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Zacks.com featured highlights include Atlantica Yield, Astronics, GoodRx Holdings, and Las Vegas Sands

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – April 18, 2022 – Stocks in this week’s article are Atlantica Yield Plc (AY - Free Report) , Astronics Corp. (ATRO - Free Report) , GoodRx Holdings Inc. (GDRX - Free Report) , and Las Vegas Sands (LVS - Free Report) .

Beware of These 4 Toxic Stocks Amid Market Uncertainty

Wall Street has been witnessing severe bouts of volatility, which is expected to continue in the near term amid geopolitical tensions, the global food crisis, a spike in coronavirus cases — especially in China — and high inflation. In times of such uncertainty, it's as important to get rid of fundamentally weak toxic stocks as it is to invest in attractively valued companies possessing fundamental strength.

Toxic companies are usually characterized by huge debt loads and are vulnerable to external shocks. These stocks might illusively scale lofty heights in a given time period but the good show doesn't last for these overblown toxic stocks, as their current price is not justified by their fundamental strength. Accurately identifying such bloated stocks and getting rid of them at the right time can protect your portfolio.

Overpricing of these toxic stocks can be attributed to either an irrational enthusiasm surrounding them or some serious fundamental drawbacks. If you own such bubble stocks for an inordinate period of time, you are bound to see massive erosion of wealth.

Nonetheless, if you can precisely spot such toxic stocks, you may gain by resorting to an investing strategy called short selling. This strategy allows one to sell a stock first and then buy it when the price falls. While short selling excels in bear markets, it typically loses money in bull markets.

So, just like identifying stocks with growth potential, pinpointing toxic stocks and offloading them at the right time is crucial to guard one's portfolio from big losses or make profits by short selling them. Atlantica Yield PlcAstronics Corp.GoodRx Holdings Inc., and Las Vegas Sands are a few such toxic stocks.  

Here are 4 of the 35 toxic stocks that showed up on the screen:

Atlantica Yield: Based in Brentford, Atlantica Yield owns, manages and acquires a diversified portfolio of contracted assets in the power and environment sectors. In the last reported quarter, AY incurred a loss of 10 cents per share against the consensus mark of a profit of 11 cents. In fact, the company has fallen short of earnings estimates in each of the last four quarters, with the average negative surprise being 102.3%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Atlantica Yield's 2022 earnings has been downwardly revised by 16 cents over the past 30 days. The consensus mark for 2023 earnings has also moved south by 19 cents to 72 cents, implying a year-over-year decline of 1.8%. AY currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

GoodRx: This California-based company is a consumer-focused digital healthcare platform. In the last reported quarter, the company came out with quarterly earnings of 9 cents per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 10 cents. Over the trailing four quarters, GDRX lagged earnings estimates twice, matched once and surpassed the same on another occasion, with the average negative surprise being 2.5%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GoodRx's earnings for the current year has been revised downward by 8 cents over the past 60 days. The consensus mark for 2023 earnings has also moved south by 11 cents over the past 60 days. GDRX currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 and a VGM Score of C.

Astronics: Headquartered in New York, Astronics is a manufacturer of specialized lighting and electronics for the cockpit, cabin and exteriors of military, commercial transport, and private business jet aircraft. In the last reported quarter, the company posted a loss per share of 28 cents, wider than the consensus mark of 9 cents. In fact, ATRO has fallen short of earnings estimates in each of the last four quarters, with the average negative surprise being 247%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Astronics' earnings for the current year has been revised downward by 39 cents over the past 60 days. The consensus mark for 2023 earnings has moved south by 11 cents over the past 60 days. ATRO currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Las Vegas Sands: Based in Las Vegas, LVS is an international developer of multi-use integrated resorts, primarily operating in the United States and Asia. The company's stretched balance sheet remains a major concern, especially amid the coronavirus crisis. As of Dec 31, 2021, Las Vegas Sands' total debt and unrestricted cash balance amounted to $14.8 billion and $1.8 billion, respectively.

LVS currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 and has a VGM Score of C. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Las Vegas Sands' 2022 EPS has been revised downward by a cent over the past 30 days. The stock missed earnings estimates in two of the trailing four quarters for as many misses, with the average negative surprise being 26.3%.

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For the rest of this Screen of the Week article please visit Zacks.com at: https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/1899303/beware-of-these-4-toxic-stocks-amid-market-uncertainty

Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.

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Zacks.com created the first and best screening system on the web earning the distinction as the "#1 site for screening stocks" by Money Magazine.  But powerful screening tools is just the start. That is why Zacks created the Screen of the Week to highlight profitable stock picking strategies that investors can actively use.

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