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.

Laser Focus World is part of Endeavor Business Media, a division of EndeavorB2B.

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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 We Approach with Caution

ESTC 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 are three stocks where Wall Street’s estimates seem disconnected from reality and some better opportunities to consider.

Elastic (ESTC)

Consensus Price Target: $110.48 (48.3% implied return)

Started by Shay Banon as a search engine for his wife's growing list of recipes at Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris, Elastic (NYSE: ESTC) helps companies integrate search into their products and monitor their cloud infrastructure.

Why Does ESTC Fall Short?

  1. 19.8% annual revenue growth over the last three years was slower than its software peers
  2. Suboptimal cost structure is highlighted by its history of operating margin losses
  3. Free cash flow margin is forecasted to shrink by 1.7 percentage points in the coming year, suggesting the company will consume more capital to keep up with its competitors

At $74.47 per share, Elastic trades at 4.8x forward price-to-sales. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than ESTC.

Yext (YEXT)

Consensus Price Target: $9.44 (20.3% implied return)

Founded in 2006 by Howard Lerman, Yext (NYSE: YEXT) offers software as a service that helps their clients manage and monitor their online listings and customer reviews across all relevant databases, from Google Maps to Alexa or Siri.

Why Are We Wary of YEXT?

  1. Underwhelming ARR growth of 8.8% over the last year suggests the company faced challenges in acquiring and retaining long-term customers
  2. Demand will likely be soft over the next 12 months as Wall Street’s estimates imply tepid growth of 4.7%
  3. Extended payback periods on sales investments suggest the company’s platform isn’t resonating enough to drive efficient sales conversions

Yext’s stock price of $7.85 implies a valuation ratio of 2.3x forward price-to-sales. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why YEXT doesn’t pass our bar.

Portillo's (PTLO)

Consensus Price Target: $12.20 (64.1% implied return)

Begun as a Chicago hot dog stand in 1963, Portillo’s (NASDAQ: PTLO) is a casual restaurant chain that serves Chicago-style hot dogs and beef sandwiches as well as fries and shakes.

Why Are We Hesitant About PTLO?

  1. Lagging same-store sales over the past two years suggest it might have to change its pricing and marketing strategy to stimulate demand
  2. Low free cash flow margin of -0.4% for the last two years gives it little breathing room, constraining its ability to self-fund growth or return capital to shareholders
  3. Limited cash reserves may force the company to seek unfavorable financing terms that could dilute shareholders

Portillo's is trading at $7.44 per share, or 19.4x forward P/E. To fully understand why you should be careful with PTLO, check out our full research report (it’s free).

High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions

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 9 Market-Beating Stocks. 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

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