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. That said, here is one stock where Wall Street's excitement appears well-founded and two where consensus estimates seem disconnected from reality.
Consensus Price Target: $67.25 (27.2% implied return)
Powering communications for tech giants like Microsoft, Google, and Zoom, Bandwidth (NASDAQ:BAND) provides cloud-based communications software and APIs that enable businesses to embed voice, messaging, and emergency services into their applications and platforms.
Annual revenue growth of 11.9% over the last two years was below our standards for the software sector
Sky-high servicing costs result in an inferior gross margin of 37.2% that must be offset through increased usage
Operating margin didn't move over the last year, showing it couldn't increase its efficiency
Bandwidth's stock price of $52.88 implies a valuation ratio of 1.8x forward price-to-sales. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including BAND in your portfolio, it's free.
Consensus Price Target: $6.43 (94.7% implied return)
Founded as a chain of daily newspapers, E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) is a diversified media enterprise operating a range of local television stations, national networks, and digital media platforms.
Products and services fail to spark excitement with consumers, as seen in its flat sales over the last five years
Diminishing returns on capital from an already low starting point show that neither management's prior nor current bets are going as planned
High net-debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 9× increases the risk of forced asset sales or dilutive financing if operational performance weakens
E.W. Scripps is trading at $3.30 per share, or 332x forward P/E. If you're considering SSP for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.
Consensus Price Target: $133.57 (32.2% implied return)
With over $100 billion in assets under management and supervision, Hamilton Lane (NASDAQ:HLNE) is an investment management firm that specializes in private markets, offering advisory services and fund solutions to institutional and private wealth investors.
Annual revenue growth of 19.6% over the last five years was superb and indicates its market share increased during this cycle
Additional sales over the last two years increased its profitability as the 20.5% annual growth in its earnings per share outpaced its revenue
Market-beating return on equity illustrates that management has a knack for investing in profitable ventures
At $101.03 per share, Hamilton Lane trades at 14.2x forward P/E. Is now a good time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it's free.
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 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 (+1,460% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Comfort Systems (+1,154% between June 2020 and June 2025). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.