, Colorado ski patrol guides, Vail Resorts (NYSE: MTN) is a mountain resort company offering luxury experiences in over 30 locations across the globe.

Why Is MTN Not Exciting?

  1. Lackluster 1.2% annual revenue growth over the last two years indicates the company is losing ground to competitors
  2. Performance surrounding its skier visits has lagged its peers
  3. Demand will likely be soft over the next 12 months as Wall Street’s estimates imply tepid growth of 3.4%

Vail Resorts’s stock price of $150.81 implies a valuation ratio of 18.5x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including MTN in your portfolio.

Dover (DOV)

Consensus Price Target: $212.26 (18.2% implied return)

A company that manufactured critical equipment for the United States military during World War II, Dover (NYSE: DOV) manufactures engineered components and specialized equipment for numerous industries.

Why Is DOV Risky?

  1. Absence of organic revenue growth over the past two years suggests it may have to lean into acquisitions to drive its expansion
  2. Earnings growth over the last two years fell short of the peer group average as its EPS only increased by 3.2% annually
  3. Diminishing returns on capital suggest its earlier profit pools are drying up

Dover is trading at $179.54 per share, or 18.2x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than DOV.

One Stock to Watch:

Semrush (SEMR)

Consensus Price Target: $10.83 (45.6% implied return)

Started by Oleg Shchegolev while still in university, Semrush (NYSE: SEMR) is a software-as-a-service platform that helps companies optimize their search engine and content marketing efforts.

Why Are We Fans of SEMR?

  1. Winning new contracts that can potentially increase in value as its billings growth has averaged 23% over the last year
  2. Software is difficult to replicate at scale and leads to a stellar gross margin of 81.4%
  3. Free cash flow margin is forecasted to grow by 5.9 percentage points in the coming year, potentially giving the company more chips to play with

At $7.44 per share, Semrush trades at 2.3x forward price-to-sales. Is now a good time to buy? See for yourself in our comprehensive research report, it’s free.

Stocks We Like Even More

Donald Trump’s April 2025 "Liberation Day" tariffs sent markets into a tailspin, but stocks have since rebounded strongly, proving that knee-jerk reactions often create the best buying opportunities.

The smart money is already positioning for the next leg up. Don’t miss out on the recovery - check 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

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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