Every now and again, a perfect storm of variables combine to form what's sure to be a volatile week for some stocks. Next week, there are three companies I've identified as being like to have huge swings because they all (1) are heavily shorted, and (2) are reporting earnings.
In the past, such collisions have almost always led to volatility. If you don't believe me, just look at last week's three stocks, which moved an average of **% after reporting earnings last week.
But don't be fooled--I'm not suggesting you should use this information to try and time the market in an attempt to get fast money. That's because I have no idea if the aforementioned volatility will be up or down--no one does.
Instead, I'm hoping that shareholders of this week's three stocks--ExOne (NASDAQ: XONE), Papa Murphy's (NASDAQ: FRSH), and Guess (NYSE: GES)--will be able to prepare for the volatility, not make any rash, emotional decisions, and instead focus on long-term variables I identify below as the real factors to pay attention to.