People watch stocks for different reasons -- they're waiting for a dip in price, watching for a specific catalyst, gathering all the news and information that might affect stocks they already own, or considering a sell. Regardless of their motivation, we can better understand market sentiment by seeing who's watching what. With the Fool's free My Watchlist service, we have tens of thousands of people telling us the businesses that have, for whatever reason, piqued their interest.

The most-watched chemical stock is ...
Looking at the aggregate data, we see that PotashCorp (NYSE: POT) is above the rest in terms of watch interest, the percentage of people keeping an eye on chemical stocks in general who are specifically watching each company. And for good reason. As CAPS player jlennox wrote in March:

Essential to the raising Agricultural bull market. Rising food commodity prices. Increasing population. Water scarcity. Need to maximize ariable land. Fertilizers will be a major driver of this market.

Here are the rest of the top 15 most-watched companies in the industry with their watch interest along with the stocks' CAPS rating to show the sentiment of our investing community.

 

Company

Market Cap (in millions)

CAPS Rating (out of 5)

Watch Interest

1

PotashCorp

$50,595

****

8.9%

2

Dupont (NYSE: DD)

$51,469

****

5.9%

3

CVR Partners (NYSE: UAN)

$1,752

****

5.8%

4

Yongye International (Nasdaq: YONG)

$250

**

5.5%

5

Mosaic

$31,521

****

5.4%

6

Air Products & Chemicals

$20,558

****

4.9%

7

Dow Chemical

$42,768

****

4.8%

8

Monsanto

$40,196

****

4.7%

9

Terra Nitrogen

$2,654

****

2.9%

10

Rentech (NYSE: RTK)

$243

****

2.7%

11

ZAGG

$311

*

2.4%

12

China Green Agriculture (NYSE: CGA)

$135

***

2.4%

13

Sociedad Quimica y Minera

$17,274

*****

2.1%

14

Gulf Resources (Nasdaq: GURE)

$106

**

1.7%

15

PPG Industries

$14,569

*****

1.5%

Sources: Motley Fool, Motley Fool CAPS.

Whether you're keeping an eye on the industry stalwarts like PotashCorp or are watching an up-and-comer like Yongye International, it pays to watch. We can help you keep tabs on your companies with My Watchlist, our free, personalized stock tracking service. Click here to start now.