Just because a stock is popular doesn’t mean it’s a good investment. Too often, investors take a position in a stock that has enjoyed a big rally only to buy at the top and see their investment plummet as the share price peaks and then falls. That situation led retail investors to lose an estimated $350 billion during the bear market of 2022. The average investor saw their portfolio decline by 30% last year. Yet despite the self-inflicted pain, investors continue to chase performance only to buy high and sell low — the opposite of how successful investing works. Every investor should conduct an independent analysis of a stock they are planning to buy to determine the right time to allocate capital. Here are three popular stocks to sell that are about to get absolutely crushed.

Tesla (TSLA)

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock enjoyed a first-mover advantage for the better part of a decade. As the world’s top seller of electric vehicles (EVs), TSLA stock repeatedly lapped other automakers struggling to play catch-up. That is no longer the case. Tesla now faces an onslaught of competition as larger vehicle manufacturers go all-in on electric versions of their cars, trucks and SUVs. That has led to an erosion of market share and required Tesla to deeply discount its vehicles, hurting the company’s profit margins.

To be sure, TSLA stock remains immensely popular with retail investors, as does the company’s mercurial CEO Elon Musk. But more than a few analysts now believe that Tesla’s best days are behind it and its share price is destined to decline. Tesla remains the most shorted stock on Wall Street, meaning traders expect the share price to fall. While TSLA stock is up 122% in 2023, that gain comes after a massive decline in the autumn of 2022 after Musk bought social media platform X. In the last six months, the company’s stock has actually declined 4%.

Netflix (NFLX)

Streaming giant Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) has been riding high since the company reported strong earnings in October. Year-to-date, NFLX stock is up 56%. However, like Tesla, that gain comes after a big decline during the 2022 bear market. Also like Tesla, Netflix is rapidly losing its edge due to growing competition, and it faces some major hurdles going forward. Currently, NFLX stock is more than 30% below the all-time high it reached in November 2021 when the market last peaked.

Issues facing Netflix include rising competition, as just about everyone seems to be launching a streaming service, new content spending forecast to top $17 billion in 2024, and new Hollywood contracts reaching into the tens of millions annually — with performance-based streaming bonuses. All of this comes as Netflix’s share of the streaming market has declined to about 20% today from 49% in 2018. Time to take profits.

Coinbase Global (COIN)

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) has taken off this year as the price of Bitcoin (BTC-USD) has rallied more than 145%. The company has also benefitted from the implosion of competing crypto exchange FTX, which fell into bankruptcy and the legal problems facing rival Binance. However, Coinbase’s fortunes are so interconnected with Bitcoin that any pullback in the price of BTC is sure to hurt COIN stock, which is currently up a blistering 310% in 2023.

It looks as though Bitcoin is starting to wheeze after running full-tilt in recent months. On the day of this writing, the price of BTC was down 8% and struggling to remain above the key support level of $40,000. While some analysts claim the sudden downturn in Bitcoin was due to year-end profit-taking by investors, others see signs that the crypto rally has gotten overheated and has a correction coming. That would be bad news for COIN stock, which looks to be steaming hot right now and could also correct.

It’s worth noting that despite its huge rally in 2023, COIN stock remains 60% below the price it debuted at on the Nasdaq index in April 2021.

On the date of publication, Joel Baglole did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.