3 Unpopular Stocks That Fall Short

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.

Whatever the consensus opinion may be, our team at StockStory cuts through the noise by conducting independent analysis to determine a company’s long-term prospects. That said, here are three stocks facing legitimate challenges and some alternatives worth exploring instead.

Teradata (TDC)

Consensus Price Target: $27.27 (-13.4% implied return)

Pioneering data warehousing technology in the 1980s before "big data" was a common term, Teradata (NYSE:TDC) provides cloud-based data analytics and AI platforms that help large enterprises integrate, analyze, and leverage their data across multiple environments.

Why Should You Dump TDC?

1. Billings have dropped by 4.4% over the last year, suggesting it might have to lower prices to stimulate growth
2. Gross margin of 59.4% reflects its high servicing costs
3. Static operating margin over the last year shows it couldn’t become more efficient

At $31.48 per share, Teradata trades at 1.8x forward price-to-sales. To fully understand why you should be careful with TDC, check out our full research report (it’s free for active Edge members).

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD)

Consensus Price Target: $25.77 (-14.3% implied return)

Formed from the merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery, Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) is a multinational media and entertainment company, offering television networks, streaming services, and film and television production.

Why Do We Think WBD Will Underperform?

1. Annual revenue declines of 5.1% over the last two years indicate problems with its market positioning
2. Forecasted free cash flow margin suggests the company will fail to improve its cash conversion over the next year
3. Shrinking returns on capital from an already weak position reveal that neither previous nor ongoing investments are yielding the desired results

Warner Bros. Discovery is trading at $30.06 per share, or 8.4x forward EV-to-EBITDA. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than WBD.

Werner (WERN)

Consensus Price Target: $26.67 (-13% implied return)

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

Why Do We Pass on WERN?

1. Customers postponed purchases of its products and services this cycle as its revenue declined by 5.1% annually over the last two years
2. Performance over the past five years shows its incremental sales were much less profitable, as its earnings per share fell by 55.8% annually
3. Waning returns on capital from an already weak starting point displays the inefficacy of management’s past and current investment decisions

Werner’s stock price of $30.67 implies a valuation ratio of 47.9x forward P/E. If you’re considering WERN for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.

High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions

The market’s up big this year - but there’s a catch. Just 4 stocks account for half the S&P 500’s entire gain. That kind of concentration makes investors nervous, and for good reason. While everyone piles into the same crowded names, smart investors are hunting quality where no one’s looking - and paying a fraction of the price. Check out the high-quality names we’ve flagged in 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 244% over the last five years (as of June 30, 2025).

Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,326% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Exlservice (+354% 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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