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There’s nothing wrong with trying to get in early on a stock. Some of your best winners will be companies you identify before the rest of the pack – that’s why investors spend a lot of time researching new trends and trying to get in on the ground floor, but these F-rated stocks to sell don’t meet that criterion.
But equally important in that exercise is knowing when to toss in the towel. Industries such as green power and electric vehicles were all the rage two or three years ago. There were a lot of speculative investments in companies that talked a good game and had good ideas, but for whatever reason just didn’t work out.
Many of those names are F-rated stocks today. And if you’re still holding on to one of those names in hopes of a turnaround, I think you’re making a massive mistake.
I have very little patience for F-rated stocks. And in fact, I really don’t understand why someone insists on holding F-rated stocks in their portfolio when there are obviously so many better names for the taking.
But it happens. And when it does, it needs attention. The Portfolio Grader is a great tool for identifying weak stocks because it assigns all equities an “A” through “F” grade based on growth, earnings performance, analyst opinion and momentum.
Maybe your early bets didn’t pay off. Or maybe you are thinking about taking a flyer on a falling knife, hoping for an unlikely bounce. Either way, these F-rated stocks should be sold right away so you can put your hard-earned money into more profitable investments.
Plug Power (PLUG)
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Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) is a green energy stock. The company makes batteries that uses hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, with water vapor as the only byproduct.
Plug Power shareholders were hoping that corporations and cities would sign on as part of their conversions to green energy standards. And of course, a power source whose only byproduct is water vapor is much cleaner than burning fossil fuels.
But clean energy isn’t profitable – or at least, Plug Power’s efforts at clean energy aren’t profitable.
In the first quarter, Plug Power reported revenue of $68.2 million against losses of $159 million. And the company is trending in the wrong way, as revenue was down from $182 million a year ago, and losses increased from $69.3 million.
PLUG stock is down 48% this year and gets an “F” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
FuelCell Energy (FCEL)
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FuelCell Energy (NASDAQ:FCEL) is a Connecticut-based fuel cell company that manufactures, operates and services Direct Fuel Cell power plants that produce hydrogen.
The company has more than 100 fuel cell plants in operation around the world and has generated more than 15.8 million megawatt-hours of power.
The company is expanding its business in the Korean market, where it produces more than 100 megawatts of sustainable electricity.
FuelCell announced that GGE is purchasing 42 of FuelCell Energy’s 1.4-megawatt upgraded carbonate fuel cells to replace existing modules at the Hwaseong Baran Industrial Complex fuel cell power platform, the world’s largest single site fuel cell power platform.
However, the company’s financials should give investors pause. Revenue in the second quarter was only $22.4 million, down from $38.3 million a year ago. The company posted a loss of $7.1 million, or 7 cents per share.
FCEL stock is trading at less than 50 cents per share. The stock is down more than 70% this year and gets an “F” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
ChargePoint Holdings (CHPT)
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Keeping with the theme of disappointing green energy stocks, ChargePoint Holdings (NYSE:CHPT) makes, owns and operates charging stations to power electric vehicles.
While the EV space looked lucrative in the United States just three years ago after the Biden administration successfully pushed through a major infrastructure bill that provides billions of funding for a national EV network, ChargePoint has failed to capitalize.
It’s competing against a massively successful, well-funded company in Tesla (NASDAQ:TLSA), which has more than 40,000 of its own charging stations. And Tesla already has deals in place with other automotive companies that provides it with billions of dollars in annual profits for the right to use Tesla’s charging network.
Revenue in the first quarter of fiscal 2025 was $107 million, down from $130 million a year ago. The company posted a gross profit of $23.6 million, but that was down from $30.5 million in the same quarter a year ago.
Overall, ChargePoint posted a net loss of $71.8 million in the first quarter, or 17 cents per share. The stock is down 15% this year and gets an “F” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
SolarEdge Technologies (SEDG)
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SolarEdge Technologies (NASDAQ:SEDG) makes power optimizes and inverters to help solar panels operate more efficiently. But as interest rates remain high – pushing the cost of borrowing up – solar panel installations have been down in recent quarters. And that’s been a problem for SEDG stock.
Earnings for the first quarter showed that the company’s revenue continues to fall at an alarming rate. SolarEdge reported revenue of $204 million in the quarter, down 78% from a year ago and 35% from the fourth quarter of 2023. The net loss was $157.3 million, versus a profit of $138.3 million a year ago.
SolarEdge also is taking on a $300 million public offering of convertible senior notes, adding to its debt load. And because they are convertible senior notes, they can be converted to stock shares, which means SEDG stock faces a dilution threat.
In all, it’s not good for SolarEdge. The company’s stock is down 71% this year and gets an “F” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
Polestar Automotive (PSNY)
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Polestar Automotive (NASDAQ:PSNY) is a European electric vehicle manufacturer, with automobiles selling in 27 markets throughout Europe, Asia and North America. But it’s not selling very many of them.
To be profitable, automotive companies need to scale the business – use their factories to make 30,000 vehicles instead of 300. Building and running a factory is a massive expense and the only way to be profitable is to produce enough products to cover your costs.
But Polestar isn’t there. It delivered 7,200 vehicles in the first quarter of 2024, down from 12,000 in the first quarter of 2023. Revenue in the first quarter was $345.3 million, down from $543.4 million a year ago.
Polestar posted an operating loss of $231.7 million, and those losses will keep coming if Polestar isn’t able to gain some momentum and scale the business. The stock is down 69% this year and gets an “F” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
SunPower (SPWR)
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Like SolarEdge, SunPower (NASDAQ:SPWR) is also having a tough year in the solar industry. Labor costs are high, materials are expensive and interest rates remain stubbornly high as the Fed shows no indication it’s willing to make a cut.
Now there’s some questions about whether SunPower will survive the next few months. The company announced plans to halt some operations, including new leases, PPA sales and new project installations.
Analysts are speculating that this is the first step toward SunPower winding down operations. The stock plummeted 50% on the announcement and is now down 82% so far this year.
The company reported revenue of $356.9 million in the fourth quarter, down from $497.9 million a year ago. It posted a net loss of $123.8 million and a loss of 71 cents per share, a year after posting gains of $3.4 million and 2 cents per share.
SPWR stock is down 82% this year and gets an “F” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
Scinai Immunotherapeutics (SCNI)
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Scinai Immunotherapeutics (NASDAQ:SCNI) is an Israeli biopharmaceutical company that makes inflammation and immunology biological products to treat autoimmune and infectious disease.
But this is a company whose pipeline is in very early stages. Three drug candidates are in proof-of-concept status. Scinai is seeking partners for two of them in hopes of advancing to clinical trials in the first half 2025.
But even then, the is one of the F-rated stocks to sell because it is a long way away from success. Bringing a drug candidate to market can take years, involving several levels of clinical trials before the drug is brought to regulators for approval. And all through that effort, companies need to raise money to fund research and development. It’s an expensive, time-consuming process.
The company posted research and development expenses of $1.56 million for the first quarter of 2024, with a total operating loss of $1.92 million.
And it’s also working to get back into the good graces of Nasdaq. Scinai received notifications that it was out of compliance with Nasdaq’s equity requirements for listed companies. Now it’s working to restructure its debt-to-equity loan deal with its lender, the European Investment Bank, in hopes of regaining compliance.
Scinai may eventually be successful, but it will be a long time before the profits begin rolling in, if at all. SCNI stock is down 70% this year and gets an “F” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
On the date of publication, neither Louis Navellier nor the InvestorPlace Research Staff member primarily responsible for this article held (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
On the date of publication, the responsible editor did not have (either directly or indirectly) and positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
