Growth is oxygen. But when it evaporates, the consequences can be severe - ask anyone who bought Cisco in the Dot-Com Bubble or newer investors who lived through the 2020 to 2022 COVID cycle.
The risks that can come from buying these assets are precisely why we started StockStory — to isolate the long-term winners from the losers so you can invest with confidence. Keeping that in mind, here is one growth stock expanding its competitive advantage and two that could be down big.
Two Growth Stocks to Sell:
Laureate Education (LAUR)
One-Year Revenue Growth: +17.9%
Founded in 1998 by Douglas L. Becker and based in Miami, Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) is a global network of higher education institutions.
Why Do We Pass on LAUR?
- Performance surrounding its enrolled students has lagged its peers
- Free cash flow margin is forecasted to shrink by 1.8 percentage points in the coming year, suggesting the company will consume more capital to keep up with its competitors
- Low returns on capital reflect management’s struggle to allocate funds effectively
Laureate Education is trading at $37.38 per share, or 16.6x forward P/E. To fully understand why you should be careful with LAUR, check out our full research report (it’s free).
NESR (NESR)
One-Year Revenue Growth: +23.5%
Operating across 16 countries from Algeria to Indonesia, NESR (NASDAQ:NESR) provides oilfield services like hydraulic fracturing, cementing, and drilling to oil and gas companies.
Why Does NESR Fall Short?
- Subscale operations are evident in its revenue base of $1.62 billion, meaning it has fewer distribution channels than its larger rivals
- High extraction costs and unfavorable asset economics are reflected in its low gross margin of 12.8%
- Expenses have increased as a percentage of revenue over the last five years as its EBITDA margin fell by 74.1 percentage points
At $36.06 per share, NESR trades at 14.8x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including NESR in your portfolio.
One Growth Stock to Watch:
Marvell Technology (MRVL)
One-Year Revenue Growth: +34.1%
Moving away from a low margin storage device management chips in one of the biggest semiconductor business model pivots of the past decade, Marvell Technology (NASDAQ: MRVL) is a fabless designer of special purpose data processing and networking chips used by data centers, communications carriers, enterprises, and autos.
Why Are We Fans of MRVL?
- Market share has increased this cycle as its 22.9% annual revenue growth over the last five years was exceptional
- Operating margin expanded by 19.8 percentage points over the last five years as it scaled and became more efficient
- Earnings per share grew by 23.8% annually over the last five years and easily exceeded the peer group average
Marvell Technology’s stock price of $224.54 implies a valuation ratio of 47.7x 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
WHILE YOU’RE HERE: Top 9 Market-Beating Stocks. The best stocks don’t just beat the market once. They do it again. And again. Robust revenue growth, rising free cash flow, returns on capital that leave their competition in the dust. The market has already rewarded these businesses.
But our AI platform says the party isn’t over. Find out which 9 stocks made the cut this week — FREE. Get Our Top 9 Market-Beating 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-small-cap company Exlservice (+271% between June 2020 and June 2025). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.