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 Unpopular Stock That Deserves a Second Chance and 2 Facing Headwinds

GO Cover Image

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 is one stock where Wall Street’s pessimism is creating a buying opportunity and two facing legitimate challenges.

Two Stocks to Sell:

Grocery Outlet (GO)

Consensus Price Target: $16.15 (2.6% implied return)

Due to its differentiated procurement and buying approach, Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ: GO) is a discount grocery store chain that offers substantial discounts on name-brand products.

Why Is GO Not Exciting?

  1. Operating margin of 1.4% falls short of the industry average, and the smaller profit dollars make it harder to react to unexpected market developments
  2. Underwhelming 2.2% return on capital reflects management’s difficulties in finding profitable growth opportunities, and its falling returns suggest its earlier profit pools are drying up
  3. Limited cash reserves may force the company to seek unfavorable financing terms that could dilute shareholders

At $15.74 per share, Grocery Outlet trades at 19.1x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than GO.

Werner (WERN)

Consensus Price Target: $29.07 (8.9% implied return)

Conducting business in over a 100 countries, Werner (NASDAQ: WERN) offers full-truckload, less-than-truckload, and intermodal delivery services.

Why Are We Out on WERN?

  1. Annual sales declines of 5.7% for the past two years show its products and services struggled to connect with the market during this cycle
  2. Earnings per share fell by 37.2% annually over the last five years while its revenue grew, showing its incremental sales were much less profitable
  3. Shrinking returns on capital from an already weak position reveal that neither previous nor ongoing investments are yielding the desired results

Werner’s stock price of $26.68 implies a valuation ratio of 33.8x forward P/E. To fully understand why you should be careful with WERN, check out our full research report (it’s free).

One Stock to Watch:

The Ensign Group (ENSG)

Consensus Price Target: $177.40 (6.3% implied return)

Founded in 1999 and named after a naval term for a flag-bearing ship, The Ensign Group (NASDAQ: ENSG) operates skilled nursing facilities, senior living communities, and rehabilitation services across 15 states, primarily serving high-acuity patients recovering from various medical conditions.

Why Are We Positive On ENSG?

  1. Average unit sales growth of 12.2% over the past two years reflects steady demand for its products
  2. Sales outlook for the upcoming 12 months implies the business will stay on its desirable two-year growth trajectory
  3. Earnings growth has massively outpaced its peers over the last five years as its EPS has compounded at 17.3% annually

The Ensign Group is trading at $166.82 per share, or 25.2x forward P/E. Is now the time to initiate a position? See for yourself in 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 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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