BALTIMORE (Stockpickr) -- Put down the 10-K filings and the stock screeners. It's time to take a break from the traditional methods of generating investment ideas. Instead, let the crowd do it for you.
>>Beat the S&P 2014 With 5 Stocks Everyone Else Hates
From hedge funds to individual investors, scores of market participants are turning to social media to figure out which stocks are worth watching. It's a concept that's known as "crowdsourcing," and it uses the masses to identify emerging trends in the market.
Crowdsourcing has long been a popular tool for the advertising industry, but it also makes a lot of sense as an investment tool. After all, the market is completely driven by the supply and demand, so it can be valuable to see what names are trending among the crowd.
While some fund managers are already trying to leverage social media resources like Twitter to find algorithmic trading opportunities, for most investors, crowdsourcing works best as a starting point for investors who want a starting point in their analysis. Today, we'll leverage the power of the crowd to take a look at some of the most active stocks on the market today.
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These "most active" names are the most heavily-traded names on the market -- and often, uber-active names have some sort of a technical or fundamental catalyst driving investors' attention on shares. And when there's a big catalyst, there's often a trading opportunity.
Without further ado, here's a look at today's stocks.
Five Below
Nearest Resistance: $44
Nearest Support: $40
Catalyst: Earnings Beat
First up is discount retailer Five Below (FIVE). Shares of FIVE are up more than 13% this afternoon following a 31% increase in fourth-quarter profits. The firm earned profits of 45 cents a share, a number that came right in the middle of its previously issued guidance. With 62 new stores planned for this year, investors are bidding up shares on hopes that FIVE's growth trajectory will keep up.
From a technical standpoint, today's breakout in FIVE is a bullish signal. Shares had been forming an ascending triangle bottom for the last couple of months, but that triggered and reached its price objective today. Looking forward, if shares can crack newfound resistance at $44, it's a buy signal.
Owens Corning
Nearest Resistance: $44
Nearest Support: $42
Catalyst: Technical Setup
Shares of composite and building materials company Owens Corning (OC) are moving in a tight range on big volume this afternoon, the aftermath of a technical setup in shares. OC is currently stuck in a rectangle pattern, a consolidation setup that's formed by a set of horizontal resistance and support levels.
If OC moves through $44 resistance, then buyers have a signal to jump in. Otherwise, if shares violate $42 support, sellers are definitively in control of this stock.
Exelixis
Nearest Resistance: $44
Nearest Support: $40
Catalyst: Delayed Phase III Results
It doesn't get much worse than what investors in small-cap biotech firm Exelixis (EXEL) are seeing today. Shares of the stock are down more than 36% this afternoon, following news that the results of Exelixis' phase III trials for its Cabozantinib prostate cancer treatment. Investors had been hoping to see results of the trial this year -- and revenues from the treatment soon afterwards. Analysts at Credit Suisse report that the delay is negative, and shares are getting shellacked in this session as a result.
Exelixis had already been trending lower, but today's news means that this chart is broken. There's a whole lot more supply of shares than demand, and more downside looks likely. Investors looking for a bargain should wait for this stock to catch a bid before thinking about getting in.
To see these stocks in action, check out the at Most-Active Stocks portfolio on Stockpickr.
-- Written by Jonas Elmerraji in Baltimore.
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At the time of publication, author had no positions in stocks mentioned.
Jonas Elmerraji, CMT, is a senior market analyst at Agora Financial in Baltimore and a contributor to
TheStreet. Before that, he managed a portfolio of stocks for an investment advisory returned 15% in 2008. He has been featured in Forbes , Investor's Business Daily, and on CNBC.com. Jonas holds a degree in financial economics from UMBC and the Chartered Market Technician designation.Follow Jonas on Twitter @JonasElmerraji
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