The CAPS Screen: 5-Star Fire-Sale Stocks

With the S&P 500 down nearly 8% since the start of 2008, it’s been a rough year for the stock market. So many stocks are down from their highs -- some more deservedly than others. It's more important than ever to figure out how to separate disastrous companies like Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) and Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC) from the very real opportunities that are out there right now.

One great place to start looking is a pool of the favorite stocks of our 105,000-strong Motley Fool CAPS investment community. On CAPS, the best-performing players' opinions have greater influence over a stock's ratings, making these picks truly among the best of the best.

I used our new CAPS screening tool to pick out some of the CAPS community’s most well-regarded stocks that are trading at a discount. Let's look at five companies that have fallen 30% or more from their 52-week highs.

They also have:

  • Market caps greater than $5 billion.
  • Five-star ratings, the highest possible, from our CAPS community.

Remember, in the first year for which we have data, five-star companies outperformed the market with an average gain of nearly 28%.

Company

% Below
52-Week High

Share
Price

Sector

Market Cap
(in billions)

EMC (NYSE: EMC)

36%

$16.29

Technology

$33.7

Cemex (NYSE: CX)

38%

$25.67

Industrial Goods

$20.0

Hologic (Nasdaq: HOLX)

36%

$23.22

Healthcare

$5.9

NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX)

38%

$57.17

Financial

$15.2

Terex (NYSE: TEX)

35%

$63.11

Industrial Goods

$6.4

Data from Motley Fool CAPS and Yahoo! Finance as of June 11.

Of course, screens are merely a first step in the stock-selection process. Come and join us on Motley Fool CAPS to dig further into these companies. Let our CAPS community help you identify today's best opportunities.

For additional investing ideas:

Want to make money in up, down, and rollercoaster markets? Find out how. Claim your private invitation to a breakthrough new service from Motley Fool Co-founder David Gardner and team. Simply enter your email below.

Ilan Moscovitz doesn’t own any companies mentioned in this article. NYSE Euronext is a Motley Fool Rule Breakers recommendation. Cemex is both a Stock Advisor and a Global Gains pick. The Motley Fool owns shares of Cemex. The Fool's disclosure policy is hot hot hot..

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