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.
Navigating these stocks isn’t easy, which is why StockStory helps you find Comfort In Chaos. Keeping that in mind, here are three volatile stocks to steer clear of and a few better alternatives.
Amplitude (AMPL)
Rolling One-Year Beta: 1.50
Born from the realization that companies were flying blind when it came to understanding user behavior in their digital products, Amplitude (NASDAQ: AMPL) provides a digital analytics platform that helps businesses understand how people use their digital products to improve user experiences and drive revenue growth.
Why Do We Pass on AMPL?
- ARR growth averaged a weak 13.8% over the last year, suggesting that competition is pulling some attention away from its software
- Customers generally do not adopt complementary products as its 101% net revenue retention rate lags behind the industry standard
- Day-to-day expenses have swelled relative to revenue over the last year as its operating margin fell by 2.2 percentage points
Amplitude’s stock price of $11.46 implies a valuation ratio of 4.2x forward price-to-sales. To fully understand why you should be careful with AMPL, check out our full research report (it’s free for active Edge members).
Magnachip (MX)
Rolling One-Year Beta: 2.31
With its technology found in common consumer electronics such as TVs and smartphones, Magnachip Semiconductor (NYSE: MX) is a provider of analog and mixed-signal semiconductors.
Why Are We Out on MX?
- Annual sales declines of 17.2% for the past five years show its products and services struggled to connect with the market during this cycle
- Falling earnings per share over the last five years has some investors worried as stock prices ultimately follow EPS over the long term
- Cash burn has widened over the last five years, making us question whether it can reliably generate shareholder value
At $2.74 per share, Magnachip trades at 0.5x forward price-to-sales. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why MX doesn’t pass our bar.
Movado (MOV)
Rolling One-Year Beta: 1.10
With its watches displayed in 20 museums around the world, Movado (NYSE: MOV) is a watchmaking company with a portfolio of watch brands and accessories.
Why Do We Steer Clear of MOV?
- Annual revenue growth of 4.7% over the last five years was below our standards for the consumer discretionary sector
- Ability to fund investments or reward shareholders with increased buybacks or dividends is restricted by its weak free cash flow margin of 4.3% for the last two years
- Diminishing returns on capital from an already low starting point show that neither management’s prior nor current bets are going as planned
Movado is trading at $21.06 per share, or 0.8x forward price-to-sales. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than MOV.
High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions
Your portfolio can’t afford to be based on yesterday’s story. The risk in a handful of heavily crowded stocks is rising daily.
The names generating the next wave of massive growth are right here in our Top 6 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).
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