12 Vulnerable Stocks to Watch on Market-Wide Weakness
Several companies that have been red-hot over the past few months have suddenly become stocks to watch for all the wrong reasons.
Stocks do suffer setbacks from time to time. Too many investors have forgotten it, largely thanks to the market's mostly unfettered advance since 2016. But we caught a brief glimpse of that reality in early 2018, when the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index fell roughly 10% from its peak. The bigger-picture backdrop was so overwhelmingly bullish, however, that investors were quick to forget it and rekindle the rally.
This more recent stumble in October was a not-so-gentle reminder that stocks aren't bulletproof. Indeed, equities - still up 12% since early April and headed into a time of year known for marketwide weakness - appear ripe for the bearish pressures of heavy profit-taking. And some stocks that have outperformed their peers of late suddenly seem more vulnerable than others.
Here are a dozen stocks to watch that may well take the biggest hits should the market tide turn fully bearish. They've been big winners of late, but they don't appear to have the kind of staying power they need to hold their ground when things get rocky.
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Market value: $442.1 billion
Facebook (FB, $151.38) has been contending with some noncyclical problems of late, putting serious selling pressure on the stock. The 30% loss from its July peak, however, may only be part of its repricing should the market's broad tide worsen any further.
Much of Facebook's weakness has been spurred by its own hand, such as the fallout from the debacle. There have been
