5 Toxic Stocks To Get Rid Of Or Play Short Right Now
Zacks Investment Research | Nov 20, 2016 09:09PM ET
The ability to differentiate overhyped stocks from the fairly priced ones makes the investing foolproof. But in the complex market place, correctly priced stocks and over-bubble stocks are mingled in such a way that making a distinction between them becomes very difficult. Nevertheless, precisely pinpointing bloated toxic stocks on a regular basis and abandoning them at the right time is one of the secrets to a winning investment strategy.
Toxic companies are usually vulnerable to external shocks and are characterized by high debt loads. The hype surrounding irrationally high-priced toxic stocks is usually short-lived as their current price exceeds the intrinsic value. These toxic stocks are bound to result in loss for investors over time.
Higher prices of toxic stocks can be ascribed to either an irrational exuberance associated with them or some serious fundamental drawbacks. If you own such bloated stocks for a long period of time, you are bound to see huge erosion of wealth.
However, if you can correctly pick such toxic stocks, you may gain by resorting to an investing strategy called short selling. This strategy allows you to sell a stock first and then buy it when the price falls.
While short selling excels in bear markets, it typically loses money in bull markets.
So, just like identifying stocks with growth potential, pinpointing toxic stocks and discarding them at the right time is the key to guard your portfolio from big losses or make profits by short selling them.
Screening Criteria
Here is a winning strategy that will help you identify overhyped toxic stocks:
Most recent Debt/Equity Ratio greater than the median industry average: High debt/equity ratio implies high leverage. High leverage indicates a huge level of repayment that the company has to make in connection with the debt amount.
P/E using 12-month forward EPS estimate greater than 50: A very high forward P/E implies that a stock is highly overvalued.
% Change in F (1) and F (2) Estimate (12 Weeks) less than -5: Negative EPS estimate revision for this and the next fiscal year during the past 12 weeks points to analysts’ pessimism.
Zacks Rank more than or equal to #3 (Hold): We have not considered Buy-rated stocks that generally outperform the market. You can see Zacks Investment Research
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