5 Valentine’s Day Stocks to Love or Leave

All cater to the holiday's traditions, but only a couple deserve your affection

Feb 8, 2013, 6:15 am EDT | By Alyssa Oursler, InvestorPlace Assistant Editor

1-800-FLOWERS: Leave It

Flowers might be one of the most common gifts for the holiday, but I’d stay away from 1-800-FLOWERS (NASDAQ:FLWS).

FLWS makes most of its profits in the last three months of the year, and hasn’t posted a profit for the quarter including Feb. 14 in four years. But more importantly, in four of the past five years, FLWS shares have bled red between the week before Valentine’s Day and mid-March.

Sure, things could be looking up. The stock gained an eye-popping 67% in 2012 and is up another 7% so far in 2013 after more than doubling its earnings in the past year. That growth wasn’t very organic, though, as revenue only gained 4%.

I’d still be skeptical about diving into this relationship long-term.