3 of Wall Street’s Favorite Stocks with Open Questions

October 02, 2025 at 00:39 AM EDT

SSTK 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.

At StockStory, we look beyond the headlines with our independent analysis to determine whether these bullish calls are justified. Keeping that in mind, here are three stocks where Wall Street may be overlooking some important risks and some alternatives with better fundamentals.

Shutterstock (SSTK)

Consensus Price Target: $26.93 (28.4% implied return)

Originally featuring a library that included many of founder Jon Oringer’s photos, Shutterstock (NYSE: SSTK) is now a digital platform where customers can license and use hundreds of millions of pieces of content.

Why Are We Hesitant About SSTK?

Decision to emphasize platform growth over monetization has contributed to 5.4% annual declines in its average revenue per request
Estimated sales growth of 1.6% for the next 12 months implies demand will slow from its three-year trend
Capital intensity has ramped up over the last few years as its free cash flow margin decreased by 16.5 percentage points

Shutterstock’s stock price of $20.97 implies a valuation ratio of 3.8x forward EV/EBITDA. To fully understand why you should be careful with SSTK, check out our full research report (it’s free).

Zevia (ZVIA)

Consensus Price Target: $4.64 (85.6% implied return)

With a primary focus on soda but also a presence in energy drinks and teas, Zevia (NYSE: ZVIA) is a better-for-you beverage company.

Why Is ZVIA Not Exciting?

Products fail to spark excitement with consumers, as seen in its flat sales over the last three years
Historical operating margin losses point to an inefficient cost structure
Cash-burning history makes us doubt the long-term viability of its business model

At $2.50 per share, Zevia trades at 1x forward price-to-sales. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why ZVIA doesn’t pass our bar.

Boise Cascade (BCC)

Consensus Price Target: $99.83 (28.1% implied return)

Formed through the merger of two lumber companies, Boise Cascade Company (NYSE: BCC) manufactures and distributes wood products and other building materials.

Why Do We Pass on BCC?

Annual sales declines of 4.2% for the past two years show its products and services struggled to connect with the market during this cycle
Capital intensity has ramped up over the last five years as its free cash flow margin decreased by 5.5 percentage points
Waning returns on capital imply its previous profit engines are losing steam

Boise Cascade is trading at $77.95 per share, or 11.4x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than BCC.

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

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3 of Wall Street’s Favorite Stocks with Open Questions

Shutterstock (SSTK)

Zevia (ZVIA)

Boise Cascade (BCC)

Stocks We Like More

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