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. On that note, here are three stocks getting more buzz than they deserve and some you should buy instead.
Wayfair (W)
One-Month Return: +13.7%
Founded in 2002 by Niraj Shah, Wayfair (NYSE:W) is a leading online retailer of mass-market home goods in the US, UK, Canada, and Germany.
Why Are We Hesitant About W?
- Struggled with new customer acquisition as its active customers averaged 1.8% declines
- Estimated sales growth of 5.2% for the next 12 months is soft and implies weaker demand
- High servicing costs result in an inferior gross margin of 30.2% that must be offset through higher volumes
Wayfair is trading at $115.65 per share, or 22.4x forward EV/EBITDA. To fully understand why you should be careful with W, check out our full research report (it’s free).
Brookdale (BKD)
One-Month Return: +13.1%
With a network of over 650 communities serving approximately 59,000 residents across 41 states, Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE:BKD) operates senior living communities across the United States, offering independent living, assisted living, memory care, and continuing care retirement communities.
Why Is BKD Not Exciting?
- Customers postponed purchases of its products and services this cycle as its revenue declined by 2.6% annually over the last five years
- Sales are projected to tank by 6.1% over the next 12 months as demand evaporates
- 12× net-debt-to-EBITDA ratio makes lenders less willing to extend additional capital, potentially necessitating dilutive equity offerings
At $12.20 per share, Brookdale trades at 16.6x forward EV-to-EBITDA. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than BKD.
Viking (VIK)
One-Month Return: -5.1%
From a single river cruise offering to a fleet of 96 vessels across multiple continents, Viking (NYSE:VIK) operates a fleet of small luxury cruise ships offering river, ocean, and expedition voyages focused on cultural enrichment and destination immersion.
Why Should You Sell VIK?
- Annual revenue growth of 17.1% over the last two years was below our standards for the consumer discretionary sector
- Poor expense management has led to an operating margin of 21.1% that is below the industry average
- Low free cash flow margin of 18% for the last two years gives it little breathing room, constraining its ability to self-fund growth or return capital to shareholders
Viking’s stock price of $69.56 implies a valuation ratio of 22.2x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including VIK in your portfolio.
High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions
Check out the high-quality names we’ve flagged in our Top 9 Market-Beating Stocks. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 244% over the last five years (as of June 30, 2025).
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.