3 of Wall Street’s Favorite Stocks with Mounting Challenges

Wall Street is overwhelmingly bullish on the stocks in this article, with price targets suggesting significant upside potential. However, it’s worth remembering that analysts rarely issue sell ratings, partly because their firms often seek other business from the same companies they cover.

At StockStory, we look beyond the headlines with our independent analysis to determine whether these bullish calls are justified. Keeping that in mind, here are three stocks where Wall Street’s enthusiasm may be misplaced and some other investments worth exploring instead.

MSA Safety (MSA)

Consensus Price Target: $199.50 (32.3% implied return)

Founded in 1914 as Mine Safety Appliances to protect coal miners from dangerous gases, MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) designs and manufactures advanced safety products that protect workers and facilities across industries including fire service, energy, construction, and manufacturing.

Why Does MSA Give Us Pause?

  1. Revenue base of $1.81 billion puts it at a disadvantage compared to larger competitors exhibiting economies of scale

  2. Projected sales are flat for the next 12 months, implying demand will slow from its two-year trend

  3. Eroding returns on capital suggest its historical profit centers are aging

At $142.37 per share, MSA Safety trades at 17.5x forward price-to-earnings. To fully understand why you should be careful with MSA, check out our full research report (it’s free) .

Oshkosh (OSK)

Consensus Price Target: $116.01 (29.6% implied return)

Oshkosh (NYSE:OSK) manufactures specialty vehicles for the defense, fire, emergency, and commercial industry, operating various brand subsidiaries within each industry.

Why Are We Cautious About OSK?

  1. Backlog growth averaged a weak 7.5% over the past two years, suggesting it may need to tweak its product roadmap or go-to-market strategy

  2. Forecasted revenue decline of 2.2% for the upcoming 12 months implies demand will fall off a cliff

  3. Free cash flow margin dropped by 8.4 percentage points over the last five years, implying the company became more capital intensive as competition picked up

Oshkosh’s stock price of $83.10 implies a valuation ratio of 7.7x forward price-to-earnings. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than OSK .

ICU Medical (ICUI)

Consensus Price Target: $203.40 (34.7% implied return)

Founded in 1984 and named for its initial focus on intensive care units, ICU Medical (NASDAQ:ICUI) develops and manufactures medical products for infusion therapy, vascular access, and vital care applications used in hospitals and other healthcare settings.

OK