20 Stocks with the Potential to Drop
It's the basic question when investing in a stock: is it on the way up or down?
The street has developed numerous ways of attempting to predict what will happen, estimating various attributes tied to stock performance in order to determine what the future holds for a company's valuation.
After dissecting the data, analysts following a particular stock produce a price target of where they believe the stock is headed. With data from Thomson Reuters, CNBC.com grouped stocks in the S&P 500 with average consensus estimates farthest below their stock prices.
In the S&P 500, the average short interest (as a % of float) stands at 4.11 percent, while the range for companies in the list is between 0.84 percent and 49 percent. All the prices are the latest available, data from Capital IQ and Thomson Reuters as of market close on Sept, 27 2012.
So, which stocks are analysts expecting to have the biggest drops? Click ahead to find out!
By Giovanny Moreano& Paul Toscano
Posted 27 Sept 2012
20. Cincinnati Financial Corp (CINF)
Potential to Drop: -4.41%
Closing Price (9/27): $37.66
Price Target: $36
YTD Change: +23.64%
Short interest (as % of float): 5.44%
Analysts Covering: 7
High Price Target: $44
Low Price Target: $30
Get CINF Real-Time Quote
19. Lockheed Martin (LMT)
Potential to Drop: -5.83%
Closing Price (9/27): $92.46
Price Target: $87.07
YTD Change: +14.29%
Short interest (as % of float): 2.87%
Analysts Covering: 15
High Price Target: $105
Low Price Target: $60
Get LMT Real-Time Quote
18. The Dun & Bradstreet Corp (DNB)
Potential to Drop: -5.97%
Closing Price (9/27): $80.22
Price Target: $75.43
YTD Change: +7.20%
Short interest (as % of float): 9.28%
Analysts Covering: 7
High Price Target: $81
Low Price Target: $68
Get DNB Real-Time Quote
17. AT&T (T)
Potential to Drop: -6.36%
Closing Price (9/27): $37.99
Price Target: $35.57
YTD Change: +25.63%
Short interest (as % of float): 1.10%
Analysts Covering: 31
High Price Target: $44
Low Price Target: $28
Get T Real-Time Quote
16. Eli Lilly (LLY)
Potential to Drop: -6.78%
Closing Price (9/27): $47.64
Price Target: $44.41
YTD Change: +14.63%
Short interest (as % of float): 2.10%
Analysts Covering: 17
High Price Target: $53
Low Price Target: $35
Get LLY Real-Time Quote
15. Whirlpool Corp (WHR)
Potential to Drop: -7.16%
Closing Price (9/27): $83.48
Price Target: $77.50
YTD Change: +75.93%
Short interest (as % of float): 6.19%
Analysts Covering: 4
High Price Target: $95
Low Price Target: $57
Get WHR Real-Time Quote
14. Sherwin Williams (SHW)
Potential to Drop: -7.39%
Closing Price (9/27): $148.73
Price Target: $137.73
YTD Change: +66.61%
Short interest (as % of float): 4.44%
Analysts Covering: 15
High Price Target: $195
Low Price Target: $110
Get SHW Real-Time Quote
13. Weyerhaeuser (WY)
Potential to Drop: -7.42%
Closing Price (9/27): $26.69
Price Target: $24.71
YTD Change: +42.96%
Short interest (as % of float): 2.30%
Analysts Covering: 12
High Price Target: $31
Low Price Target: $18
Get WY Real-Time Quote
12. Sprint Nextel (S)
Potential to Drop: -7.76%
Closing Price (9/27): $5.60
Price Target: $5.17
YTD Change: +139.32%
Short interest (as % of float): 3.43%
Analysts Covering: 29
High Price Target: $11.5
Low Price Target: $2.5
Get S Real-Time Quote
11. Masco Corp (MAS)
Potential to Drop: -7.90%
Closing Price (9/27): $15.31
Price Target: $14.10
YTD Change: +46.09%
Short interest (as % of float): 6.26%
Analysts Covering: 10
High Price Target: $18
Low Price Target: $12
Get MAS Real-Time Quote
10. Discovery Communications (DISCA)
Potential to Drop: -8.11%
Closing Price (9/27): $59.49
Price Target: $54.67
YTD Change: +45.20%
Short interest (as % of float): 3.43%
Analysts Covering: 24
High Price Target: $66
Low Price Target: $40
Get DISCA Real-Time Quote
9. Hudson City Bancorp (HCBK)
Potential to Drop: -8.32%
Closing Price (9/27): $7.85
Price Target: $7.20
YTD Change: +25.68%
Short interest (as % of float): 1.82%
Analysts Covering: 11
High Price Target: $8.75
Low Price Target: $6
Get HCBK Real-Time Quote
8. Harris Corp (HRS)
Potential to Drop: -9.43%
Closing Price (9/27): $51.34
Price Target: $46.50
YTD Change: +42.45%
Short interest (as % of float): 3.80%
Analysts Covering: 6
High Price Target: $62
Low Price Target: $38
Get HRS Real-Time Quote
7. Expedia (EXPE)
Potential to Drop: -9.90%
Closing Price (9/27): $58.22
Price Target: $52.45
YTD Change: +100.62%
Short interest (as % of float): 12.20%
Analysts Covering: 22
High Price Target: $68
Low Price Target: $32
Get EXPE Real-Time Quote
6. PulteGroup (PHM)
Potential to Drop: -10.30%
Closing Price (9/27): $15.64
Price Target: $14.03
YTD Change: +147.86%
Short interest (as % of float): 9.50%
Analysts Covering: 17
High Price Target: $22
Low Price Target: $8
Get PHM Real-Time Quote
5. Lexmark International (LXK)
Potential to Drop: -11.46%
Closing Price (9/27): $22.87
Price Target: $20.25
YTD Change: -30.84%
Short interest (as % of float): 25.83
Analysts Covering: 8
High Price Target: $28
Low Price Target: $16
Get LXK Real-Time Quote
4. First Solar (FSLR)
Potential to Drop: -11.74%
Closing Price (9/27): $23.11
Price Target: $20.40
YTD Change: -31.55%
Short interest (as % of float): 49.23%
Analysts Covering: 24
High Price Target: $50
Low Price Target: $9
Get FSLR Real-Time Quote
3. Autonation (AN)
Potential to Drop: -12.66%
Closing Price (9/27): $43.38
Price Target: $37.89
YTD Change: +17.66%
Short interest (as % of float): 19.75%
Analysts Covering: 9
High Price Target: $53
Low Price Target: $25
Get AN Real-Time Quote
2. Tyco International (TYC)
Potential to Drop: -12.66%
Closing Price (9/27): $56.05
Price Target: $48
YTD Change: +20.00%
Short interest (as % of float): 0.84%
Analysts Covering: 2
High Price Target: $66
Low Price Target: $30
Get TYC Real-Time Quote
1. MetroPCS (PCS)
Potential to Drop: -22.34%
Closing Price (9/27): $11.95
Price Target: $9.28
YTD Change: +37.67%
Short interest (as % of float): 1.68%
Analysts Covering: 23
High Price Target: $13
Low Price Target: $6
Get PCS Real-Time Quote