Short These 6 Stocks? Strategists Are

Charles Norton, portfolio manager at ALPS/GNI Long-Short Fund, and Ronald Carson, of Carson Wealth Management Group, believe investors can make money by shorting stocks. They discussed their best plays.

“In the longer-term, the only way to survive this environment is to have some short positions and have some hedges,” Carson told CNBC.

Carson recently shorted Apple , Chipotle , Toll Brothers and Skechers stocks. He told investors to avoid consumer discretionary, housing, auto, airline and retail sectors.

Go Long?

However, he likes Bristol-Myers , ConAgra Foods , Kimberly-Clark and StoneMor Partners .

Norton's Take:

Meanwhile, Norton said he is shorting the smaller-cap, lower-quality names that are tied to the consumer such as Boyd Gaming and Moody’s .

“Broadly speaking, we believe that the U.S. consumer is pretty ill,” he said.

But on the long side, Norton likes large-caps within the foods and tobacco sectors that offer dividends.

Scorecard — What They Said:

• Carson's Previous Appearance on CNBC (May 24, 2010)
• Norton's Previous Appearance on CNBC (Apr. 24, 2010)

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More from Stock Pickers — Read and Decide:

• Hedge Fund Pro's Short-Term Sector Plays

• Market Pros' 10 Stock Picks & Pans

• 6 Winning Large-Cap Stocks For Investors: Strategists

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CNBC Data Pages:

• Dow 30 Stocks—In Real Time
• Oil, Gold, Natural Gas Prices Now
• Where's the US Dollar Today?

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CNBC Slideshows:

• 20 Stocks with the Potential To Drop

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Disclosures:

No immediate information was available for Carson or Norton.

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Disclaimer