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 3.68, while some companies included in this list have short interest as high as 34.56. The prices and analysts’ estimates presented here are as of the market close on March 21, 2012.
So, which stocks are analysts expecting to have the biggest drops? Click ahead to find out!
By Giovanny Moreano& Paul Toscano
Posted 21 March 2012
20. Cerner Corp (CERN)
Potential to Drop: -0.47%
Mean Price Target: $75.94
Closing Price (3/21): $76.30
Short interest (as % of float): 7.77
Number of Analysts: 16
High Estimate: $85
Low Estimate: $45
Get CERN Real-Time Quote
19. Zions Bancorp (ZION)
Potential to Drop: -0.82%
Mean Price Target: $21.89
Closing Price (3/21): $22.07
Short interest (as % of float): 9.71
Number of Analysts: 27
High Estimate: $27
Low Estimate: $13
Get ZION Real-Time Quote
18. Autonation (AN)
Potential to Drop: -2.46%
Mean Price Target: $34.50
Closing Price (3/21): $35.37
Short interest (as % of float): 16.64
Number of Analysts: 9
High Estimate: $41
Low Estimate: $29
Get AN Real-Time Quote
17. Whirlpool Corp (WHR)
Potential to Drop: -2.83%
Mean Price Target: $75.33
Closing Price (3/21): $77.52
Short interest (as % of float): 9.17
Number of Analysts: 3
High Estimate: $85
Low Estimate: $60
Get WHR Real-Time Quote
16. Gap (GPS)
Potential to Drop: -3.61%
Mean Price Target: $25.12
Closing Price (3/21): $26.06
Short interest (as % of float): 7.50
Number of Analysts: 22
High Estimate: $35
Low Estimate: $18
Get GPS Real-Time Quote
15. Lennar Corp (LEN)
Potential to Drop: -4.17%
Mean Price Target: $25.51
Closing Price (3/21): $26.62
Short interest (as % of float): 18.50
Number of Analysts: 18
High Estimate: $32
Low Estimate: $20
Get LEN Real-Time Quote
14. PulteGroup (PHM)
Potential to Drop: -5.01%
Mean Price Target: $8.92
Closing Price (3/21): $9.39
Short interest (as % of float): 10.69
Number of Analysts: 16
High Estimate: $14
Low Estimate: $7
Get PHM Real-Time Quote
13. Diamond Offshore (DO)
Potential to Drop: -5.18%
Mean Price Target: $66.87
Closing Price (3/21): $70.52
Short interest (as % of float): 14.74
Number of Analysts: 30
High Estimate: $81
Low Estimate: $52
Get DO Real-Time Quote
12. Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG)
Potential to Drop: -6.37%
Mean Price Target: $389.60
Closing Price (3/21): $416.11
Short interest (as % of float): 7.71
Number of Analysts: 20
High Estimate: $450
Low Estimate: $277
Get CMG Real-Time Quote
11. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
Potential to Drop: -6.47%
Mean Price Target: $7.52
Closing Price (3/21): $8.04
Short interest (as % of float): 10.46
Number of Analysts: 27
High Estimate: $12
Low Estimate: $4
Get AMD Real-Time Quote
10. Computer Sciences Corp (CSC)
Potential to Drop: -8.98%
Mean Price Target: $28.09
Closing Price (3/21): $30.86
Short interest (as % of float): 5.45
Number of Analysts: 11
High Estimate: $34
Low Estimate: $19
Get CSC Real-Time Quote
9. Fastenal (FAST)
Potential to Drop: -9.14%
Mean Price Target: $49
Closing Price (3/21): $53.93
Short interest (as % of float): 6.86
Number of Analysts: 6
High Estimate: $55
Low Estimate: $36
Get FAST Real-Time Quote
8. Cincinnati Financial Corp (CINF)
Potential to Drop: -11.20%
Mean Price Target: $31.17
Closing Price (3/21): $35.10
Short interest (as % of float): 5.65
Number of Analysts: 6
High Estimate: $34
Low Estimate: $27
Get CINF Real-Time Quote
7. ETRADE Financial (ETFC)
Potential to Drop: -11.73%
Mean Price Target: $9.94
Closing Price (3/21): $11.26
Short interest (as % of float): 2.9
Number of Analysts: 11
High Estimate: $11
Low Estimate: $8
Get ETFC Real-Time Quote
6. TripAdvisor (TRIP)
Potential to Drop: -13.18%
Mean Price Target: $29.32
Closing Price (3/21): $33.77
Short interest (as % of float): 8.66
Number of Analysts: 14
High Estimate: $36
Low Estimate: $21
Get TRIP Real-Time Quote
5. Masco Corp (MAS)
Potential to Drop: -17.30%
Mean Price Target: $11.66
Closing Price (3/21): $14.10
Short interest (as % of float): 5.51
Number of Analysts: 8
High Estimate: $16
Low Estimate: $7
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4. Netflix (NFLX)
Potential to Drop: -20.17%
Mean Price Target: $95.88
Closing Price (3/21): $120.10
Short interest (as % of float): 20.04
Number of Analysts: 24
High Estimate: $140
Low Estimate: $45
Get NFLX Real-Time Quote
3. Federated Investors Inc. (FII)
Potential to Drop: -23.02%
Mean Price Target: $17.86
Closing Price (3/21): $23.20
Short interest (as % of float): 18.35
Number of Analysts: 11
High Estimate: $20
Low Estimate: $16
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2. Washington Post Co (WPO)
Potential to Drop: -29.11%
Mean Price Target: $275
Closing Price (3/21): $387.94
Short interest (as % of float): 13.39
Number of Analysts: 1
High Estimate: $275
Low Estimate: $275
Get WPO Real-Time Quote
1. Sears Holdings (SHLD)
Potential to Drop: -73.59%
Mean Price Target: $20.25
Closing Price (3/21): $76.69
Short interest (as % of float): 34.56
Number of Analysts: 4
High Estimate: $29
Low Estimate: $7
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