A highly volatile stock can deliver big gains - or just as easily wipe out a portfolio if things go south. While some investors embrace risk, mistakes can be costly for those who aren’t prepared.
Navigating these stocks isn’t easy, which is why StockStory helps you find Comfort In Chaos. Keeping that in mind, here is one volatile stock that could deliver huge gains and two that could just as easily collapse.
Two Stocks to Sell:
Academy Sports (ASO)
Rolling One-Year Beta: 1.43
Founded in 1938 as a tire shop before expanding into fishing equipment, Academy Sports & Outdoor (NASDAQ: ASO) sells a broad selection of sporting goods but is still known for its outdoor activity merchandise.
Why Are We Wary of ASO?
- Products have few die-hard fans as sales have declined by 2.4% annually over the last three years
- Lagging same-store sales over the past two years suggest it might have to change its pricing and marketing strategy to stimulate demand
- Capital intensity has ramped up over the last year as its free cash flow margin decreased by 3.9 percentage points
Academy Sports is trading at $55.50 per share, or 8.6x forward P/E. If you’re considering ASO for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.
REV Group (REVG)
Rolling One-Year Beta: 1.25
Offering the first full-electric North American fire truck, REV (NYSE: REVG) manufactures and sells specialty vehicles.
Why Does REVG Give Us Pause?
- Backlog growth averaged a weak 3.7% over the past two years, suggesting it may need to tweak its product roadmap or go-to-market strategy
- Gross margin of 12.5% is below its competitors, leaving less money to invest in areas like marketing and R&D
- Operating margin of 3.9% falls short of the industry average, and the smaller profit dollars make it harder to react to unexpected market developments
At $65.21 per share, REV Group trades at 17.8x forward P/E. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why REVG doesn’t pass our bar.
One Stock to Buy:
AppLovin (APP)
Rolling One-Year Beta: 2.93
Sitting at the crossroads of the mobile advertising ecosystem with over 200 free-to-play games in its portfolio, AppLovin (NASDAQ: APP) provides software solutions that help mobile app developers market, monetize, and grow their apps through AI-powered advertising and analytics tools.
Why Are We Bullish on APP?
- Market share has increased as its 30.9% annual revenue growth over the last two years was exceptional
- Software platform has product-market fit given the rapid recovery of its customer acquisition costs
- Robust free cash flow margin of 64.5% gives it many options for capital deployment
AppLovin’s stock price of $569.67 implies a valuation ratio of 25.8x forward price-to-sales. Is now a good time to buy? See for yourself in our full 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-small-cap company Comfort Systems (+782% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.
