Credit Suisse Sees These Six Stocks as Momentum Traps

Here are the six stocks investors should avoid as possible momentum traps.

Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) has done well, but it is not the only one with a big desire to be in the music streaming business. The space is occupied by a whole host new entrants, both large and small, that threaten to sink Pandora’s growth story, not the least of which is tech powerhouse Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL). According to a recent report from Billboard magazine, Apple is in talks with senior radio executives to expand the scope of its iTunes Radio service into on-demand radio in addition to the current radio-based model found in iTunes Radio. The Thomson/First Call price target for the stock is posted at $36.17. Pandora closed Thursday at $29.79.

Pharmacyclics Inc. (NASDAQ: PCYC) operates as a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focusing on developing and commercializing small molecule drugs for cancer treatment. The stock has had some Wall Street pushback lately, and it may be in part because there has a substantial amount of insider selling recently. The consensus price target is posted at $167.40. The stock closed Thursday at $105.18 a share.

Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK) has witnessed a significant price decline in the past four weeks, and it has seen negative earnings estimate revisions for the current quarter and the current year. Splunk has seen six downward estimate revisions versus no revision in the opposite direction, dragging the consensus estimate down to a loss of $0.26 a share from a loss of $0.14 over the past 30 days. The consensus price target is $103.38. Splunk closed Thursday at $73.53.

Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) has been the momentum buyer’s dream stock over the past year. The company has announced that it is expanding into China, and building a Gigafactory to produce electric batteries. But trading at a huge multiple and with a market cap equal to that of GM, it is very possible that something has to give sooner or later. The consensus price target is $229. Tesla closed Thursday at $207.32.

Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) has been caught in a vicious battle between friend and foe on Wall Street, with some firms touting the social media phenomena and others saying that it is horribly overvalued. Recently, Instagram surpassed Twitter in popularity as a mobile app among U.S. smartphone users. Per eMarketer, approximately 35 million Americans used Instagram at least once a month in 2013, versus Twitter’s 30.8 million. The consensus price target for the stock is $50.96. Twitter closed Thursday at $46.32.

Workday Inc. (NYSE: WDAY) is another red-hot stock that looks like it could be ready to rollover. The company delivers human capital management, financial management and analytics applications designed for the world’s largest organizations. Hundreds of companies, ranging from medium-sized businesses to Fortune 500 enterprises, have selected Workday. While its growth has been stunning, the stock may be ahead of itself. The consensus price target is set at $107.40. Workday closed Thursday at $90.90.

These potential momentum traps share some common traits. They have all run very far, they have sky-high valuations and they all are prone to short sellers sniffing blood and piling on. Investors need to be very careful about buying these stocks, given the current nervousness in the overall market.