Wall Street’s bearish price targets for the stocks in this article signal serious concerns. Such forecasts are uncommon in an industry where maintaining cordial corporate relationships often trumps delivering the hard truth.

At StockStory, we look beyond the headlines with our independent analysis to determine whether these bearish calls are justified. That said, here are three stocks where the outlook is warranted and some alternatives with better fundamentals.

Lumen (LUMN)

Consensus Price Target: $7.68 (-12.7% implied return)

With approximately 350,000 route miles of fiber optic cable spanning North America and the Asia Pacific, Lumen Technologies (NYSE: LUMN) operates a vast fiber optic network that provides communications, cloud connectivity, security, and IT solutions to businesses and consumers.

Why Do We Pass on LUMN?

1. Customers postponed purchases of its products and services this cycle as its revenue declined by 9.7% annually over the last five years
2. Sales were less profitable over the last five years as its earnings per share fell by 15.8% annually, worse than its revenue declines
3. Free cash flow margin dropped by 10.5 percentage points over the last five years, implying the company became more capital intensive as competition picked up

Lumen’s stock price of $8.79 implies a valuation ratio of 7.6x forward EV-to-EBITDA. To fully understand why you should be careful with LUMN, check out our full research report (it’s free).

First Horizon (FHN)

Consensus Price Target: $26.68 (10.3% implied return)

Tracing its roots back to 1864 during the Civil War era, First Horizon (NYSE: FHN) is a Tennessee-based bank holding company that provides commercial and consumer banking, wealth management, and specialty financial services across multiple states.

Why Are We Hesitant About FHN?

1. Net interest income trends were unexciting over the last five years as its 7.3% annual growth was below the typical banking firm
2. Estimated net interest income growth of 3.7% for the next 12 months implies demand will slow from its five-year trend
3. Earnings growth over the last five years fell short of the peer group average as its EPS only increased by 5.7% annually

First Horizon is trading at $24.20 per share, or 1.3x forward P/B. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than FHN.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM)

Consensus Price Target: $337.55 (10.1% implied return)

Tracing its roots back to 1799 when its earliest predecessor was founded by Aaron Burr, JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) is a leading financial services company offering investment banking, consumer banking, commercial banking, and asset management services globally.

Why Is JPM Not Exciting?

1. Large revenue base makes it harder to increase sales quickly, and its annual revenue growth of 7.2% over the last two years was below our standards for the banking sector
2. Net interest margin of 2.5% reflects its high servicing and capital costs
3. Estimated tangible book value per share growth of 8.5% for the next 12 months implies profitability will slow from its two-year trend

At $306.52 per share, JPMorgan Chase trades at 2.3x forward P/B. To fully understand why you should be careful with JPM, check out our full research report (it’s free).

Stocks We Like More

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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-small-cap company Comfort Systems (+782% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.