Every investor loves talking about what to buy. What you rarely see is a thread on what someone’s refusing to touch – and that’s a shame, because protecting your portfolio matters as much as growing it. Warren Buffett’s first rule of investing is not to lose money. He isn’t saying avoid risk entirely; he’s saying avoid situations where the risk clearly outweighs the reward. Here are three stocks I’m staying away from today, and why.

What Makes Me Avoid a Stock?

Some common red flags make me shy away from a stock: weakening fundamentals, too much debt on the balance sheet, an expensive valuation, a shrinking competitive moat, or poor management. Notice that only some of these are about the business. The rest are about the valuation and the people running the business. Good investing often starts with saying “no”.

Palantir (NASDAQ: PLTR) – Still Too Expensive 

It’s hard to say anything negative about Palantir’s (PLTR) business....