Do you like stocks trading at low share prices? Although these stocks can be suffering from bad recent performance (value traps), they can also just be small-cap companies with low share prices.
For ideas, we ran a screen on stocks trading under $3 a share for those with bullish sentiment from short-sellers, with significant decreases in shares shorted month-over-month.
Interactive Chart: Press Play to compare changes in analyst ratings over the last two years for the top six stocks mentioned below. Analyst ratings sourced from Zacks Investment Research.
We also created a price-weighted index of the stocks mentioned below, and monitored the performance of the list relative to the S&P 500 index over the last month. (To access a complete analysis of this list's recent performance, click here.)
Do you think these stocks will outperform, or could they be value traps? Use this list as a starting point for your own analysis.
1. Alaska Communications Systems Group Inc. (ALSK): Provides integrated communications services in the State of Alaska. Price at $2.97. Shares shorted have decreased from 8.11M to 7.00M over the last month, a decrease which represents about 2.5% of the company's float of 44.43M shares.
2. Sun Bancorp Inc. (SNBC): Operates as the bank holding company for Sun National Bank that provides a range of commercial and retail banking products and services in the United States. Price at $2.94. Shares shorted have decreased from 1.55M to 1.48M over the last month, a decrease which represents about 4.55% of the company's float of 1.54M shares.
3. Builders FirstSource, Inc. (BLDR): Engages in the manufacture and supply of structural and related building products for residential new construction primarily in the southern and eastern United States. Price at $2.89. Shares shorted have decreased from 2.44M to 1.68M over the last month, a decrease which represents about 2.45% of the company's float of 30.97M shares.
4. Metabolix, Inc. (MBLX): Develops and commercializes alternatives to petrochemical-based plastics, chemicals, and energy. Price at $2.87. Shares shorted have decreased from 7.06M to 6.22M over the last month, a decrease which represents about 2.87% of the company's float of 29.30M shares.
5. The McClatchy Company (MNI): Operates as a newspaper publisher in the United States. Price at $2.83. Shares shorted have decreased from 21.61M to 18.24M over the last month, a decrease which represents about 6.7% of the company's float of 50.32M shares.
6. Cowen Group, Inc. (COWN): A publicly owned asset management holding company. Price at $2.75. Shares shorted have decreased from 4.01M to 2.77M over the last month, a decrease which represents about 1.12% of the company's float of 110.36M shares.
7. Camelot Information Systems Inc. (CIS): Provides enterprise application services and financial industry information technology services in the People's Republic of China. Price at $2.36. Shares shorted have decreased from 2.37M to 2.00M over the last month, a decrease which represents about 1.24% of the company's float of 29.77M shares.
8. GenOn Energy, Inc. (GEN): Operates as a generator of wholesale electricity in the United States. Price at $2.29. Shares shorted have decreased from 25.10M to 14.63M over the last month, a decrease which represents about 1.46% of the company's float of 715.65M shares.
9. Clearwire Corporation (CLWR): Provides wireless broadband services. Price at $2.16. Shares shorted have decreased from 37.41M to 31.64M over the last month, a decrease which represents about 3.14% of the company's float of 183.94M shares.
10. A123 Systems, Inc. (AONE): Engages in the design, development, manufacture, and sale of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and battery systems primarily in the United States. Price at $2.13. Shares shorted have decreased from 21.37M to 20.00M over the last month, a decrease which represents about 1.78% of the company's float of 76.98M shares.
11. PGT, Inc. (PGTI): Engages in the manufacture and sale of windows and doors. Price at $1.80. Shares shorted have decreased from 396.52K to 100.44K over the last month, a decrease which represents about 1.96% of the company's float of 15.09M shares.
Short data sourced from Yahoo Finance; all other data sourced from Finviz.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.
