These are the most hated stocks on Wall Street
As the market stalls near a record, CNBC Pro screened the S & P 500 for stocks that analysts and investors dislike the most right now. For investors navigating the bumpy trading in the market, these names could be particularly vulnerable to volatility and overall market weakness. Here's the criteria we used for the screening process, using data from FactSet: Buy ratings by less than 50% of analysts Analysts' average price target for the next 12 months is predicting a decline Elevated short interest (above 5% of float shares) Telecom firm Lumen Technologies is one of the most hated stocks, with Wall Street analysts seeing a more than 20% decline in the next 12 months on average. Only about six analysts have a buy rating on the stock. Shares of Lumen Technologies have rallied more than 40% this year alone. Classic reopening trade American Airlines is also among the least popular stocks on Wall Street. Analysts are predicting a 23% drop from here after the stock rebounded nearly 50% this year. The stock also has relatively high short interest, with FactSet data showing 14% of American's float shares sold short. Gap — another stocks tied to a successful reopening — is also hated by analysts on valuation concerns. The retailer has climbed more than 60% in 2021 as the company called for net sales to return to a more normalized level in the second half of the year. Other consumer names like Kroger and Molson Coors Beverage are also on the list. To be sure, recent market behavior has shown that it's not always bad news to be a hated stock on Wall Street. Case in point — GameStop, the stock with the highest short interest earlier this year, managed to pull off a jaw-dropping rally thanks to a band of enthusiastic retail investors. But in this case, these shares could be vulnerable if analysts and hedge funds turn out correct.

Traders on the floor of the NYSE. Source: NYSE