20 Stocks with the Potential to Pop - Slideshows

20 Stocks with the Potential to Pop

By: Paul Toscano, Ariel Nelson | 01 Oct 2009 | 12:42 AM ET

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20 Stocks with the Potential to Pop
Source: ThomsonReuters
It's the basic question when investing in a stock: is it on the way up or will it go 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. From the entire S&P 500, which stocks are analysts expecting to have the biggest pops? With data from ThomsonReuters, we took a look at which stocks have mean consensus estimates farthest above their stock prices (as of market close on 9/30/09).So, which stocks do analysts on average predict will have the biggest pop? Click ahead to find out!By Ariel Nelson & Paul ToscanoPosted 1 Oct 2009
20. Massey Energy (MEE)
Price Target: $34.63Closing Price (9/30): $27.89Potential to Pop: 24.1%Get MEE Real Time Quote
19. Snap On Inc. (SNA)
Price Target: $43.33Closing Price (9/30): $34.76Potential to Pop: 24.7%Get SNA Real Time Quote
18. Plum Creek Timber Co. (PCL)
Price Target: $38.20Closing Price (9/30): $30.64Potential to Pop: 24.7%Get PCL Real Time QuoteBy The Numbers: Q3 Earnings Preview
17. Family Dollar Stores (FDO)
Price Target: $33.10Closing Price (9/30): $26.40Potential to Pop: 25.4%Get FDO Real Time Quote
16. Apollo Group (APOL)
Price Target: $92.83Closing Price (9/30): $73.67Potential to Pop: 26.0%Get APOL Real Time Quote
15. Denbury Resources (DNR)
Price Target: $19.10Closing Price (9/30): $15.13Potential to Pop: 26.2%Get DNR Real Time QuoteTop Expectations For Earnings Growth
14. O'Reilly Automotive (ORLY)
Price Target: $45.66Closing Price (9/30): $36.14Potential to Pop: 26.3%Get ORLY Real Time Quote
13. Kroger (KR)
Price Target: $26.09Closing Price (9/30): $20.64Potential to Pop: 26.4%Get KR Real Time Quote
12. XTO Energy (XTO)
Price Target: $52.35Closing Price (9/30): $41.32Potential to Pop: 26.7%Get XTO Real Time Quote
11. Exelon Corp (EXC)
Price Target: $63.29Closing Price (9/30): $49.62Potential to Pop: 27.5%Get EXC Real Time Quote
10. Wellpoint (WLP)
Price Target: $60.90Closing Price (9/30): $47.36Potential to Pop: 28.6%Get WLP Real Time Quote
9. Iron Mountain (IRM)
Price Target: $32.48Closing Price (9/30): $25.04Potential to Pop: 29.1%Get IRM Real Time QuoteQ3 Earnings Preview: Top Expectations For Growth
8. UnitedHealth Group (UNH)
Price Target: $32.48Closing Price (9/30): $25.04Potential to Pop: 29.7%Get UNH Real Time Quote

7. Cephalon Inc. (CEPH)
Price Target: $76.63Closing Price (9/30): $58.24Potential to Pop: 31.6%Get CEPH Real Time Quote
6. Dean Foods Co (DF)
Price Target: $23.86Closing Price (9/30): $17.79Potential to Pop: 34.1%Get DF Real Time Quote
5. Sprint Nextel (S)
Price Target: $5.35Closing Price (9/30): $3.95Potential to Pop: 35.5%Get S Real Time Quote
4. McGraw-Hill Companies (MHP)
Price Target: $37.50Closing Price (9/30): $25.14Potential to Pop: 49.2%Get MHP Real Time QuoteQ3 Earnings Preview: Top Expectations For Growth
3. MetroPCS Communications (PCS)
Price Target: $14.00Closing Price (9/30): $9.36Potential to Pop: 49.6%Get PCS Real Time Quote
2. SLM Corp (SLM)
Price Target: $13.29Closing Price (9/30): $8.72Potential to Pop: 52.4%Get SLM Real Time Quote
1. Moody's Corp (MCO)
Price Target: $32.25Closing Price (9/30): $20.46Potential to Pop: 57.6%Get MCO Real Time QuoteBy The Numbers BlogQ3 Earnings Preview: Top Expectations For GrowthWorld's Best Banks 2009Replay Slideshow

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