5 Toxic Stocks That Are Poisoning Your Portfolio

BALTIMORE (Stockpickr) -- These five stocks could be hazardous to your health -- well, hazardous to your portfolio's health, anyway.

The old saying goes that "It's a market of stocks, not a 'stock market,'" and that's certainly true today, in spite of a broad market rally that's sent the S&P 500 up close to 20% since the start of last summer. Even though most stocks are following the big index's cues, a handful of names have been consistent underperformers. No great surprise, those are the ones you don't want to own.

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To be fair, the companies I'm talking about today aren't exactly "junk."

I mean, they're not next up in line at bankruptcy court. But that's frankly irrelevant; from a technical analysis standpoint, they're some of the worst positioned names out there right now. For that reason, fundamental investors need to decide how long they're willing to take the pain if they want to hold onto these firms this fall. And for investors looking to buy one of these positions, it makes sense to wait for more favorable technical conditions (and a lower share price) before piling in.

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For the unfamiliar, technical analysis is a way for investors to quantify qualitative factors, such as investor psychology, based on a stock's price action and trends. Once the domain of cloistered trading teams on Wall Street, technicals can help top traders make consistently profitable trades and can aid fundamental investors in better planning their stock execution.

So, without further ado, let's take a look at five "toxic stocks" you should be unloading in 2013.

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