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.

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 are two stocks poised to prove Wall Street wrong and one where the outlook is warranted.

One Stock to Sell:

AT&T (T)

Consensus Price Target: $30.62 (4.1% implied return)

Founded by Alexander Graham Bell, AT&T (NYSE: T) is a multinational telecomm conglomerate providing a range of communications and internet services.

Why Do We Think T Will Underperform?

1. Annual revenue declines of 6.7% over the last five years indicate problems with its market positioning
2. Earnings per share decreased by more than its revenue over the last five years, showing each sale was less profitable
3. Capital intensity will likely ramp up in the next year as its free cash flow margin is expected to contract by 2.1 percentage points

AT&T’s stock price of $29.42 implies a valuation ratio of 13.5x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including T in your portfolio.

Two Stocks to Watch:

UnitedHealth (UNH)

Consensus Price Target: $330.08 (-5.1% implied return)

With over 100 million people served across its various businesses and a workforce of more than 400,000, UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) operates a health insurance business and Optum, a healthcare services division that provides everything from pharmacy benefits to primary care.

Why Will UNH Beat the Market?

1. Unparalleled scale of $422.8 billion in revenue enables it to spread administrative costs across a larger membership base
2. Sales outlook for the upcoming 12 months implies the business will stay on its desirable two-year growth trajectory
3. Market-beating returns on capital illustrate that management has a knack for investing in profitable ventures

At $347.68 per share, UnitedHealth trades at 16.2x forward P/E. Is now the time to initiate a position? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.

Piper Sandler (PIPR)

Consensus Price Target: $340.50 (1.9% implied return)

Tracing its roots back to 1895 and rebranded from Piper Jaffray in 2020, Piper Sandler (NYSE: PIPR) is an investment bank that provides advisory services, capital raising, institutional brokerage, and research for corporations, governments, and institutional investors.

Why Are We Fans of PIPR?

1. Incremental sales significantly boosted profitability as its annual earnings per share growth of 25.6% over the last two years outstripped its revenue performance
2. Annual tangible book value per share growth of 13.2% over the past five years was outstanding, reflecting strong capital accumulation this cycle
3. Market-beating return on equity illustrates that management has a knack for investing in profitable ventures

Piper Sandler is trading at $334.04 per share, or 22.3x forward P/E. Is now a good time to buy? See for yourself in our full research report, it’s free.

High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions

Trump’s April 2025 tariff bombshell triggered a massive market selloff, but stocks have since staged an impressive recovery, leaving those who panic sold on the sidelines.

Take advantage of the rebound by checking out our Top 6 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

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