"The bigger they are, the harder they fall." This old saying sums up the worst nightmare of every homeowner, every gold buyer, and every investor in today's market. Dare ye buy at the top?
Every day, MSN Money publishes a list of the market's top stocks -- the companies whose shares have just hit their highest intraday price of any time in the past 52 weeks. Every day, investors read this list and tremble -- some with greed (big mo', baby!), and others in pure, unmitigated, acrophobic terror (whatever you do, don't look down).
Over on Motley Fool CAPS, thousands of investors just like you are watching these same companies and voting their gut on whether they'll keep rising or stumble and fall. Usually, the ratings wax optimistic as stocks hit new highs -- because everyone loves a winner. But what do you make of it when some of the smartest investors out there are panning a hot stock?
You could heed them. You could ignore them. You could take the stock tickers and construct anagrams from 'em. For my money, though, the best course of action is to use the 52-week highs list as just a starting point for further research. After all, stocks can go up for many reasons, and it's up to you to decide how worthy those reasons are. But thanks to Motley Fool CAPS, now you don't have to make the decision alone.
With that said, let's meet today's list of contenders, drawn from the latest "52-Week Highs" list at MSN Money. What does our panel of more than 28,000 stock gurus (and counting) have to say about them?
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One year ago today
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Currently fetching
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CAPS rating
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Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR)
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$95.12
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$104.42
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****
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Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP)
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$235.14
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$290.89
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****
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Affiliated Managers Group (NYSE: AMG)
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$95.02
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$122.39
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****
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Everest Re (NYSE: RE)
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$90.94
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$103.60
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****
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Research in Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM)
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$74.26
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$152.39
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*
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*Five stars = highest possible CAPS rating; one star = lowest. Companies are selected from the "New 52-Week Highs" list published on MSN Money on the Saturday following close of trading last week. CAPS ratings from Motley Fool CAPS.
Everybody loves a winner
When stocks soar on the wings of success, bears become rare. So it's no surprise that investors love most of the stocks on today's list -- the sole exception being Blackberry-farmer Research In Motion. A clear majority of CAPS players find the stock overpriced, and among CAPS All-Stars, more than two out of three rate it an underperformer. Why? Let's find out.
The bear case on Research In Motion
- Back in October, ElViking wrote that RIMM is a "solid company, but the price is really bloated right now. It's not growing fast enough to justify the $108 price tag." I think I can guess what ElViking thinks about it at $152...
- CAPS superstar TMFOtter argues that the Sony (NYSE: SNE) "Treo and other competitors are going to kill RIMM for its decision to remain proprietary."
- And while we're on the subject of companies that like to remain proprietary, Steve819 sees Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) as a looming threat to RIMM: "Finally, with the release of the iPhone, this (sic) guys lose bragging rights for the coolest phone among the digital elite."
Time to chime in
But enough about our thoughts. What do you think? Can Sony and Apple break users' addiction to the Crackberry, or will this stock continue to outperform until the FDA steps in and declares a "War on Texting"? Click on over to CAPS and make your opinions known.
Motley Fool CAPS: It's fun, it's free, and it just might make you famous.
Fool contributor Rich Smith does not own shares of any company named above. You can find him on CAPS, publicly pontificating under the handle TMFDitty, where he's currently ranked No. 1581 out of nearly 29,000 raters.
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