MORGAN STANLEY: These 16 stocks could get cut in half - or worse

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

• Morgan Stanley expects the US stock market to consolidate the secular bull run next year.
• But the analysts say 16 companies are "facing challenges that are independent of cyclical trends" and could lose more than half their value in the next 12-18 months.
• The firm has an "underweight" rating for all of the mentioned stocks, and says their risks are larger than rewards.

Morgan Stanley has released the stocks its analysts think could lose more than half their value within the next 12 to 18 months.

These companies are "facing challenges that are independent of cyclical trends," the bank's analysts said.

They expect the US stock market to consolidate the secular bull run next year and for US economic growth to slow down, followed by a re-acceleration in 2020. While the macro outlook seems favorable, analysts identified some companies with secular challenges including market-share loss, rising competition, deteriorating end-markets, cost pressures, and others.

To compile the list, Morgan Stanley's equity-research team started with the stocks its analysts rated as "underweight." The bank then focused on stocks with an "unfavorable risk-reward skew," looking for stocks where the cons outweighed the pros.