3 Inflated Stocks That Fall Short

3 Inflated Stocks That Fall Short

Jabin Bastian

Mon, February 23, 2026 at 1:48 PM GMT+9 3 min read

In this article:

SPHR

-0.91%

AGCO

-0.56%

LSCC

+2.80%

The stocks featured in this article are seeing some big returns. Over the past month, they’ve outpaced the market due to some combination of positive news, upbeat results, or supportive macro developments. As such, investors are taking notice and bidding up shares.

While momentum can be a leading indicator, it has burned many investors as it doesn’t always correlate with long-term success. On that note, here are three stocks that are likely overheated and some you should look into instead.

Lattice Semiconductor (LSCC)

One-Month Return: +15.9%

A global leader in its category, Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ:LSCC) is a semiconductor designer specializing in customer-programmable chips that enhance CPU performance for intensive tasks such as machine learning.

Why Are We Hesitant About LSCC?

Products and services are facing significant end-market challenges during this cycle as sales have declined by 15.7% annually over the last two years

Costs have risen faster than its revenue over the last five years, causing its operating margin to decline by 17.4 percentage points

Free cash flow margin dropped by 5.3 percentage points over the last five years, implying the company became more capital intensive as competition picked up

Lattice Semiconductor is trading at $97.72 per share, or 61x forward P/E. If you’re considering LSCC for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.

AGCO (AGCO)

One-Month Return: +18.3%

With a history that features both organic growth and acquisitions, AGCO (NYSE:AGCO) designs, manufactures, and sells agricultural machinery and related technology.

Why Should You Dump AGCO?

Sales tumbled by 16.4% annually over the last two years, showing market trends are working against its favor during this cycle

Earnings per share have contracted by 21% annually over the last two years, a headwind for returns as stock prices often echo long-term EPS performance

Diminishing returns on capital suggest its earlier profit pools are drying up

AGCO’s stock price of $134.60 implies a valuation ratio of 23.9x forward P/E. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why AGCO doesn’t pass our bar.

Sphere Entertainment (SPHR)

One-Month Return: +18.7%

Famous for its viral Las Vegas Sphere venue, Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR) hosts live entertainment events and distributes content across various media platforms.

Why Should You Sell SPHR?

Annual revenue growth of 18.1% over the last five years was below our standards for the consumer discretionary sector

Poor free cash flow margin of 7.5% for the last two years limits its freedom to invest in growth initiatives, execute share buybacks, or pay dividends

EBITDA losses may force it to accept punitive lending terms or high-cost debt

 






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At $114.24 per share, Sphere Entertainment trades at 20.3x forward EV-to-EBITDA. To fully understand why you should be careful with SPHR, check out our full research report (it’s free).

Stocks We Like 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 Growth Stocks for this month. 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-micro-cap company Kadant (+351% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.

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