Biggest Losers (MNTA) (DKS) (AAP) (VFC) (MFN) on May 6

Among the big, negative movers on Friday, May 6, were Momenta Pharmaceuticals (MNTA), Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS), Advance Auto Parts (AAP), V.F. Corp. (VFC) and Minefinders Corp. (MFN).

Momenta Pharmaceuticals (MNTA) was down $0.82, to close at $17.43, a loss of 4.49 percent.

Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS) fell $0.81 on the day to close at $40.01, a loss of 1.98 percent.

Advance Auto Parts (AAP) dropped $0.81 to close at $65.05, a loss of 1.23 percent.

V.F. Corp. (VFC) declined $0.81 to close the session at $99.73, a loss of 0.81 percent.

Minefinders Corp. (MFN) plunged $0.81 to end the day at $13.14, a loss of 5.81 percent.

United Stationers (Nasdaq:USTR), Office Depot (NYSE:ODP), Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Top Retail Picks of FBR

FBR liked what they saw in general for hardline retailers in December, and released a report on a number of companies, of which their favorites are United Stationers (Nasdaq:USTR), Office Depot (NYSE:ODP) and Home Depot (NYSE:HD), all which they have an "Outperform" on.

FBR says, "Retail sales as reported by the census for hardlines (these companies do not report monthly comp store sales), were generally good for the categories we track in December, with all categories but one showing a sequential improvement in YOY trends. Most notable was Home Improvement (building materials, garden equipment and supplies dealers, NAICS 444) which was up +13.1% YOY. This was an acceleration from the +11.2% reported in October, and an improvement on a 3-year stacked basis. Consumer Electronics Sales (NAICS 443) improved to +1.8% YOY for the month of December, up from -0.4% in November. Based on the recent results and comments out of BBY & HGG (both included the month of December), as well as HD, the strength within this category was likely driven by appliances. Aftermarket Auto Parts were up +9.6% YOY, and this was up from +9.3% in November. So, the strength in after-market auto parts continues its pace. Home Furnishings were flat sequentially, at +1.4% YOY for the month of December. Strength in this category continues to be on the furniture side. Office Supplies (NAICS 4532) sales are reported on a one month lag, and these were up +7.7% in the month of November, up from -1.7% in October. While this category showed notable strength, it contradicts our channel checks, which have shown a slight deceleration in the month of November.

Those getting a "Market Perform" from FBR included Lowe's (NYSE:LOW), RadioShack (NYSE:RSH), Best Buy (NYSE:BBY), hhgregg (NYSE:HGG), OfficeMax (NYSE:OMX), AutoZone (NYSE:AZO), Advanced Auto (NYSE:AAP), and O'reilly (Nasdaq:ORLY).

Companies with an "Underperform" rating were Staples (Nasdaq:SPLS), Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC), Tractor Supply (Nasdaq:TSCO), and Bed Bath & Beyond (Nasdaq:BBBY).

PetSmart (Nasdaq:PETM), Lowe's (NYSE:LOW), Staples (Nasdaq:SPLS), Home Depot (NYSE:HD), Dick's (NYSE:DKS) Top Hardline Retail Picks of Barclays

The momentum for hardline retail stocks like the top picks of Barclays: PetSmart (Nasdaq:PETM), Lowe's (NYSE:LOW), Staples (Nasdaq:SPLS), Home Depot (NYSE:HD) and Dick's (NYSE:DKS) are expected to continue into 2011.

Barclays said, "Following two years of strong performance for many of the hardline retail stocks (including an average 28% increase in 2010 and a 56% increase in 2009), we think that the momentum will persist in 2011. Most of the subsectors in the universe should benefit from a combination of stable consumption growth, operating expense leverage, and share repurchases. These factors should deliver mid-teens EPS growth for the average hardline retailer. Thus, the combination of healthy earnings expansion and reasonable valuations make this group look attractive."

"Our top picks for the coming year are PetSmart, Staples, Home Depot, Lowe's and Dick's: We believe that these names are best positioned to benefit from company-specific drivers, along with significant leverage to an economic recovery. Conversely, we believe LifeTime Fitness (NYSE:LTM) and Advanced Auto (NYSE:AAP) offer the least attractive risk-reward at the current levels."

Advanced Auto (NYSE:AAP), AutoZone (NYSE:AZO), O'Reilly (Nasdaq:ORLY), Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Vulnerable in 2011 Says FBR

With their strong performance of 2010 behind them, auto parts retailers like Advanced Auto (NYSE:AAP), AutoZone (NYSE:AZO), O'Reilly (Nasdaq:ORLY) and Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) are considered vulnerable by FBR Capital in 2011.

FBR said, "Auto parts retail has begun to experience underperformance vs. the S&P 500 over the last two trading days. Investors are starting to treat this group as a source of funds. This is consistent with our downgrade of AAP 11/8/10, as well as our 2011 outlook piece published 12/15/10.

"These stocks were a relative safe haven in 2010 and are therefore more vulnerable in 2011. 2010 outperformance vs. the S&P 500 was the following: Advanced Auto +63%, AutoZone +72%, O'Reilly +58% and Genuine Parts lagged but was also up 35% yoy, compared with the S&P 500 of 12.8% and the hardline retail group average of 27%. We believe the easy risk/reward money here has been made for the time being, and investors are likely to be more cautious with their positions in this group at this stage…hence, a source of funds. We expect this stance to continue. GPC looks particularly vulnerable, still trading at north of 16x NTM P/E, in our view. We would use sub sectors, such as home improvement (namely Home Depot (NYSE:HD)) or office supply (namely Office Depot/ODP or United Stationers (Nasdaq:USTR)) as uses of funds."