With the second quarter in full swing, Piper Sandler has put together a list of stocks to avoid during the period. Many of the factors that shaped stock performance in the first quarter persist in the second quarter. The war with Iran has caused oil prices to rise and energy stocks to soar. For example, the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) is up 33% year-to-date. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 index is down 3.8% since the beginning of the year. To better understand where investors should bet and which areas to avoid, Piper Sandler considered factors such as valuation, risk, governance, operations, sentiment, profitability, and operational efficiency. Among the stocks in the S&P 1500, stocks with “the most red flags compared to their peers” were named to the list. Here are some samples of these names: Real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield rose in value. The company has had an eventful year, with its stock price down 23% since the beginning of the year. Investors see the stock as a potential victim of artificial intelligence as more tasks in the service industry become automated. Still, seven of the 11 analysts covering the stock rate it a “strong buy” or “buy,” according to LSEG. The average price target predicts an upside of nearly 43%. Piper Sandler’s list of potential underperforming companies also included transportation company Uber. The company has been investing in its fleet over the past year, including a $1.25 billion deal with electric car maker Rivian to deploy 50,000 of its self-driving cars by 2031. The announcement came in March after Uber had already missed several robotaxi goals. The stock price fell 12% in 2026. Morgan Stanley is overweight on Uber stock, with a price target of $100. The bank cited the company’s “multiple large addressable markets” in its bullish case. Food distribution company Aramark is also at risk, Piper Sandler said. Unlike other risky stocks, Aramark is up 15% since the beginning of the year, and JPMorgan named it one of its favorite stocks in April. Aramark’s strong outlook for 2026 influenced JPMorgan’s stance. On average, Wall Street analysts expect Aramark stock could rise more than 10% based on the consensus price target. According to LSEG, the majority of analysts have given the stock a strong buy or buy rating.
