Market swings can be tough to stomach, and volatile stocks often experience exaggerated moves in both directions. While many thrive during risk-on environments, many also struggle to maintain investor confidence when the ride gets bumpy.
At StockStory, our job is to help you avoid costly mistakes and stay on the right side of the trade. That said, here are two volatile stocks that could reward patient investors and one that could just as easily collapse.
One Stock to Sell:
WeightWatchers (WW)
Rolling One-Year Beta: 3.20
Known by many for its old cable television commercials, WeightWatchers (NASDAQ: WW) is a wellness company offering a range of products and services promoting weight loss and healthy habits.
Why Do We Avoid WW?
- Demand for its offerings was relatively low as its number of members has underwhelmed
- Diminishing returns on capital from an already low starting point show that neither management’s prior nor current bets are going as planned
- Unfavorable liquidity position could lead to additional equity financing that dilutes shareholders
WeightWatchers is trading at $0.31 per share, or 0.2x forward EV-to-EBITDA. To fully understand why you should be careful with WW, check out our full research report (it’s free).
Two Stocks to Buy:
Uber (UBER)
Rolling One-Year Beta: 1.14
Notoriously funded with $7.7 billion from the Softbank Vision Fund, Uber (NYSE: UBER) operates a platform of on-demand services such as ride-hailing, food delivery, and freight.
Why Will UBER Beat the Market?
- Monthly Active Platform Consumers have increased by an average of 13.9% annually, giving it the potential for margin-accretive growth if it can develop valuable complementary products and features
- Incremental sales significantly boosted profitability as its annual earnings per share growth of 66.6% over the last three years outstripped its revenue performance
- Free cash flow margin increased by 17.7 percentage points over the last few years, giving the company more capital to invest or return to shareholders
At $91.82 per share, Uber trades at 21.7x forward EV/EBITDA. Is now a good time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.
Vertiv (VRT)
Rolling One-Year Beta: 2.89
Formerly part of Emerson Electric, Vertiv (NYSE: VRT) manufactures and services infrastructure technology products for data centers and communication networks.
Why Is VRT a Top Pick?
- Core business is healthy and doesn’t need acquisitions to boost sales as its organic revenue growth averaged 18.5% over the past two years
- Free cash flow margin grew by 6.5 percentage points over the last five years, giving the company more chips to play with
- Improving returns on capital reflect management’s ability to monetize investments
Vertiv’s stock price of $106.85 implies a valuation ratio of 28.3x forward P/E. Is now the right time to buy? See for yourself in our full research report, it’s free.
High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions
Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election sent major indices to all-time highs, but stocks have retraced as investors debate the health of the economy and the potential impact of tariffs.
While this leaves much uncertainty around 2025, a few companies are poised for long-term gains regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate, like our Top 9 Market-Beating Stocks. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 176% over the last five years.
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-micro-cap company Tecnoglass (+1,754% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free.
