24/7 Wall St.

This last week may have been short and light on investing interest in the United States. After all, millions of passengers flying out or driving out on Wednesday, then eating more turkey than can easily be measured, and then hitting the malls and retailers just puts the minds of investors elsewhere. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.14% and the S&P 500 Index rose by a whole 0.04% this last week. Still, there are some hidden gems which may be seen having huge potential gains ahead if Wall Street analysts are right in their calls.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day. This often turns into hundreds of research reports each week. While many analyst reports cover stock to buy, most of the Buy and Outperform ratings come with 8% to 15% upside projections for Dow or S&P 500 stocks. Then there is another class of analyst upgrades and Buy ratings — where the projected analyst upside in a stock can be 35%, 50%, and in some cases even 100%.

There is one rule that investors need to keep in mind. The higher the projected return on an investment generally means that there is a lot more risk. That is certainly true of the latest pack of analyst upside calls for massive upside. Some of these are beaten down stocks, some are very risky companies with uncertain futures, and some could easily end up in the “what ever happened to that company?” category.

Conservative investors and those who are averse to risk should not even remotely consider investing in speculative companies just because some Wall Street analyst says there is upside. It is undeniable that many analyst calls do prove to be wrong. And many companies just never grow into their full potential.

Now that you have been reminded that these are full of much more risk than you might expect from a Dow or S&P 500 stock, these are six of the last week’s analyst upgrades and positive research calls with massive upside. In each case 24/7 Wall St. has pointed out at least one potential risk or pitfall that investors should at least consider before following a Wall Street analyst call just because they see huge upside.

AVON PRODUCTS

Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP) has been down and out for too long to easily recall now. Citigroup now sees upside here, potentially big upside. In a research report this last Tuesday Avon was raised to Buy from Neutral and it was assigned a $5.00 price target. This was versus a prior $2.85 close, but shares rallied well over 10% and then closed up again on Friday to end the week at $3.45.

Avon had a consensus analyst price target of $4.52 ahead of the call, and that consensus target was seen higher at $4.67 by the end of the week. Avon has a 52-week range of $2.41 to $10.20. The driving force for Citi’s upgrade here is that a turnaround may be taking shape, it seems to be targeting more profitable growth, and Brazil’s woes could even be abating for Avon.

Then again, there is always the risk that Avon keeps failing at a turnaround or cannot rekindle interest again. We have reported that no buyout firms were interested and that its options may be very limited.

ALSO READ: 10 Brands That Will Disappear in 2016

HORIZON PHARMA

Horizon Pharma plc (NASDAQ: HZNP) was reinstated as Buy at Jefferies back on Monday, along with a $43 price target. Its prior close was $18.82, and Friday’s closing price was $21.77. Jefferies believes that Horizon’s standalone growth appears healthy now that it is no longer being pursued in a low-premium takeover that undervalued the company. Another potential here is that near-term M&A remains likely.

Horizon’s consensus analyst price target is up closer to $38 and its 52-week range is $12.04 to $39.49. For a $3.5 billion market cap, this just may be more volatile than many healthcare and specialty biopharma investors can stomach.

SUNEDISON

SunEdison, Inc. (NYSE: SUNE) is so volatile and risky that we almost hesitated to even include this call. Still, the struggling maker of silicon wafers has high investor interest. The stock was maintained as Buy at Janney Capital Markets on Monday.

What stands out here is that the firm’s fair value estimate was cut to $17 from $20, which sounds almost crazy considering a prior $2.82 close and considering a Friday closing price of $3.36. That consensus price target of $15.75 seems like it is riddled full of holes now, and the 52-week range is $2.55 to $33.45.

The firm did acknowledge the much higher level of risk due to future uses of cash, but they do not see a liquidity event coming in SunEdison at this time in the company’s future.

For another view of risk here, UBS downgraded SunEdison to Sell from Neutral in the middle of the week and gave a $2.00 price target. Paying off most of a margin loan and a $350 million divestment in  India might not be enough. This feels like one of those calls where a “fair value” just may seem too aggressive, and 24/7 Wall St. has worried that analysts just are not dropping their price targets fast enough.

ALSO READ: Why Credit Suisse Took GE Off Of Its Focus Lists So Fast

TELADOC

Teladoc, Inc. (NYSE: TDOC) could have more than 50% upside if Oppenheimer is right here. The firm started the telemedicine service provider with an Outperform rating this last Tuesday and assigned a $31 price target. Teladoc’s prior close was $19.28 and shares closed out the week at $19.52; and it has a post-IPO range of $15.32 to $35.42 and a consensus analyst price target of $35.88.

Teladoc shares have come off highs so much after a hot IPO in part from regulatory risks. Oppenheimer thinks that is overdone, but investors have to understand that this is an emerging company and its leadership position in remote telemedicine services could fall apart or just not pan out like so many investors have hoped.

UNIVERSAL INSURANCE

Universal Insurance Holdings Inc. (NYSE: UVE) has become a highly debated stock. The property and casualty insurance company has become the target of short sellers, and its short interest of 3.745 million shares as of November 13 may even be understated considering that this was a $30 stock back on that day.

Universal Insurance was listed as one of eight companies that destroyed its shareholders in the previous week, but Keefe Bruyette & Woods said enough is enough this last Monday. KBW raised its rating to Outperform from Market Perform, while cutting the price target to $28.00 from $35.00, versus a prior $18.47 closing price.

Universal Insurance shares were down almost 2% at $20.23 on Friday’s close, and its 52-week range is $16.50 to $37.49.

Investors need to understand that Universal may screen on the cheap side at less than 7-times earnings, but it is now a serious battleground stock where trading forces may override valuation metrics for some time. Another risk is that almost no research firms cover this stock with formal investment ratings.

ENTELLUS MEDICAL

Entellus Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENTL) was maintained as Buy with a $27.00 price target at Canaccord Genuity on Tuesday. This was versus a prior $16.42 close and shares went out with a gain of 3.1% at $17.52 on Friday. The firm said that Entellus adds pediatric indication for XprESS Multi-Sinus Dilation system, but this 50% upside comes with thin volume and its $330 million market cap is paired off with a 52-week trading range of $14.72 to $28.81.

Canaccord Genuity’s call noted that the FDA clearance was slightly ahead of expectations in the first quarter of 2016. Entellus was said to be the only balloon sinus dilation company on the market currently able to treat adolescents.

There are risks here — new competition, being public less than a year, limited revenue history and operating losses are just some.

ALSO READ: Jefferies Has 3 Top Value Stocks to Buy Now

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OK, so those were the most aggressive analyst calls from this last week that were tracked by 24/7 Wall St. Some of these companies have risks that are far greater than the traditional stocks most investors are used to. In fact, this week’s group of risky stocks with massive upside may just be one of the riskiest group of similar stocks we have covered in quite some time.