U.S. equities are reaching new highs after May’s consumer price index (CPI) report indicated significant cooling in pricing pressures across the broad. The headline inflation figure came in flat, while the “core” reading, which excludes price volatility from food and energy, increased only 0.2% month-over-month. The year-over-year increase in prices landed at 3.3%, which represented the first significant cooling we have seen since the second quarter of 2021. These trends could contribute to market conditions that outline which stocks to sell.
Nonetheless, the U.S. Federal Reserve is keeping to its cautious stance and revised the rate forecast outlined in December. Instead of three rate cuts in 2024, the central bank has projected a single 0.25% reduction in the Federal Funds rate. This bit of bad news has not quelled markets though. The tech-heavy Nasdaq has rallied 15.5% on a year-to-date (YTD) basis, while the S&P500 has also enjoyed a 12.7% surge.
However, all of this relatively good news does not mean there aren’t any stocks to avoid. Investors will not want any of these three stocks to sell in their portfolio unless they desire a gloomy June.
SentinelOne (S)
SentinelOne (NYSE:S), a once compelling way to play the cybersecurity space, has seen its share plummet in 2024. In particular, the cybersecurity software firm’s share price has fallen more than 34% on a YTD basis. This is in stark contrast to SentinelOne’s meteoric rally in 2023, wherein shares rose 88.1%. Despite having a platform that checks all the boxes for employing novel technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), SentinelOne is struggling to spur top-line growth in a troubled global economic environment and highly competitive market.
At the beginning of the year, SentinelOne released its fourth-quarter earnings report for the company’s fiscal year 2024, which ended January 31, and despite a sizable earnings beat, investors were unimpressed with full-year guidance for the following fiscal year. Moreover, first-quarter results for fiscal year 2025 also beat Wall Street estimates but did not come with any upward revisions to guidance, again leaving investors underwhelmed.
Compressing growth rates spell bad news for SentinelOne’s share price going forward, and in the meantime, competitor CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) continues to see strong revenue and earnings figures while also enjoying a significant rally in its share price.
SoundHound AI (SOUN)
SoundHound AI (NASDAQ:SOUN) was supposed to be an unstoppable AI stock, but then a revealing short seller report from Capybara Research was released. The report asserted the start-up’s artificial intelligence solutions, which allow businesses to develop AI-driven conversational experiences for their customers, were predicated on speech-recognition technology already widely available. Not to mention, tech titans, including Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG,NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) have rolled out similar voice-recognition products and features.
Even with Nvidia being a notable investor in SoundHound AI, the company’s stock has plummeted from its stratospheric highs since then. In mid-March, SOUN had skyrocketed as much as 320.3% since the start of trading in 2024, but now the company’s share price is up 119.3%. Of course, this performance is nothing to snooze at, but a lack of interest or growth catalysts for the AI firm could lead to further losses in the future, making it one of the stocks to sell.
IonQ (IONQ)
The quantum computing space has enjoyed much attention lately. The rise of generative artificial intelligence technologies has left investors to wonder what technological revolution could be next. Quantum computing, when scaled up, could affect significant change across various fields, including climate science and finance. The space of public quantum computing companies is full of legacy technology firms that have invested in the technology for decades as well as a handful of notable start-ups.
IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) is one of those pure-play quantum computing startups that rose to prominence with its innovative ion-trapping technology that the firm has leveraged to build its quantum computers. The quantum computing firm’s Forte system takes advantage of 36 qubits and is IonQ’s “highest performing system to date.”
IonQ’s first quarter results for fiscal year 2024 came in above Wall Street’s estimates, but unfortunately, shares are still down a significant 35.8% for the year. The lack of commercial practicality for quantum computing at this moment as well as IonQ’s sizable net losses will likely lead to more downward pressure on IonQ’s shares.
On the date of publication, Tyrik Torres did not have (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.