The stocks in this article are all trading near their 52-week highs. This strength often reflects positive developments such as new product launches, favorable industry trends, or improved financial performance.
But not every company with momentum is a long-term winner, and plenty of investors have lost money betting on short-term fads. Keeping that in mind, here is one stock we think lives up to the hype and two best left ignored.
Two Stocks to Sell:
Live Nation (LYV)
One-Month Return: +6.5%
Owner of Ticketmaster and operator of music festival EDC, Live Nation (NYSE:LYV) is a company specializing in live event promotion, venue management, and ticketing services for concerts and shows.
Why Do We Think Twice About LYV?
- Demand for its offerings was relatively low as its number of events has underwhelmed
- Responsiveness to unforeseen market trends is restricted due to its substandard operating margin profitability
- Capital intensity will likely increase as its free cash flow margin is anticipated to drop by 1.9 percentage points over the next year
At $149.27 per share, Live Nation trades at 63.8x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than LYV.
Bank of America (BAC)
One-Month Return: +10.3%
Tracing its roots back to 1784 and now serving approximately 67 million consumer and small business clients, Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) is a global financial institution that provides banking, investing, asset management, and risk management products and services to individuals, businesses, and governments.
Why Are We Wary of BAC?
- Large revenue base makes it harder to increase sales quickly, and its annual revenue growth of 2.6% over the last five years was below our standards for the bank sector
- Weak unit economics are reflected in its net interest margin of 2%, one of the worst among bank companies
- Large asset base makes it harder to grow tangible book value per share quickly, and its annual tangible book value per share growth of 9% over the last two years was below our standards for the bank sector
Bank of America’s stock price of $48.93 implies a valuation ratio of 1.3x forward P/B. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why BAC doesn’t pass our bar.
One Stock to Watch:
Toast (TOST)
One-Month Return: +4.2%
Founded by three MIT engineers at a local Cambridge bar, Toast (NYSE:TOST) provides integrated point-of-sale (POS) hardware, software, and payments solutions for restaurants.
Why Are We Positive On TOST?
- Customers view its software as mission-critical to their operations as its ARR has averaged 30.4% growth over the last year
- Sales outlook for the upcoming 12 months implies the business will stay on its desirable three-year growth trajectory
- Operating margin expanded by 8.3 percentage points over the last year as it scaled and became more efficient
Toast is trading at $43.58 per share, or 4.2x forward price-to-sales. Is now the right time to buy? See for yourself in our comprehensive research report, it’s free.
High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions
Market indices reached historic highs following Donald Trump’s presidential victory in November 2024, but the outlook for 2025 is clouded by new trade policies that could impact business confidence and growth.
While this has caused many investors to adopt a "fearful" wait-and-see approach, we’re leaning into our best ideas that can grow regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate. Take advantage of Mr. Market by checking out our Top 9 Market-Beating Stocks. 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