1 of Wall Street’s Favorite Stock on Our Watchlist and 2 We Find Risky

Barchart·03/24/2026 07:36:16

The stocks in this article have caught Wall Street’s attention in a big way, with price targets implying returns above 20%. But investors should take these forecasts with a grain of salt because analysts typically say nice things about companies so their firms can win business in other product lines like M&A advisory.

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 is one stock likely to meet or exceed Wall Street’s lofty expectations and two where consensus estimates seem disconnected from reality.

Two Stocks to Sell:

American Eagle (AEO)

Consensus Price Target: $23.89 (41.1% implied return)

With a heavy focus on denim, American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) is a specialty retailer offering an assortment of apparel and accessories to young adults.

Why Does AEO Worry Us?

1. Slow expansion of stores indicates a strategic shift toward maximizing returns from existing locations
2. Day-to-day expenses have swelled relative to revenue over the last year as its operating margin fell by 3.9 percentage points
3. Underwhelming 8.8% return on capital reflects management’s difficulties in finding profitable growth opportunities, and its falling returns suggest its earlier profit pools are drying up

American Eagle is trading at $16.94 per share, or 9.8x forward P/E. To fully understand why you should be careful with AEO, check out our full research report (it’s free).

VF Corp (VFC)

Consensus Price Target: $20.21 (19.2% implied return)

Owner of The North Face, Vans, and Supreme, VF Corp (NYSE:VFC) is a clothing conglomerate specializing in branded lifestyle apparel, footwear, and accessories.

Why Do We Avoid VFC?

1. Constant currency growth was below our standards over the past two years, suggesting it might need to invest in product improvements to get back on track
2. Ability to fund investments or reward shareholders with increased buybacks or dividends is restricted by its weak free cash flow margin of 4.4% for the last two years
3. Waning returns on capital from an already weak starting point displays the inefficacy of management’s past and current investment decisions

VF Corp’s stock price of $16.96 implies a valuation ratio of 16.6x forward P/E. If you’re considering VFC for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.

One Stock to Watch:

Marvell Technology (MRVL)

Consensus Price Target: $120.50 (34.3% implied return)

Moving away from a low margin storage device management chips in one of the biggest semiconductor business model pivots of the past decade, Marvell Technology (NASDAQ: MRVL) is a fabless designer of special purpose data processing and networking chips used by data centers, communications carriers, enterprises, and autos.

Why Are We Fans of MRVL?

1. Annual revenue growth of 22.5% over the last five years was superb and indicates its market share increased during this cycle
2. Demand for the next 12 months is expected to accelerate above its two-year trend as Wall Street forecasts robust revenue growth of 32.4%
3. Operating margin expanded by 23.9 percentage points over the last five years as it scaled and became more efficient

At $89.70 per share, Marvell Technology trades at 23x forward P/E. Is now the right time to buy? See for yourself in our in-depth research report, it’s free.

Stocks We Like Even More

ONE MORE THING: Top 5 Growth Stocks. The biggest stock winners almost always had one thing in common before they ran. Revenue growing like crazy. Meta. CrowdStrike. Broadcom. Our AI flagged all three. They returned 315%, 314%, and 455%, respectively.

Find out which 5 stocks it's flagging for this month — FREE. Get Our Top 5 Growth Stocks for Free HERE.

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.

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