In the current stock market, investors know that volatility can creep up on them in a hurry and their money can disappear overnight in shaky investments while they’re not looking. It’s important to remember that buying the best stocks is only part of the battle — and avoiding poor investments is just as important to your retirement funds as seeking out that big profit maker. That true for all investment strategies, from the most conservative to the most aggressive.
To help you get out of the worst stocks, I’ve compiled a list of the 20 worst blue chips on Wall Street right now. Each one of these companies has a market cap of more than $10 billion and is widely held, but my fundamental and quantitative analysis proves that these stocks are on the decline.
Fundamentals are key to a good investing strategy because they tell you in black and white if a stock is growing its sales and earnings or if it is succeeding simply by cutting costs — or worse, watching its revenues slowly slide backwards. Quantitative measures — or “quant” — are just as important, since this data indicates buying pressure. After all, the stock market sets price based on supply and demand. If there is no demand and there are no buyers for a given equity, your money is better off elsewhere. When nobody is buying, it’s a sure sign that you should be selling.
Here’s my list of the 20 worst blue chip stocks to sell right now, accompanied by my grade for each company’s fundamental statistics and quant ranking:
| Symbol | Company Name | Industry | Market Cap (B) | Quant Grade | Fund. Grade | Total Grade |
| BBVA | Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria | Commercial Banks | $33.6 | F | C | F |
| SCHW | Charles Schwab Corp. | Capital Markets | $19.5 | F | D | F |
| CHU | China Unicom | Telecommunications | $27.3 | F | C | F |
| CS | Credit Suisse Group | Capital Markets | $42.2 | F | C | F |
| E | ENI S.p.A. | Oil Gas & Fuels | $64.3 | F | C | F |
| EXC | Exelon Corp. | Electric Utilities | $24.9 | F | C | F |
| FTE | France Telecom | Telecommunications | $48.9 | F | C | F |
| GENZ | Genzyme Corp. | Biotechnology | $12.7 | F | D | F |
| ING | ING Groep | Financial Services | $28.1 | F | C | F |
| MTU | Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group | Commercial Banks | $66.4 | F | C | F |
| MON | Monsanto Co. | Chemicals | $26.7 | F | D | F |
| NOK | Nokia Corp. | Communications Equipment | $35.5 | F | C | F |
| NTRS | Northern Trust Corp. | Capital Markets | $11.9 | F | C | F |
| NUE | Nucor Corp. | Metals & Mining | $12.9 | F | C | F |
| PBR | Petrobras Petroleo Brasileiro | Oil Gas & Consumable Fuels | $158.2 | F | D | F |
| PTR | PetroChina Co. Ltd. | Oil Gas & Fuels | $194.6 | F | C | F |
| REP | Repsol YPF | Oil Gas & Fuels | $23.3 | F | C | F |
| TI | Telecom Italia | Telecommunications | $21.3 | F | C | F |
| TOT | Total S.A. | Oil Gas & Fuels | $101.1 | F | C | F |
| RIG | Transocean Ltd. | Energy Equipment | $16.1 | F | C | F |
You’ll notice that a number of the picks on this list are foreign stocks and ADRs. There’s no doubt that the chaos in Europe right now is weighing on the global markets. But as I pointed out in a recent article about euro zone stocks to buy at the bottom, there are still opportunities for investors who want to get into good European equities at a good price. Keep in mind that there is always opportunity even in a bleakest markets. But as you can see, there’s no doubt that a number of European stocks are in trouble right now. That’s why companies like Telecom Italia (TI), France energy stock Total (TOT) and Netherlands based ING Groep (ING) are on my list of blue chip stocks to sell.
Also worth noting is that uncertainty over the financial reform bill in Congress appears to be holding back the financial sector. From Credit Suisse (CS) to Northern Trust (NTRS) to Charles Schwab (SCHW), financial blue chips stand out on this list of stocks to sell.
Remember that these fundamental and quantitative rankings are good indicators of stocks to sell and stocks to buy, but they change quickly. Always make sure you’re getting the most up-to-date information on your investments before selling any stock — but note that as of this week, these are 20 blue chips you should definitely avoid.
As of this writing, Louis Navellier did not own any of the stocks mentioned here in personal or client portfolios.
About Portfolio Grader: Every Sunday, renowned growth stock expert Louis Navellier runs a fundamental analysis on the top 5,000 Wall Street companies. Armed with this research, Navellier offers a rating for each company reflected as a simple letter grade, with A being “strong buy” and F being “strong sell.” Portfolio Grader’s stock data is free and open to the public and can be accessed online here.
