Down more than 6% in April, the S&P 500 index has experienced huge volatility. But as long as you are not sitting on cash and a
re invested in the market, it is all relative when it comes to what stock to own and what stock to avoid.
Celanese (NYSE:CE), Micron (NASDAQ:MU), and Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) are three highly volatile S&P 500 stocks to avoid, as they:
- were at least 1.5x as volatile as the market in April
- experienced high volatility in the last 3 months
- underperformed the market significantly since tariffs dropped
- are at meaningful risk if the tariff war drags on
But, if you seek upside along with less volatility than individual stocks, consider the High-Quality portfolio, which has outperformed the S&P 500 and achieved returns greater than 91% since inception.
Celanese (CE) is a materials company that saw its stock drop a massive 34% in April alone, and more than 45% in 2025. It has been a very volatile stock that is clearly trending down. CE is a specialty chemicals company and is sensitive to supply chain costs which can become a real issue amid the current tariff war. The company saw a 6% decline in revenues over 2024, reported a net loss, and also witnessed a reduction in its free cash flow margin to 5% from over 11% for the previous 3 years. In addition, it has high leverage, with a debt-to-equity ratio in excess of 2.0
Micron (MU): Semiconductor is another industry that’s sensitive to supply chain, and given China’s stance on Taiwan and with the country imposing major retaliatory tariffs, investor confidence is at a low. Micron has fallen nearly 20% in April, and the cash flow situation does not look good for it. The company has a razor-thin free cash flow margin of 1.9% and has been facing cash outflows for the last few years.
Devon Energy (DVN): Considering that the Energy sector has been the hardest hit in April with a nearly 17% decline vs. a little over 6% decline for S&P, dropping crude oil prices, geopolitical risks arising from tariff war and a negative free cash flow margin of -5.4% over the last 12 months make DVN stock very unattractive right now.
Want to avoid volatility but still be exposed to upside? Consider Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio which, with a collection of 30 stocks, has a track record of comfortably outperforming the S&P 500 over the last 4-year period. Why is that? As a group, HQ Portfolio stocks provided better returns with less risk versus the benchmark index; less of a roller-coaster ride as evident in HQ Portfolio performance metrics.