A shell-shocked economy, spiraling debt at financial institutions, or just plain bad management -- on any given day, investors can name a number of reasons to sell a stock. Yet while panic never helps investors, it's still a good idea to play devil's advocate with investments from time to time.
In Motley Fool CAPS, more than 135,000 members have weighed in on nearly 5,300 stocks, sharing bullish and bearish opinions alike.
Consider megabank Bank of America (NYSE: BAC ) . The stock has soared back to double digits lately, but in Motley Fool CAPS, a significant number of the 8,610 members weighing in on the company still offer reasons to be bearish. I've already plucked out some common bullish rationale backing B o fA today, so here are three counterpoints, courtesy of CAPS.
1. Survival is not growth: Banks like B of A and Citigroup (NYSE: C ) still hold a large amount of risky assets. Recent mark-to-market accounting rule changes temporarily change the way banks can value their assets on their balance sheet making it more difficult for investors to accurately assess the companies. And just meeting the "stress test" requirements in no way means the worst is behind banks.
2. The World According to TARP: Ten banks including US Bancorp (NYSE: USB ) , Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS ) , and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS ) were approved to repay TARP funds in full plus interest, freeing them from the strings that were attached to the federal money. Citigroup and Bank of America, which received a combined $90 billion in TARP money, weren't on that list. Some are concerned that this will leave B of A at a competitive disadvantage to banks that are able to operate more freely.
3. Charge it: Major credit card issuers like Bank of America, Discover (NYSE: DFS ) , and Capital One (NYSE: COF ) all saw charge-off rates jump in April. With unemployment continuing to rise, many investors expect credit card portfolios to be a stone around the neck of banks.
Of course, Bank of America has survived and thrived despite obstacles in the past. The need to explore questions about the company's future is why CAPS is such a great resource to augment your own analysis.
To see what the very best CAPS members are saying now about Bank of America, just click on over to Motley Fool CAPS and have a look -- it's all free, and even open to your opinion.
More Foolishness:
RSS Headlines
Fool UK