4 Huge Stocks on Traders' Radars

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. That's especially true now that earnings season is officially underway. And when there's a big catalyst, there's often a trading opportunity.

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

Microsoft

Nearest Resistance: $36

Nearest Support: $31

Catalyst: Ballmer Retiring

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Shares of tech giant Microsoft (MSFT) were up more than 7% in Friday's trading after CEO Steve Ballmer announced that he'd be retiring in the next year. Apparently, investors think that getting rid of Ballmer adds $20 billion to Microsoft's value -- a sentiment that probably stings in spite of the extra $840 million that Ballmer is worth as a result of the news. While the folks in Redmond, Wash., start searching for a successor to Ballmer, shares of Microsoft look well-positioned to continue to climb.

From a technical standpoint, Microsoft made a short-term double bottom that triggered on the huge gap-up. That puts MSFT within grabbing range of the $36 resistance level that swatted shares down earlier this summer. If shares crack $36, I'd be a buyer.

Facebook

Nearest Resistance: N/A

Nearest Support: $38

Catalyst: Analyst Note, Technical Setup

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Another tech name that gained big to end last week was Facebook (FB). The social network pushed to new highs after news hit on a bullish market note from ITG Research that pointed to third-quarter North American revenue hitting $920 million. The technical setup in shares didn't hurt either -- FB broke out above former resistance at $39, pushing up to new all-time highs.

Making new highs is significant from an investor psychology standpoint because it means that everyone who has bought shares in the last year is sitting on gains. As a result, the "back to even" mentality is less of a concern than it would be for a name with a higher proportion of shareholders sitting on losses. Investors who aren't risk-averse may want to consider jumping in here; just keep a tight stop in place.

Halliburton

Nearest Resistance: N/A

Nearest Support: $46

Catalyst: Oversubscribed Tender Offer

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Halliburton (HAL) is another name that broke out to new highs late last week, in this case thanks to an oversubscribed tender offer for shares that had investors unloading HAL en masse. Normally, dumping shares isn't a good thing for stock prices, but because HAL was simultaneously buying them, the market for shares wasn't affected. Instead, the firm ended up buying more of its outstanding stock than expected, a move that effectively increases each remaining investor's stake in the company.

Buying HAL here makes sense as a trade for all of the same reasons as Facebook. The sellers are out of this stock for the time being.

Marvell Technology Group

Nearest Resistance: $13.50

Nearest Support: $11

Catalyst: Earnings, Guidance

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Last up is Marvell Technology Group (MRVL). The $6 billion fabless semiconductor firm got hit after posting earnings and guidance, dropping more than 6.5% on Friday despite earning 23 cents per share for the quarter -- a number that beat Wall Street estimates by 4 cents. MRVL's numbers may have beaten those expectations, but Friday's price action shows that they didn't beat everyone's.

From a technical standpoint, MRVL is right at support right now. In other words, it's make-or-break time for this stock. If MRVL can hold above the 50-day moving average this week, then it makes sense to be a buyer. Otherwise, now's the time to take gains before MRVL gives them all back.

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 stocks 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