Wall Street’s bearish price targets for the stocks in this article signal serious concerns. Such forecasts are uncommon in an industry where maintaining cordial corporate relationships often trumps delivering the hard truth.

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 two stocks where Wall Street’s pessimism is creating a buying opportunity and one where the outlook is warranted.

One Stock to Sell:

UniFirst (UNF)

Consensus Price Target: $178.25 (3.6% implied return)

With a fleet of trucks making weekly deliveries to over 300,000 customer locations, UniFirst (NYSE: UNF) provides, rents, cleans, and maintains workplace uniforms and protective clothing for businesses across various industries.

Why Are We Wary of UNF?

1. Estimated sales growth of 1% for the next 12 months implies demand will slow from its two-year trend
2. Incremental sales over the last five years were less profitable as its earnings per share were flat while its revenue grew
3. Below-average returns on capital indicate management struggled to find compelling investment opportunities, and its falling returns suggest its earlier profit pools are drying up

At $172.03 per share, UniFirst trades at 20.4x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including UNF in your portfolio.

Two Stocks to Watch:

CrowdStrike (CRWD)

Consensus Price Target: $482.69 (14.4% implied return)

Founded by George Kurtz, the former CTO of the antivirus company McAfee, CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD) provides cybersecurity software that protects companies from breaches and helps them detect and respond to cyber attacks.

Why Do We Watch CRWD?

1. Customers view its software as mission-critical to their operations as its ARR has averaged 26.1% growth over the last year
2. Estimated revenue growth of 21.6% for the next 12 months implies its momentum over the last three years will continue
3. CRWD is a free cash flow machine with the flexibility to invest in growth initiatives or return capital to shareholders

CrowdStrike is trading at $421.94 per share, or 21x forward price-to-sales. Is now the time to initiate a position? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.

Ulta (ULTA)

Consensus Price Target: $503.86 (1.3% implied return)

Offering high-end prestige brands as well as lower-priced, mass-market ones, Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ: ULTA) is an American retailer that sells makeup, skincare, haircare, and fragrance products.

Why Does ULTA Stand Out?

1. Same-store sales provide a solid foundation for the steady expansion of its stores
2. Robust free cash flow margin of 8.6% gives it many options for capital deployment
3. ROIC punches in at 31.2%, illustrating management’s expertise in identifying profitable investments, and its rising returns show it’s making even more lucrative bets

Ulta’s stock price of $497.64 implies a valuation ratio of 21.5x forward P/E. 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

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