The past year hasn't been kind to the stocks featured in this article. Each has tumbled to their lowest points in 12 months, leaving investors to decide whether they're witnessing fire sales or falling knives.
While market timing can be an extremely profitable strategy, it has burned many investors and requires rigorous analysis - something we specialize in at StockStory. Keeping that in mind, here is one stock where you should be greedy instead of fearful and two where the outlook is warranted.
Two Stocks to Sell:
Qualys (QLYS)
One-Month Return: -21.8%
Originally developed to address the growing complexity of IT security in the cloud era, Qualys (NASDAQ: QLYS) provides a cloud-based platform that helps organizations identify, manage, and protect their IT assets from cyber threats across on-premises, cloud, and mobile environments.
Why Does QLYS Worry Us?
- Offerings struggled to generate meaningful interest as its average billings growth of 8.3% over the last year did not impress
- Estimated sales growth of 7.8% for the next 12 months implies demand will slow from its two-year trend
- Operating margin improvement of 2.4 percentage points over the last year demonstrates its ability to scale efficiently
Qualys’s stock price of $103.22 implies a valuation ratio of 5.2x forward price-to-sales. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than QLYS.
Robert Half (RHI)
One-Month Return: -2.7%
With roots dating back to 1948 as the first specialized recruiting firm for accounting and finance professionals, Robert Half (NYSE: RHI) provides specialized talent solutions and business consulting services, connecting skilled professionals with companies across various fields.
Why Should You Sell RHI?
- Customers postponed purchases of its products and services this cycle as its revenue declined by 8.3% annually over the last two years
- Earnings per share fell by 13.3% annually over the last five years while its revenue grew, showing its incremental sales were much less profitable
- Waning returns on capital imply its previous profit engines are losing steam
Robert Half is trading at $26.47 per share, or 17.6x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including RHI in your portfolio.
One Stock to Buy:
Duolingo (DUOL)
One-Month Return: -24.8%
Founded by a Carnegie Mellon computer science professor and his Ph.D. student, Duolingo (NASDAQ: DUOL) is a mobile app helping people learn new languages.
Why Should You Buy DUOL?
- Monthly Active Users are rising, meaning the company can increase revenue without incurring additional customer acquisition costs if it can cross-sell additional products and features
- Additional sales over the last three years increased its profitability as the 259% annual growth in its earnings per share outpaced its revenue
- Robust free cash flow margin of 34.8% gives it many options for capital deployment, and its rising cash conversion increases its margin of safety
At $111.75 per share, Duolingo trades at 12.6x forward EV/EBITDA. Is now the right time to buy? See for yourself in our comprehensive research report, it’s free.
Stocks We Like Even More
If your portfolio success hinges on just 4 stocks, your wealth is built on fragile ground. You have a small window to secure high-quality assets before the market widens and these prices disappear.
Don’t wait for the next volatility shock. Check out our Top 5 Strong Momentum Stocks for this week. 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.
