Investors looking for something to cheer about this holiday season may want to consider shorting this “naughty list” of stocks, according to 22V Research’s chart analyst. Using a technical scoring system that rates the stocks from weakest to strongest, analyst John Roque outlined a number of stocks to short heading into the holidays in a note to clients Wednesday. Short-selling, or selling shares short, is the practice of making a bet against a stock by borrowing shares and selling them with the plan to repurchase at a cheaper price and profit from the difference. It’s a strategy commonly used by hedge funds. Here are some of the names Roque highlighted: Roque highlighted heavily shorted stock GameStop among his picks, pointing out the failed rally attempts since September. Support at $20 “will not hold,” Roque wrote. “Risk to low single digits.” GameStop made headlines in 2021 after a rally driven by retail investors communicating through social media platforms like Reddit. The jump in share price hurts short sellers and hedge funds betting against the video-game retailer. Shares rose Thursday — the day after GameStop posted a decline in fiscal third-quarter sales, as well as a net loss of nearly $95 million. The stock is down more than 33% this year. On Tesla, Roque pointed out that it’s forming a “head-and-shoulders” topping pattern over the long term. His technical target on Tesla is $100, which is nearly 45 percent lower from here. Roque also included technology giant Apple in his list. Shares of the iPhone maker have fallen nearly 20% this year as growth concerns weigh on the technology sector and the company suffers supply issues fueled by factory constraints in China. Other names included were electric-vehicle stock Rivian and crypto exchange Coinbase, with about 9% and almost 21% of their respective floats shorted, according to FactSet data. Roque also added North Face owner VF Corp. , which recently announced a guidance cut and CEO transition.
