The S 500 is in a bull market, but some companies aren't keeping pace. On the one hand, stocks that get left behind during a bull run can be worth investing in, provided they have significant upside potential and their slump is temporary. But other times, companies fail to perform on par with broader equities for a good reason: Serious problems with their businesses are unlikely to be resolved anytime soon. That's the case with Aurora Cannabis (NASDAQ: ACB) and Peloton Interactive (NASDAQ: PTON). Here is why investors should avoid these stocks in 2024 and beyond.

Aurora Cannabis rose in popularity some five years ago when Canada legalized adult use of marijuana. The prevalent opinion was that cannabis sales would skyrocket, and one of the leaders in the field -- perhaps Aurora Cannabis -- would provide outsize returns to investors who got in early. However, things haven't worked out that way. The Canadian cannabis market suffered from oversupply and an incredibly slow process to obtain retail licenses.

Meanwhile, Aurora Cannabis' efforts were not very successful. The company tried to secure a partner with deep pockets, ideally one in a tangentially related industry. Some of its peers -- namely, Canopy Growth and Cronos Group -- were able to pull that off, but Aurora Cannabis failed in its quest. The company also resorted to an aggressive growth-by-acquisition strategy, which was funded by issuing new shares, thereby diluting existing shareholders.

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Source Fool.com