1 of Wall Street’s Favorite Stock on Our Buy List and 2 Facing Headwinds

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.

Unlike the investment banks, we created StockStory to provide independent analysis that helps you determine which companies are truly worth following. That said, 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:

Five9 (FIVN)

Consensus Price Target: $27.67 (25% implied return)

Taking its name from the "five nines" (99.999%) standard for optimal service reliability in telecommunications, Five9 (NASDAQ:FIVN) provides cloud-based software that enables businesses to run their contact centers with tools for customer service, sales, and marketing across multiple communication channels.

Why Are We Out on FIVN?

1. Offerings struggled to generate meaningful interest as its average billings growth of 9.4% over the last year did not impress
2. Estimated sales growth of 10.1% for the next 12 months implies demand will slow from its two-year trend
3. Bad unit economics and steep infrastructure costs are reflected in its gross margin of 55.5%, one of the worst among software companies

Five9’s stock price of $22.13 implies a valuation ratio of 1.1x forward price-to-sales. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than FIVN.

Banc of California (BANC)

Consensus Price Target: $22.59 (21.8% implied return)

Originally established in 1941 and now operating with a tech-forward approach that includes its SmartStreet platform for homeowner associations, Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) is a California-based bank holding company that provides banking services to small and middle-market businesses, entrepreneurs, and individuals.

Why Do We Avoid BANC?

1. 2.5% annual net interest income growth over the last five years was slower than its banking peers
2. Costs have risen faster than its revenue over the last five years, causing its efficiency ratio to worsen by 16.3 percentage points
3. Products and services are facing significant credit quality challenges during this cycle as tangible book value per share has declined by 3.1% annually over the last five years

At $18.54 per share, Banc of California trades at 0.9x forward P/B. If you’re considering BANC for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.

One Stock to Buy:

Core Natural Resources (CNR)

Consensus Price Target: $111.50 (28.3% implied return)

Tracing its origins to 1864 and operating some mines southwest of Pittsburgh, Core Natural Resources (NYSE:CNR) mines and exports metallurgical coal used in steelmaking and thermal coal for power generation.

Why Is CNR a Good Business?

1. Impressive 15.1% annual revenue growth over the last nine years indicates it’s winning market share this cycle
2. $4.16 billion in revenue gives its scale, which leads to bargaining power with suppliers and retailers
3. Strong free cash flow margin of 13.6% enables it to reinvest or return capital consistently

Core Natural Resources is trading at $86.90 per share, or 43.4x forward P/E. Is now the time to initiate a position? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.

Stocks We Like Even More

ONE MORE THING: Top 6 Stocks for This Week. This market is separating quality stocks from expensive ones fast. AI taking down whole sectors with no warning. In a rotation this fast, you need more than a list of good companies.

Our AI system flagged Palantir before it ran 1,662%. AppLovin before it ran 753%. Nvidia before it ran 1,178%. Each week it produces 6 new names that pass the same tests. Get Our Top 6 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-micro-cap company Tecnoglass (+1,754% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.