April 5, 2025
Every successful investor knows a painful truth: knowing when to sell is often more critical than knowing what to buy.
While financial media overwhelmingly focuses on buying opportunities, our research consistently identifies companies facing significant headwinds that merit serious consideration for selling. These aren’t just stocks underperforming the market; they’re businesses confronting structural challenges, deteriorating fundamentals, or carrying valuations disconnected from financial reality.
What you won’t find here: reactionary calls based on short-term price movements or headline volatility. Each company on this list has been thoroughly analyzed across multiple metrics that historically precede substantial declines.
Smart investors understand that portfolio management requires both addition and subtraction. Sometimes the best investment decision is to redeploy capital away from troubling positions before problems fully materialize in the share price.
This week’s watchlist highlights stocks showing critical weaknesses that demand immediate attention:
Target (TGT)
Target’s nearly 8% stock price decline this week reflects serious concerns about the retailer’s vulnerability to the Trump administration’s new tariff regime. According to Bernstein analyst Zhihan Ma, Target has approximately 50% direct and indirect exposure to Chinese manufacturing, placing it among the retailers most affected by the newly implemented 34% tariff rate. This outsized dependence on Chinese suppliers creates an immediate threat to Target’s cost structure and margin profile in a retail environment where passing costs to consumers remains challenging.
The timing of these tariffs is particularly problematic for Target, which has already been struggling to regain momentum after several quarters of tepid sales growth. With a current share price of $95.67, the stock has declined considerably from its 52-week high of $173.04, indicating waning investor confidence even before this latest setback. Trading volume has been notably elevated at 16.2 million shares compared to the average volume of 7.1 million, suggesting institutional investors are actively repositioning exposure to the stock in response to these tariff concerns.
Unlike competitors such as Walmart and Costco, which have both limited Chinese exposure and the bargaining power to negotiate with suppliers, Target lacks the scale advantages to effectively mitigate these cost pressures. The company’s gross margin of 25.91% provides limited cushion to absorb higher input costs without either damaging profitability or risking market share through price increases. While Target’s 4.66% dividend yield might appear attractive to income investors, our analysis suggests this could come under pressure if margin compression persists. With the stock trading near its 52-week low and fundamental catalysts lacking, investors should consider reducing exposure before the full impact of these tariffs materializes in upcoming earnings reports.
JetBlue Airways (JBLU)
JetBlue Airways exemplifies the dangers facing troubled airlines in an increasingly uncertain economic environment. The stock plunged nearly 6% on Friday following a significant price target cut from TD Cowen analyst Helane Becker, who slashed her fair value assessment by 33% from $6 to $4 per share. This move came just one day after Bank of America analyst Andrew Didora similarly reduced his target from $5.25 to $4.25 while maintaining an underperform (sell) rating. This rapid succession of downgrades suggests Wall Street is recognizing fundamental problems that may not be fully reflected in the current share price.
The company’s financial metrics paint a troubling picture. With a market capitalization now reduced to just $1 billion and a gross margin of an extraordinarily thin 2.66%, JetBlue has minimal buffer to absorb further industry headwinds. The stock has cratered from its 52-week high of $8.31 to the current $3.92, approaching its 52-week low of $3.62 set during Friday’s trading. Perhaps most alarming is the explosion in trading volume to 51.2 million shares versus the average volume of 24.5 million, suggesting institutional investors are accelerating their exodus from the stock.
JetBlue faces a perfect storm of challenges: weakening consumer demand as post-pandemic travel enthusiasm wanes, potential travel spending cuts as consumers adjust to economic pressures from new tariffs, and an industry increasingly focused on consolidation that leaves smaller players vulnerable. The carrier’s failed acquisition attempt of Spirit Airlines last year left it without a clear strategic path forward in an industry where scale increasingly determines survival. With no dividend to compensate investors for the escalating risks and technical indicators showing persistent downward momentum, JetBlue appears poised for further declines as these fundamental challenges continue to manifest in upcoming earnings results.
BlackBerry (BB)
BlackBerry’s staggering 24.2% share price collapse this week reflects a company facing both company-specific challenges and deteriorating macroeconomic conditions. The catalyst for this dramatic decline was the company’s disappointing fiscal 2026 revenue guidance of $504-534 million, falling significantly short of analysts’ expectations of $567.3 million. Particularly troubling was the projected performance of BlackBerry’s Secure Communications unit, now a core component of the business, which is expected to generate just $230-240 million, down from $272.6 million in the prior year and well below Wall Street’s projection of $277 million.
The timing of this guidance couldn’t have been worse, coming just before President Trump’s announcement of sweeping tariffs described as “the most significant trade action since at least the 1930s.” This macro headwind creates additional uncertainty for a company already struggling to execute its strategic pivot from hardware to cybersecurity and IoT software solutions. With the stock now trading at just $3.00, down from its 52-week high of $6.24 and approaching the lower end of its trading range, technical indicators suggest further downside is likely as institutional investors reassess the company’s growth prospects.
Despite a relatively healthy gross margin of 65.37%, BlackBerry’s persistent revenue declines and deteriorating competitive position in its key markets present substantial concerns. The company’s $2 billion market capitalization now appears excessive given its shrinking business and clouded outlook. Management’s inability to deliver consistent growth despite years of strategic repositioning raises fundamental questions about the viability of its business model. With no dividend to compensate investors for mounting risks and the potential for the economic environment to further pressure enterprise technology spending, BlackBerry represents a compelling case for investors to consider exiting positions before the next potential leg down.
Bottom Line
This week’s featured stocks share a common denominator – all three face significant challenges from the newly announced tariffs that could exacerbate already existing company-specific problems. Target’s heavy reliance on Chinese manufacturing, JetBlue’s vulnerability to discretionary spending cutbacks, and BlackBerry’s declining business prospects all represent situations where current valuations have not fully accounted for deteriorating fundamentals. In this rapidly changing macroeconomic environment, proactive portfolio management suggests considering exits from these positions before the full impact of these headwinds materializes in future earnings reports.
