Editor’s note: This article was first published in August 2013; the share prices, year-to-date gains and price-target premiums are from that time. Several companies have since changed, for example Hewlett-Packard split in 2015, Celgene was acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb in 2019 and US Steel by Nippon Steel in 2025. These short-selling ideas date from August 2013 and are kept as a historical record. Short selling carries a high risk of loss; this is not investment advice.
If you take the Goldman Sachs report that lists the 40 most expensive stocks on Wall Street, you can see that the top 10 places are clearly filled with companies that are heavily overvalued after big rallies.
Today, with the S&P 500 correcting by 0.57%, we saw how investors did not hesitate to push down the stocks we are about to name. Goldman is talking about fundamentals, and we have not taken technical analysis into account, so it is up to each reader to look at the relevant charts.
- Advanced Micro Devices: After gaining 55% so far this year, this semiconductor company is 40% above its price target. Today it fell 2.62%.
- Cablevision Systems Corporation: Up 27% so far this year, gains that have come with rumours of a possible takeover. In its latest results it improved its quarterly earnings, but its number of subscribers fell. According to Goldman, it is 35% above its fair price.
- Hewlett-Packard: At the start of the year I recommended HP over Microsoft. Target reached after an 85% rise, and with the doubts now surrounding PC makers, the time has come to take this company out of our portfolio. For Goldman, it is 33% above its value.
- Intel Corporation: Although Goldman says the stock trades 31% above its price target, the truth is that this company’s share price is very low-volatility, so we will put an asterisk next to it.
- United States Steel Corporation: This stock has lost 88% over the last five years, and it has not improved since. Quite the opposite: even during the S&P 500’s latest bullish “streak” it has kept falling, which makes it the ideal candidate for opening a short if the markets drop sharply.
- International Game Technology: Up more than 30% so far this year and more than 60% over the last 12 months. For Goldman, this gaming company is 26% above its price target.
- Garmin Ltd: After presenting poor results, the company has warned that next quarter will also be very difficult, and that makes it fair game for the bears when the time comes. Goldman thinks it is 25% above its price target.
- Symantec Corporation: Although it has just broken through major resistance levels, it is very close to its 2004 all-time high. Goldman thinks it trades 25% above its price target.
- Cliffs Natural Resources: It has lost 46% so far this year, although after presenting its results it shot up 31%. Even so, the stock is very bearish, and according to Goldman it is 23% above its price target.
- Celgene Corporation: The stock is at all-time highs, and after rising more than 80% so far this year, corrections could be expected. According to Goldman, it is 23% above its price target.
Featured image: Grešla, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
