A cash-heavy balance sheet is often a sign of strength, but not always. Some companies avoid debt because they have weak business models, limited expansion opportunities, or inconsistent cash flow.
Financial flexibility is valuable, but it’s not everything - at StockStory, we help you find the stocks that can not only survive but also outperform. That said, here is one company with a net cash position that can leverage its balance sheet to grow and two with hidden risks.
Two Stocks to Sell:
Manhattan Associates (MANH)
Net Cash Position: $215.8 million (2.2% of Market Cap)
Built on a "versionless" cloud architecture that delivers quarterly updates to all customers, Manhattan Associates (NASDAQ:MANH) develops cloud-based software that helps retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers manage their supply chains, inventory, and omnichannel operations.
Why Does MANH Fall Short?
- Average billings growth of 5% over the last year was subpar, suggesting it struggled to push its software and might have to lower prices to stimulate demand
- Estimated sales growth of 5% for the next 12 months implies demand will slow from its two-year trend
- Sky-high servicing costs result in an inferior gross margin of 56.5% that must be offset through increased usage
Manhattan Associates is trading at $167.13 per share, or 9.1x forward price-to-sales. To fully understand why you should be careful with MANH, check out our full research report (it’s free for active Edge members).
Repligen (RGEN)
Net Cash Position: $597.8 million (6.3% of Market Cap)
With over 13 strategic acquisitions since 2012 to build its comprehensive bioprocessing portfolio, Repligen (NASDAQ:RGEN) develops and manufactures specialized technologies that improve the efficiency and flexibility of biological drug manufacturing processes.
Why Are We Out on RGEN?
- Core business is underperforming as its organic revenue has disappointed over the past two years, suggesting it might need acquisitions to stimulate growth
- Efficiency has decreased over the last five years as its adjusted operating margin fell by 17.8 percentage points
- Waning returns on capital from an already weak starting point displays the inefficacy of management’s past and current investment decisions
Repligen’s stock price of $169.40 implies a valuation ratio of 85.3x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than RGEN.
One Stock to Buy:
Pinterest (PINS)
Net Cash Position: $2.47 billion (13.8% of Market Cap)
Created with the idea of virtually replacing paper catalogues, Pinterest (NYSE: PINS) is an online image and social discovery platform.
Why Do We Love PINS?
- Monthly Active Users are rising, meaning the company can increase revenue without incurring additional customer acquisition costs if it can cross-sell additional products and features
- Disciplined cost controls and effective management resulted in a strong two-year EBITDA margin of 28.3%, and its profits increased over the last few years as it scaled
- Strong free cash flow margin of 27.4% enables it to reinvest or return capital consistently, and its rising cash conversion increases its margin of safety
At $26.56 per share, Pinterest trades at 11.5x forward EV/EBITDA. Is now the right time to buy? See for yourself in our in-depth research report, it’s free for active Edge members.
Stocks We Like Even More
Your portfolio can’t afford to be based on yesterday’s story. The risk in a handful of heavily crowded stocks is rising daily.
The names generating the next wave of massive growth are right here in our Top 5 Strong Momentum Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 244% over the last five years (as of June 30, 2025).
Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,326% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Kadant (+351% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free. Find your next big winner with StockStory today. Find your next big winner with StockStory today.