Monday's Best and Worst Stocks: GME, STZ, YHOO, and NFX

The first day of the trading week has been fairly lackluster in 2015, although the results are skewed by the Aug. 24 bloodbath. Drilling down on specific equities, video game retailer GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME) and adult beverage behemoth Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) have managed to buck the relatively bearish trend, while Internet issue Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) and oil sands extractor Newfield Exploration Co. (NYSE:NFX), unfortunately, have not.

GME has hit a rough patch since topping out at an annual high in mid-August, down 14.3% at $40.97. However, this pullback has been contained by GME's 320-day moving average -- currently located at $40.90 -- and the stock could see a bounce at the beginning of next week. In fact, the security has averaged a Monday gain of 0.5% throughout 2015, and has been positive nearly 64% of the time.

On the sentiment front, skeptics have been circling. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), for example, GME's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 11.35 sits at an annual high, meaning puts have been bought to open over calls at their fastest clip of the year. Plus, short interest accounts for almost 45% of GameStop Corp.'s float, or 26.2 times the average daily trading volume.

STZ, meanwhile, has rallied an impressive 32% in 2015, and at its current perch of $129.52, is within striking distance of its Sept. 17 record peak of $132.20 -- a milestone that came on the heels of well-received M&A news within the sector. These gains could continue come Monday. STZ has posted a positive Monday return almost 73% of the time this year, averaging a gain of 0.3%.

Such a development would likely please option traders, who have been raising the bullish stakes. In addition to the equity's 50-day ISE/CBOE/PHLX call/put volume ratio of 2.56 sitting just 7 percentage points from a 52-week peak, its Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.60 rests below 67% of all comparable readings taken in the past year. Simply stated, short-term speculators are more call-heavy now than usual toward Constellation Brands, Inc.

YHOO has been charting a path steadily lower since topping out at a 14-year high of $52.62 last November, down 44%. What's more, the shares tagged a two-year low of $28.85 yesterday, and were last seen churning near $29.37. These technical troubles could continue next week, considering YHOO has averaged a Monday loss of 0.8% in 2015, and has been positive just 27.3% of the time.

Nevertheless, there's still plenty of optimism levied toward Yahoo! Inc. Of the 27 analysts covering the shares, 20 maintain a "buy" or "strong buy" recommendation toward the stock, with not a single "sell" to be found. Plus, the average 12-month price target of $46.37 stands at a 58% premium to current trading levels. A round of downgrades and/or price-target cuts could pressure the shares even lower.

NFX has been strong on the charts in 2015, boasting a nearly 23% lead to trade at $33.39. However, Mondays have not been kind to the stock, which has averaged a loss of 1% -- and has been positive just 27.3% of the time.

Given the equity's longer-term trajectory, sentiment is skewed toward the upbeat side. Fifteen of 22 analysts maintain a "buy" or better rating on Newfield Exploration Co., while the consensus 12-month price target of $41.97 rests in annual-high territory.

To see which stocks you should be watching today, click here. Meanwhile, don't miss out on which equities should be on the radar for Wednesdays and Thursdays.