Ten Stocks To Sell In The Ten Days Before Year-End

Many investors use the last few weeks of each year to sell stocks on which they have posted losses to help their tax position. Other investors simply clean the dead wood out of their portfolios in the hope of starting the new year with stocks that they believe will do well in 2010.

This is a list of ten stocks that did well this year, but are likely to sell-off in ’10.

Sirius XM (NASDAQ:SIRI). The satellite radio company’s shares had a tremendous run when it became clear that it would not go under. They are down over the last three months and trade at $60. Sirius now faces the prospect of sharply slowing subscriber growth and ongoing competition from consumer electronics devices like the iPod that can be plugged into auto sound systems.

AT&T (NYSE:T). The big phone company is still losing large numbers of landline subscribers. Consumer complaints about its 3G service are in the media almost every day. Its exclusive deal to sell the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone will expire next year and rival Verizon Wireless will probably begin to sell the popular handset.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) is another stock that had a tremendous run from its March lows. Bank analysts are concerned that it is the weakest money center bank and that its balance sheet still has a large amount of toxic assets. The financial firm may still have to raise money, further diluting current shareholders. The stock has sold off lately.

Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM) is essentially a ward of the US government which faces putting tens of billions of additional capital into the company as Americans continue to default on mortgages. Congress may decide and the Adminstration may agree that the financial company should go through a pre-packaged restructuring that would give the government 100% ownership in Fannie Mae, at least until circumstances make it logical to take it public again.

Nokia (NYSE:NOK) may be the largest handset company in the world with 37% of the global market, but its attempt to enter the fast-growing and profitable smartphone market have been largely unsuccessful. Nokia profits are likely to stay week as the most attractive customers turn to Apple (NYSE:AAPL) iPhones, RIM (NASDAQ:RIMM) Blackberries, and popular handsets powered by Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android operating system.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) is caught between discount chains such as Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) and Target (NYSE:TGT) and higher end stores including Tiffany (NYSE:TIF). That means it has little that is unique to offer the consumer and cannot cut prices as much as many of its larger rivals can. Macy’s is likely to post weak results for the holidays and well into next year.

AMD (NYSE:AMD) shares have moved up on news that rival Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) is being punished and investigated for anticompetitive practices. Anything that slows Intel’s momentum will help AMD. But, good news about antitrust actions and a cash settlement have pushed AMD shares up more than four-fold from their 52-week lows. AMD still loses money and has to face new products from Intel, some of which are aimed at the high-end of AMD’s product line in graphics processors.

AMR (NYSE:AMR) is still considered one of weakest US carriers due to its balance sheet. Air traffic is not improving much as both business and consumers stay home. AMR was hoping a $1.1 billion investment in JAL would help the American carrier improve its routes in Asia. It now looks like that deal will go to rival Delta (NYSE:DAL).

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS) has cut many employees to increase margins and purchased Snapfish as a way to get into the online video game business. Most indications are that online games are priced below standard video games and Electronics Arts’ profits may never recover to where they were in the company’s best years.

Clearwire (NASDAQ:CLWR) is the best proxy for WiMax, the 4G product the Sprint (NYSE:S) is in the process of marketing and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) is supporting financially. Clearwire’s revenue is likely to rise rapidly on the spread of WiMax, but its capital position is weak enough that it will have to go back to partners to raise more money for spending. That will dilute current shareholders.

Douglas A. McIntyre