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:
ICU Medical (ICUI)
Rolling One-Year Beta: 1.10
Founded in 1984 and named for its initial focus on intensive care units, ICU Medical (NASDAQ: ICUI) develops and manufactures medical products for infusion therapy, vascular access, and vital care applications used in hospitals and other healthcare settings.
Why Does ICUI Give Us Pause?
- Annual sales declines of 2.5% for the past two years show its products and services struggled to connect with the market during this cycle
- Performance over the past five years was negatively impacted by new share issuances as its earnings per share grew slower than its revenue
- ROIC of 0.7% reflects management’s challenges in identifying attractive investment opportunities
ICU Medical is trading at $164.91 per share, or 18.6x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than ICUI.
Two Stocks to Watch:
Custom Truck One Source (CTOS)
Rolling One-Year Beta: 1.26
Inspired by a family gas station, Custom Truck One Source (NYSE: CTOS) is a distributor of trucks and heavy equipment.
Why Could CTOS Be a Winner?
- Annual revenue growth of 14.7% over the last five years was superb and indicates its market share increased during this cycle
- Operating margin expanded by 5.7 percentage points over the last five years as it scaled and became more efficient
- Share buybacks catapulted its annual earnings per share growth to 41%, which outperformed its revenue gains over the last two years
Custom Truck One Source’s stock price of $9.35 implies a valuation ratio of 40.4x forward P/E. Is now a good time to buy? See for yourself in our in-depth research report, it’s free.
Flowserve (FLS)
Rolling One-Year Beta: 1.42
Manufacturing the largest pump ever built for nuclear power generation, Flowserve (NYSE: FLS) manufactures and sells flow control equipment for various industries.
Why Are We Fans of FLS?
- Operating margin improvement of 2.4 percentage points over the last five years demonstrates its ability to scale efficiently
- Share repurchases over the last two years enabled its annual earnings per share growth of 23.7% to outpace its revenue gains
- Free cash flow margin jumped by 7.3 percentage points over the last five years, giving the company more resources to pursue growth initiatives, repurchase shares, or pay dividends
At $75.16 per share, Flowserve trades at 17.4x forward P/E. Is now the right time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.
High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions
ONE MORE THING: Top 6 Stocks for This Week. This market is separating quality stocks from expensive ones fast. AI is taking down whole sectors with no warning. In a rotation this fast, you need more than a list of good companies.
Our AI system flagged Palantir before it ran 1,662% between October 2022 and February 2026. AppLovin before it ran 753% between February 2024 and February 2026. Nvidia before it ran 1,178% between January 2023 and February 2026. Each week it produces 6 new names that pass the same tests. Get Our Top 6 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-micro-cap company Kadant (+214% between June 2020 and June 2025). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.
