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.
Okta (OKTA)
One-Month Return: +62.6%
Named after the meteorological measurement for cloud cover, Okta (NASDAQ: OKTA) provides cloud-based identity management solutions that help organizations securely connect their employees, partners, and customers to the right applications and services.
Why Does OKTA Fall Short?
- Average billings growth of 10.8% over the last year was subpar, suggesting it struggled to push its software and might have to lower prices to stimulate demand
- Estimated sales growth of 9.1% for the next 12 months implies demand will slow from its two-year trend
- Operating margin improvement of 5.1 percentage points over the last year demonstrates its ability to scale efficiently
Okta’s stock price of $123.24 implies a valuation ratio of 5.2x forward price-to-sales. To fully understand why you should be careful with OKTA, check out our full research report (it’s free).
Live Nation (LYV)
One-Month Return: +6.7%
Owner of Ticketmaster and operator of music festival EDC, Live Nation (NYSE: LYV) is a company specializing in live event promotion, venue management, and ticketing services for concerts and shows.
Why Do We Steer Clear of LYV?
- Large revenue base makes it harder to increase sales quickly, and its annual revenue growth of 4.6% over the last two years was below our standards for the consumer discretionary sector
- Poor expense management has led to an operating margin of 3.6% that is below the industry average
- Capital intensity will likely increase as its free cash flow margin is anticipated to drop by 1.5 percentage points over the next year
At $168.81 per share, Live Nation trades at 126.7x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including LYV in your portfolio.
L.B. Foster (FSTR)
One-Month Return: +34%
Founded with a $2,500 loan, L.B. Foster (NASDAQ: FSTR) is a provider of products and services for the transportation and energy infrastructure sectors, including rail products, construction materials, and coating solutions.
Why Are We Wary of FSTR?
- New orders were hard to come by as its average backlog growth of 1.7% over the past two years underwhelmed
- Estimated sales decline of 2.3% for the next 12 months implies an even more challenging demand environment
- Underwhelming 3.8% return on capital reflects management’s difficulties in finding profitable growth opportunities
L.B. Foster is trading at $41.14 per share, or 0.8x trailing 12-month price-to-sales. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why FSTR doesn’t pass our bar.
Stocks We Like More
ALSO WORTH WATCHING: Top 5 Momentum Stocks. The best time to own a great stock is when the market is finally noticing it. These aren’t just high-quality businesses. Something is happening with them right now. Elite fundamentals meet near-term momentum — both boxes checked at the same time.
Find out which stocks our AI platform is flagging this week. See this week’s Strong Momentum stocks — FREE. Get Our Strong Momentum 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 Kadant (+351% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.
