Tuesday's Best and Worst Stocks: ABC, EQT, GLW, and IP

As noted last week, Mondays have been dismal for investors in 2015 -- a trend that's continuing today. However, Tuesdays haven't fared much better. With this in mind, Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White broke the numbers down even further to see which stocks have tended to buck the bearish bias -- or succumb to Tuesday's negative price action. Included on the winners list are pharmaceutical firm AmerisourceBergen Corp. (NYSE:ABC) and oil-and-gas issue EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT), while Gorilla Glass maker Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) and paper and packaging company International Paper Co (NYSE:IP) are standouts on the losers list.

ABC has added a respectable 7.2% in 2015 to trade at $96.66. Although the stock is down 3.2% today amid a steep sell-off in healthcare names, ABC's 320-day moving average -- a trendline that served as a springboard during the stock's late-August pullback -- is sitting directly underneath. What's more, the equity could get a boost tomorrow, considering ABC has been positive 70.3% of Tuesdays this year, averaging a return of 0.2%.

Option traders have been bracing for a pullback, though, as evidenced by ABC's 50-day International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) put/call volume ratio of 1.31 -- in the 92nd annual percentile. In other words, AmerisourceBergen Corp. puts have been bought to open over calls at a faster clip just 8% of the time within the past year.

Most energy-related names have made the "worst" lists this year, but EQT appears to be an exception. The stock has averaged a Tuesday gain of 0.5% in 2015, and has been positive almost two-thirds of the time. This would be a welcome development, considering broad-market headwinds, a sharp drop in oil, and a price-target cut to $93 at Deutsche Bank have the shares down 4.2% today at $67.08 -- and fresh off a two-year low of $66.89.

Sentiment is split on the stock. Specifically, while option traders at the ISE, CBOE, and PHLX have bought to open 10.45 puts for each call on EQT in the past two weeks, analysts have been quick to hand out bullish brokerage notes. In fact, 11 out of 16 brokerages maintain a "buy" or better rating on EQT Corporation, without a single "sell" to be found.

Although most Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) suppliers have performed well of late, GLW is on pace to end September with a 5% deficit. Longer term, the shares have shed 28.7% in 2015 at $16.35, and hit an annual low of $15.42 on Aug. 24. The equity's troubles could be far from over, too, considering GLW has averaged a loss of 0.4% on Tuesdays this year, and has been positive just 27% of the time.

Against this backdrop, put players have set their sights on Corning Incorporated. At the ISE, CBOE, and PHLX, the equity's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 3.34 ranks just 4 percentage points from a 52-week peak. Plus, GLW's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.92 sits higher than 65% of all similar readings taken in the past year, meaning short-term speculators are more put-heavy than usual.

IP tumbled to a two-year low of $37.52 earlier, and was last seen down 2.8% at $37.63. This negative price action only echoes the equity's withstanding trajectory, with IP down 30% year-to-date. Some of this downside can be traced back to the stock's Tuesday performances. Specifically, the security has averaged a Tuesday loss of 0.6% in 2015, and has been positive roughly one-quarter of the time.

Nevertheless, sentiment is seemingly upbeat toward the underperformer, which could have bearish implications down the road. For starters, International Paper Co's 10-day ISE/CBOE/PHLX call/put volume ratio of 2.39 sits in the 62nd annual percentile. Plus, the majority of analysts maintain a "strong buy" recommendation. A capitulation from bullish bettors and/or a round of downgrades could translate into headwinds for the shares.