There are more than 2,000 shares listed on the ASX.
Of those, there are plenty that you'd be foolish to mess with. Sure, some of the speculative miners might go on to generate humungous gains for their lucky owners but, for the most part, they remain a long shot. Extremely risky at best, or else a disaster waiting to happen.
While not as numerous, there are also a number of great businesses. The ones you look at and just wish you'd bought a decade (or perhaps longer!) ago. Or the ones that just scream 'quality' and attract the attention of so many investors.
Take CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) as an example. Today, its shares are fetching just under $104, compared to less than $17 in September 2006. The business has gone from strength to strength in the time since, and could still be a stock worth the consideration of long-term investors.
However, no stock is a buy at just any price. Overpay for even the best company in the world and you'll be making a bad investment.
Below are four great companies (or companies that many investors consider to be great) that I just don't think you should buy right now…
Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd. (ASX: DMP) has produced stunning returns for its shareholders over the years, defying a chorus of investors who pointed to its elevated stock price. It's done an excellent job at silencing those investors – rising roughly 1,060% from around $6.30 five years ago to $73 today.
But really, look at its share price!
Domino's Pizza Enterprises currently commands a market value north of $6.6 billion with the shares trading on a price-earnings ratio of almost 80x trailing earnings. It could climb further from here, but it does seem awfully pricey.
Mining giant BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) is another stock I think investors should avoid. The miner's shares dropped to a low that startled investors earlier this year as a result of the crashing iron ore and oil prices, but has since rebounded on – wait for it – rising iron ore and oil prices! The same goes for BHP's rival Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO), which is much more reliant on iron ore than BHP Billiton.
Both iron ore and oil prices do appear to have stabilised, for now, and BHP and Rio have done a good job in cutting unnecessary costs from their businesses. That said, the pair remain heavily exposed to swings in the commodity market and another sudden drop could see the share prices follow.
Finally, Woolworths Limited (ASX: WOW) remains a dangerous option for unsuspecting investors right now, in my opinion.
The grocery giant has endured a horrendous couple of years but showed signs of improvement during the most recent quarter. While that led to a sudden surge in the group's share price, management still have a lot of work to do to turn the ship around. That could take time, and investors can likely do better by parking their funds elsewhere for the meantime.