Success in investing has to do with two major focal points, ones that investors often forget in the excitement of sharp price action and headlines in the stock market. First, the sole purpose of the market is to offer the opportunity for everyday investors to pick and choose businesses that are worth their hard-earned capital; the second (more simple) factor is how much they paid for said business.
Every once in a while, so-called value investors like Warren Buffett will look foolish for buying stocks that seem to be down by a significant amount during the quarter or year, going the opposite way as everyone else boasts their gains in names within the same industry or others. However, this is where the returns of a value investor are born by being willing to go against the crowd (and the chart) as long as the underlying business pick is good enough to justify it.
Today’s list gives investors the opportunity to do just that, as considering names in the basic materials sector like Albemarle Co. (NYSE: ALB), or the steel manufacturing sector such as Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE: CLF), and even one of the cheapest choices in the technology sector with Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) can deliver some of the best returns in the coming quarters due to their fundamentals and discounts today.
Plenty of Tailwinds for Albemarle’s Rally
As President Trump looks to accelerate his agenda for domestic production and manufacturing within the United States, one thing is certain: Recent trade tariff announcements seem to focus on automotive production, oil production capacity, and semiconductor manufacturing.
[content-module:Forecast|NYSE:ALB]This is good news for a name like Albemarle, which produces specialty chemicals that support business activity in all these areas. This explains some of the upside potential now reiterated by Wall Street and other participants. Trading at only 53% of its 52-week high today, the stock offers a fantastic risk-to-reward setup for value investors.
Considering that the consensus price target is set at a high of $107 per share, Wall Street analysts essentially are calling for a net rally of as much as 47% from today’s low price, leaving investors with nothing but upside in this new economic shift to aid Albemarle’s business.
But investors shouldn’t just take this view's theory; rather, they should check with reality through earnings per share (EPS) forecasts. Analysts now think that Albemarle could deliver up to $2.18 in EPS for the second quarter of 2025, a significant boost from today’s net loss of $1.09 per share.
As stock prices typically are driven by EPS growth, investors can see how the upside in Albemarle stock is still not accurately shown, even by double-digit upside projections in hitting the price target.
Money Is Flowing to Cleveland-Cliffs Stock
Over the past quarter, and as of February 2025, institutional buyers from Dimensional Fund Advisors decided to boost their holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs stock by 3.1%.
[content-module:Forecast|NYSE:CLF]After this new allocation, the group now holds up to $199.7 million worth of stock, giving investors another vote of confidence in this company's future.
This stock is riding on the same tailwinds as Albemarle, which is the domestic production push in the United States, and steel is one of the first ones to see the benefits of this wave.
Being first in line, it makes sense to see Cleveland-Cliffs stock see much more upside forecasts compared to Albemarle.
The consensus price target for this steelmaker is set at $16.4 today, calling for up to 68% upside from today’s level.
Considering that the stock now trades at a cheap 43% of its 52-week high, the worst-case scenarios have been essentially priced in to leave investors with one incredible setup with nothing but upside potential.
A Laggard Turning Bullish: Micron Stock
Micron’s short interest has collapsed by over 15% in the past month alone, which means one thing for investors.
[content-module:Forecast|NASDAQ:MU]Despite a bearish performance over the year and now trading at a low 61% of its 52-week high, it seems bears in Micron stock have capitulated to the fact that there isn’t much more downside risk to this play.
Rather, investors should start considering the 42% upside potential priced in by Wall Street’s consensus price target of $135 per share in Micron, which has lagged behind other leaders in the space like NVIDIA Co. (NASDAQ: NVDA).
The potential for this catch-up, turning the laggard into a more bullish setup in the semiconductor space, drove new institutional investing to the scene.
Over the past quarter, up to $7.8 billion of institutional capital justified its way into Micron stock, as the fundamental story and the technical setup seem to offer yet another favorable risk-to-reward opportunity for those value investors willing to be (and look) wrong in the short-term.
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