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.

Our 80,000 qualified print subscribers—and 130,000 12-month engaged online audience—trust us to dive in and provide original journalism you won’t find elsewhere covering key emerging areas such as laser-driven inertial confinement fusion, lasers in space, integrated photonics, chipscale lasers, LiDAR, metasurfaces, high-energy laser weaponry, photonic crystals, and quantum computing/sensors/communications. We cover the innovations driving these markets.

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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 Unpopular Stocks with Questionable Fundamentals

XPO 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.

Accurately determining a company’s long-term prospects isn’t easy, especially when sentiment is weak. That’s where StockStory comes in - to help you find attractive investment candidates backed by unbiased research. Keeping that in mind, here are three stocks facing legitimate challenges and some alternatives worth exploring instead.

XPO (XPO)

Consensus Price Target: $138.80 (3% implied return)

Owning a mobile game simulating freight operations for the Tour de France, XPO (NYSE: XPO) is a transportation company specializing in expedited shipping services.

Why Do We Steer Clear of XPO?

  1. Products and services are facing significant end-market challenges during this cycle as sales have declined by 6.5% annually over the last five years
  2. Earnings per share were flat over the last two years and fell short of the peer group average
  3. Free cash flow margin dropped by 7.2 percentage points over the last five years, implying the company became more capital intensive as competition picked up

XPO’s stock price of $134.70 implies a valuation ratio of 33.1x forward P/E. To fully understand why you should be careful with XPO, check out our full research report (it’s free).

Credit Acceptance (CACC)

Consensus Price Target: $467.50 (-8.8% implied return)

Founded in 1972 by Donald Foss to serve customers overlooked by traditional lenders, Credit Acceptance (NASDAQ: CACC) provides auto financing solutions that enable car dealers to sell vehicles to consumers with limited or impaired credit histories.

Why Do We Pass on CACC?

  1. Products and services are facing end-market challenges during this cycle, as seen in its flat sales over the last two years
  2. Sales over the last two years were less profitable as its earnings per share fell by 10% annually while its revenue was flat
  3. Elevated debt-to-equity ratio of 3.9× suggests the firm is overleveraged and may struggle to secure additional financing

At $512.33 per share, Credit Acceptance trades at 11.9x forward P/E. If you’re considering CACC for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.

Comerica (CMA)

Consensus Price Target: $66.65 (-2.9% implied return)

Founded in 1849 during the California Gold Rush era, Comerica (NYSE: CMA) is a financial services company that provides commercial banking, retail banking, and wealth management services to businesses and individuals.

Why Do We Think Twice About CMA?

  1. Net interest income trends were unexciting over the last five years as its 3.2% annual growth was below the typical banking firm
  2. Earnings per share decreased by more than its revenue over the last two years, showing each sale was less profitable
  3. Flat tangible book value per share over the last five years suggest it must find different ways to enhance shareholder value during this cycle

Comerica is trading at $68.67 per share, or 1.3x forward P/B. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including CMA in your portfolio.

Stocks We Like More

When Trump unveiled his aggressive tariff plan in April 2025, markets tanked as investors feared a full-blown trade war. But those who panicked and sold missed the subsequent rebound that’s already erased most losses.

Don’t let fear keep you from great opportunities and take a look at 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-micro-cap company Kadant (+351% 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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