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Many small-cap stocks have limited Wall Street coverage, giving savvy investors the chance to act before everyone else catches on. But the flip side is that these businesses have increased downside risk because they lack the scale and staying power of their larger competitors.

The downside that can come from buying these securities is precisely why we started StockStory - to isolate the long-term winners from the losers so you can invest with confidence. Keeping that in mind, here are three small-cap stocks to swipe left on and some alternatives you should look into instead.

Harley-Davidson (HOG)

Market Cap: $3.20 billion

Founded in 1903, Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) is an American motorcycle manufacturer known for its heavyweight motorcycles designed for cruising on highways.

Why Do We Pass on HOG?

1. Demand for its offerings was relatively low as its number of motorcycles sold has underwhelmed

2. Diminishing returns on capital suggest its earlier profit pools are drying up

3. 10× net-debt-to-EBITDA ratio makes lenders less willing to extend additional capital, potentially necessitating dilutive equity offerings

Harley-Davidson’s stock price of $25.91 implies a valuation ratio of 6.3x forward price-to-earnings. To fully understand why you should be careful with HOG, check out our full research report (it’s free).

Richardson Electronics (RELL)

Market Cap: $182.3 million

Founded in 1947, Richardson Electronics (NASDAQ:RELL) is a distributor of power grid and microwave tubes as well as consumables related to those products.

Why Are We Out on RELL?

1. Sales tumbled by 10% annually over the last two years, showing market trends are working against its favor during this cycle

2. Falling earnings per share over the last two years has some investors worried as stock prices ultimately follow EPS over the long term

3. Lacking free cash flow generation means it has few chances to reinvest for growth, repurchase shares, or distribute capital

Richardson Electronics is trading at $12.81 per share, or 17.2x forward price-to-earnings. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why RELL doesn’t pass our bar.

Ducommun (DCO)

Market Cap: $884.4 million

California’s oldest company, Ducommun (NYSE:DCO) is a provider of engineering and manufacturing services for high-performance products primarily within the aerospace and defense industries.

Why Do We Think DCO Will Underperform?

1. New orders were hard to come by as its average backlog growth of 4.9% over the past two years underwhelmed

2. Performance over the past two years was negatively impacted by new share issuances as its earnings per share were flat while its revenue grew

3. ROIC of 4.6% reflects management’s challenges in identifying attractive investment opportunities