3 Huge Stocks Everyone Is Talking About

BALTIMORE (Stockpickr) -- Put down the 10-K filings and the stock screeners. It's time to take a break from the traditional methods of generating investment ideas. Instead, let the crowd do it for you.

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From hedge funds to individual investors, scores of market participants are turning to social media to figure out which stocks are worth watching. It's a concept that's known as "crowdsourcing," and it uses the masses to identify emerging trends in the market.

Crowdsourcing has long been a popular tool for the advertising industry, but it also makes a lot of sense as an investment tool. After all, the market is completely driven by the supply and demand, so it can be valuable to see what names are trending among the crowd.

While some fund managers are already trying to leverage social media resources like Twitter to find algorithmic trading opportunities, for most investors, crowdsourcing works best as a starting point for investors who want a starting point in their analysis. Today, we'll leverage the power of the crowd to take a look at some of the most active stocks on the market today.

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These "most active" names are the most heavily-traded names on the market -- and often, uber-active names have some sort of a technical or fundamental catalyst driving investors' attention on shares. And when there's a big catalyst, there's often a trading opportunity.

Without further ado, here's a look at today's stocks.

Pfizer

Nearest Resistance: $32

Nearest Support: $30

Catalyst: Q1 Earnings

Drug maker Pfizer (PFE) is down more than 2% in this afternoon's session, pushed lower by first-quarter earnings to kick off the week. Pfizer's earnings came in on target, beating Wall Street estimates by 2 cents per share. But the problem came from sales, which missed the mark by approximately $750 million. The sales miss comes as Pfizer pursues an acquisition of big pharma name AstraZeneca (AZN) -- Pfizer's $106 billion offer price has been rejected as AZN looks for a bigger price tag.

From a technical standpoint, Pfizer is showing some more significant cracks. In the intermediate term, PFE is forming a head and shoulders top with a neckline level at $30; today's earnings miss is shoving shares to within grabbing distance of that line in the sand. If $30 support gets violated, look out below in shares of Pfizer.

JPMorgan Chase

Nearest Resistance: $56

Nearest Support: $54

Catalyst: Revenue Warnings

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) is down more than 2.3% this afternoon, dropping following the firm's announcement that bond and equity trading revenues were expected to drop this quarter versus last year. That's the latest in a series of trading revenue drops, a development that's leaving some investors thinking that a rebound for the unit won't be in the cards.

Technically, JPM looks a lot like the chart of Pfizer. Like the drug maker, this big bank is forming a head and shoulders top setup, and it's testing a breakdown below the neckline in today's session. That level to watch comes in at $54. If JPM fails to catch a bid above that level this week, it's a sell.

Target

Nearest Resistance: $62.50

Nearest Support: $59

Catalyst: CEO Departure

Big box retailer Target (TGT) is down 3% this afternoon, following news that CEO Gregg Steinhafel would be stepping down from his executive and board roles. That makes him the latest and greatest casualty of the data breach that left Target with egg on its face during the holiday season. The flux in corporate leadership isn't doing investors any favors right now, and that's the driver of the selloff we're seeing today.

Looking at the chart, Target could actually look a lot worse than it does. The firm has been consolidating in a rectangle pattern with resistance up at $62.50 and support at $59 -- that's giving investors a chance to figure out their next moves while this stock churns sideways. If shares can catch a bid above $62.50, it becomes a high-probability buy. Otherwise, if shares fall below $59, more downside is likely.

To see these stocks in action, check out the at Most-Active Stocks portfolio on Stockpickr.



-- Written by Jonas Elmerraji in Baltimore.

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At the time of publication, author had no positions in the names mentioned.

Jonas Elmerraji, CMT, is a senior market analyst at Agora Financial in Baltimore and a contributor to

TheStreet. Before that, he managed a portfolio of stocks for an investment advisory returned 15% in 2008. He has been featured in Forbes , Investor's Business Daily, and on CNBC.com. Jonas holds a degree in financial economics from UMBC and the Chartered Market Technician designation.

Follow Jonas on Twitter @JonasElmerraji