stocks

20 Stocks With the Potential to Pop

20 Stocks With The Potential To Pop

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It's the basic question when investing in a stock: is it on the way up or down

To answer this question, 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.

So far this year, the S&P 500 is up about 6 percent, with more than half (285) of the index components outperforming the overall market. The CNBC’s Analytics team looked at the stocks that have average consensus estimates farthest above their current stock prices. All values including analysts’ estimates are as of the market close on February 20, 2013. All data in this story is sourced from S&P Capital IQ and Thomson Reuters.

So, which stocks are analysts expecting to have the biggest pops? Click ahead to find out!

By Giovanny Moreano & Paul Toscano
Posted 20 Feb 2013

20. Dean Foods (DF)

Scott Eelis | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Potential to Pop: 22.97%
Mean Price Target: $19.91
Closing Price (2/20): $16.19

Number of Analysts: 11
High Estimate: $22
Low Estimate: $17

Get DF Real-Time Quote

19. EMC Corp. (EMC)

Neal Hamberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Potential to Pop: 24.94%
Mean Price Target: $29.36
Closing Price (2/20): $23.50

Number of Analysts: 37
High Estimate: $36
Low Estimate: $22

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18. Denbury Resources (DNR)

Source: Denbury Resources

Potential to Pop: 25.00%
Mean Price Target: $22.55
Closing Price (2/20): $18.04

Number of Analysts: 20
High Estimate: $29
Low Estimate: $17

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17. Coach (COH)

Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Potential to Pop: 25.68%
Mean Price Target: $60.49
Closing Price (2/20): $48.13

Number of Analysts: 32
High Estimate: $79
Low Estimate: $49

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16. National Oilwell Varco (NOV)

Craig Hartley | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Potential to Pop: 25.81%
Mean Price Target: $85.35
Closing Price (2/20): $67.84

Number of Analysts: 26
High Estimate: $98
Low Estimate: $71

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15. Capital One Financial (COF)

Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Potential to Pop: 25.82%
Mean Price Target: $65.77
Closing Price (2/20): $52.27

Number of Analysts: 28
High Estimate: $72
Low Estimate: $57

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14. Frontier Communications (FTR)

Wayne Scarberry | Getty Images

Potential to Pop: 26.14%
Mean Price Target: $5.07
Closing Price (2/20): $4.02

Number of Analysts: 14
High Estimate: $7
Low Estimate: $3.50

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13. Anadarko Petroleum (APC)

Source: Anadarko Petroleum Corp.

Potential to Pop: 26.36%
Mean Price Target: $101.55
Closing Price (2/20): $80.37

Number of Analysts: 28
High Estimate: $132
Low Estimate: $76

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12. McGraw-Hill Companies (MHP)

Scott Eelis | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Potential to Pop: 26.36%
Mean Price Target: $58
Closing Price (2/20): $45.90

Number of Analysts: 6
High Estimate: $64
Low Estimate: $51

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11. Freeport McMoRan (FCX)

A Freeport- McMoran Copper and Gold Inc. mine.
Source: Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc.

Potential to Pop: 27.41%
Mean Price Target: $41.05
Closing Price (2/20): $32.22

Number of Analysts: 19
High Estimate: $60
Low Estimate: $30

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10. Jabil Circuit (JBL)

Jim Stern | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Potential to Pop: 28.39%
Mean Price Target: $24.60
Closing Price (2/20): $19.16

Number of Analysts: 10
High Estimate: $28
Low Estimate: $20

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9. QEP Resources (QEP)

DreamPictures | Photodisc | Getty Images

Potential to Pop: 28.90%
Mean Price Target: $38.64
Closing Price (2/20): $29.98

Number of Analysts: 14
High Estimate: $46
Low Estimate: $35

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8. Peabody Energy (BTU)

Michael Caronna | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Potential to Pop: 32.97%
Mean Price Target: $31.26
Closing Price (2/20): $23.51

Number of Analysts: 21
High Estimate: $45
Low Estimate: $17

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7. Alexion Pharmaceuticals (ALXN)

Roel Smart | E+ | Getty Images

Potential to Pop: 33.62%
Mean Price Target: $112.86
Closing Price (2/20): $84.46

Number of Analysts: 21
High Estimate: $132
Low Estimate: $78

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6. WPX Energy (WPX)

Source: WPX Energy

Potential to Pop: 36.24%
Mean Price Target: $20.30
Closing Price (2/20): $14.90

Number of Analysts: 10
High Estimate: $31
Low Estimate: $14

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5. Apache (APA)

Craig Hartley | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Potential to Pop: 36.89%
Mean Price Target: $103.33
Closing Price (2/20): $75.48

Number of Analysts: 29
High Estimate: $127
Low Estimate: $81

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4. Apple (AAPL)

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Potential to Pop: 38.02%
Mean Price Target: $619.50
Closing Price (2/20): $448.85

Number of Analysts: 46
High Estimate: $888
Low Estimate: $270

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3. Apollo Group (APOL)

Apollo Group Inc., the largest U.S. for-profit college chain.
Joshua Lott | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Potential to Pop: 39.93%
Mean Price Target: $26.77
Closing Price (2/20): $19.13

Number of Analysts: 13
High Estimate: $46
Low Estimate: $17


2. Newmont Mining Corp (NEM)

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Potential to Pop: 40.09%
Mean Price Target: $56.82
Closing Price (2/20): $40.56

Number of Analysts: 21
High Estimate: $76
Low Estimate: $44

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1. Newfield Exploration (NFX)

David Jones | E+ | Getty Images

Potential to Pop: 49.30%
Mean Price Target: $36.95
Closing Price (2/20): $24.75

Number of Analysts: 21
High Estimate: $64
Low Estimate: $25

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