2 of Wall Street’s Favorite Stocks on Our Watchlist and 1 That Underwhelm
Jabin Bastian
Sun, August 16, 2026 at 10:31 AM GMT+5:30
3 min read
Wall Street has set ambitious price targets for the stocks in this article. While this suggests attractive upside potential, it’s important to remain skeptical because analysts face institutional pressures that can sometimes lead to overly optimistic forecasts
Unlike the investment banks, we created StockStory to provide independent analysis that helps you determine which companies are truly worth following. Keeping that in mind, here are two stocks likely to meet or exceed Wall Street’s lofty expectations and one where analysts may be overlooking some important risks
One Stock to Sell:
Consensus Price Target: $61.43 (42.7% implied return)
Once known as JDS Uniphase before its 2015 rebranding, provides testing, monitoring and assurance solutions for telecommunications, cloud, enterprise, military, and other critical networks and infrastructure
Why Does VIAV Fall Short?
Sales trends were unexciting over the last five years as its 4.8% annual growth was below the typical industrials company
Free cash flow margin dropped by 14.8 percentage points over the last five years, implying the company became more capital intensive as competition picked up
Eroding returns on capital from an already low base indicate that management’s recent investments are destroying value
At $43.06 per share,ing VIAV for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more
Two Stocks to Watch:
BrightSpring Health Services (BTSG)
Consensus Price Target: $78.94 (31.4% implied return)
Founded in 1974, BrightSpring Health Services (NASDAQ:BTSG) offers home health care, hospice, neuro-rehabilitation, and pharmacy services
Why Do We Like BTSG?
Impressive 23.9% annual revenue growth over the last two years indicates it’s winning market share this cycle
Revenue base of $14.37 billion gives it economies of scale and some negotiating power
Sales outlook for the upcoming 12 months implies the business will stay on its desirable two-year growth trajectory
BrightSpring Health Services’s stock price of $60.07 implies a valuation ratio of 28.6x forward P/E. Is now the right time to buy? See for yourself in our full research report, it’s free
RB Global (RBA)
Consensus Price Target: $128.91 (48.7% implied return)
Born from the 1958 founding of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers and rebranded in 2023, RB Global (NYSE:RBA) operates global marketplaces that connect buyers and sellers of commercial assets, vehicles, and equipment across multiple industries
