Photo Credit: Andreas Eldh

Each week Forcerank runs a variety of games covering different industries. What we have found, is that the lowest ranked companies in their respective games deliver the biggest negative price movement and vice versa for those in the top position. This week we look at how the Forcerank community ranked these newsworthy companies that continue to make headlines. They include Twitter, CBS, Wells Fargo, NXP Semiconductor and Netflix.

Twitter (TWTR) | Social Media: Twitter shares are up nearly 25% since takeover talks broke 10 days ago. This is the first week Twitter takes the top spot in the social media contest, dethroning Facebook in the process. Investors continue to pump this stock in hopes that an acquisition will be in the $30-40 per share range. The main frontrunners for the company still include Google, Salesforce, Microsoft and Disney. Seeing as there is no timetable in place for a sale, this is becoming a wait and see situation. If nothing comes of these recent talks in the upcoming weeks it is difficult to see this runup continuing.

CBS Corp (CBS) | Media: New rumors have emerged that a merger between CBS and Viacom is on the horizon. This would reunite the two companies that were torn apart nearly a decade ago. Viacom bought CBS in 2000, only for the companies to split 6 years due to the belief that CBS was holding back Viacom’s potential. In reality, CBS has remained resilient through the rise of cord cutters while Viacom has struggled. The recent merger talks propelled both stocks  and pushed CBS to the second position in the media contest. Its technical chart also took a bullish turn on the news with on balance volume and MACD trending higher.

Wells Fargo (WFC) | Financials: The bank continues to come under fire following the fake account scandal. Since it was first revealed, CEO John Stumpf has testified on Capitol Hill and fired over 5000 workers. Most recently though, the labor department has agreed to review Wells Fargo and terminated employees are starting to coalesce around a few lawsuits against the bank. It’s looking more likely that Stumpf is on his way out or facing a severe financial reprimand. As more events transpire it’s unlikely that the stock will start making gains. Wells Fargo replaced Evercore in this week’s banking contest as the worst ranked stock. Shares are down nearly 10% in the past 2 weeks and almost 20% year to date.

NXP Semiconductor (NXPI) | Semiconductor: Shares of NXP Semiconductors jumped over 20% last week after it was reported that Qualcomm was in negotiations to acquire the chipmaker. Buyout chatter has been rampant lately with NXP being the latest takeover target. The two sides are currently at a crossroads. NXP is reluctant to sell at anything lower than $110 per share while Qualcomm’s initial bids were rumored around $95 per share. The transaction would propel Qualcomm to the second largest semiconductor in terms of sales. It also solidifies Qualcomm’s reputation as a leader in Internet of Things and automotive market. NXP investors continue to feed the stock in hopes that a sale is over its current price.

Netflix (NFLX) | E-commerce: Netflix kicked off this week on a high note after its newest original series, Luke Cage, exceeded expectations. The Marvel based hit was in such high demand this weekend that Netflix servers crashed for 2.5 hours on Saturday. This is a true ode to Netflix’s original content which continues to drive viewership. Furthermore takeover talks have been at an all time high with Netflix. The most popular name associated with a Netflix acquisition is Disney. Disney has also been rumored as one of the potential bidders for Twitter. It appears as though Disney is in the market for new content due to ESPN’s ongoing struggles. Netflix was the best e-commerce name this week only behind Amazon. Its average rank made a significant improvement to 3.81 from 4.7 last week.