By
Chris Harris
|
More Articles
March 3, 2011
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David Einhorn shorting Lehman Brothers in 2007. Steve Eisman's dead-on call on the subprime mortgage collapse.
When someone with a proven track record goes against popular opinion, it's usually worth a second glance. Which is exactly what happened last week, when the top players in CAPS started shorting a few very popular shipping companies. In any community there are always contrarian individuals, and the 170,000-member-strong CAPS community is no exception -- but last week saw a 250% increase in bearish calls by the best pickers, while the rest of the community stayed bullish.
It has been a rough time for the shipping industry, as it continues to suffer from a glut of ships and weaker-than-expected demand for Asian commodities. Adding to the recent pain, Korea Line, formerly the second-largest dry-bulk shipping line, went into receivership last month, sending tremors through the market, and signaling what one Fool has called a crisis. Despite the sectorwide pain, the top CAPS players focused on just six companies:
|
Company
|
CAPS Rating
(out of 5)
|
Increase in Bearish All-Stars
|
| Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE: GNK ) |
*****
|
36%
|
| Euroseas Ltd. (Nasdaq: ESEA ) |
*****
|
33%
|
| Eagle Bulk Shipping (Nasdaq: EGLE ) |
****
|
25%
|
| TBS International Limited (Nasdaq: TBSI ) |
*****
|
23%
|
| Diana Shipping, (NYSE: DSX ) |
*****
|
20%
|
| Excel Maritime Carriers Ltd. (NYSE: EXM ) |
*****
|
18%
|
So what does it mean when the community rates a stock highly, and yet top players are still going short? It looks like the CAPS All-Stars think these companies may have further to fall.
Are the All-Stars right? Is there more pain in store for shipping stocks? Find out for yourself -- keep your eyes on all of these companies by adding them to My Watchlist, your free and customized hub for the news and numbers on the companies you care about. Just click below to start.
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