A 1-in-100 Investor

The first 100 days in office set the tone for any new president. Likewise, Motley Fool CAPS keeps an eye as well on how investors do in their first 100 days. Some of our best -- we call them All-Stars -- have achieved scores of 100 on stock selections in their first 100 days on CAPS. Since data shows that the best stocks to buy and sell have gotten top-ratings, might we also assume that when the best players rate the best stocks, there is a correlation?

One of our highest rated CAPS members is vanamonde who sports a near-perfect 99.98 member rating. A member since August 2007, vanamonde currently has 199 active picks on CAPS out of more than 680 stock picks made. Achieving near 80% accuracy, vanamonde has also attracted 46 "groupies," CAPS players who've listed this leading investor as one of their favorites.

Here are a few of this top member's most recent stock selections and how they were rated.

Source: Motley Fool CAPS. *Price when Call was made. Current score is how many points a player is beating (lagging) the S&P500 index from the time of the call.

The century mark
There's little question that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac resemble the Lee twins -- Ug-Lee and Beast-Lee -- and their low share prices make it difficult to believe that the companies will be able to raise enough capital to survive. Yet plenty of investors like CAPS member ztsvi think they hold enough potential on their own to weather the storm.

Needless to say, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are the major players in mortgages real estate. The current economic recession and collapsed housing markets was a result of the simultaneous combination of many factors. These companies are still and will remain crucial to the future economic recovery, and strong enough to weather the current storm. Though they may never regain their full former strength, look for an upswing in stock prices in the next few years, as a new administration steps into action, with full recovery in five to ten years.

Although solar energy is considered an "alternative" source, there are many who believe the time has come for it to be considered as a primary means to satisfy the world's energy needs. After taking a big breather in the first quarter this year from the big run up in 2007, solar stocks are hot again. ReneSola, which managed to go public just as solar stocks were cooling off, has many investors like CAPS member DBGMVETTE seeing green, at least for the short term.

Solar play and China too. Not as recognized as other solar stocks, but seems to be solid company with large growth rates, and dealings with others solar players making good moves up. Short term price could explode, like other current solar prices, has farther to go and could be long term play too.

Petrohawk Energy has seen its shares in a tailspin lately along with most oil and gas plays as the price of oil has fallen precipitously from its highs. The stock has rebounded since it released its second-quarter earnings where it reported a loss due to hedging activities, but the company has said 2009 production should be some 30% to 40% higher than this year's production levels. That might be why investors like CAPS member StreetJustice see the stock getting back on track soon:

This is the only other oil/nat gas company I like besides [Ameriwest Energy]. I have liked these guys since I ran across them in March. Until recently they were my number 1 earner (energy prices took them out). [Petrohawk] is still a soild company and will be back on track. I think they are cheap right now.

Similarly Continental Resources has been beaten back by oil's fall but operations were affected by a storm, and the need for additional water resources will push its peak production timetable back a bit. CAPS member owshx still sees its position in the Bakken shale area as giving it a boost.

World oil demand is up, the price at the pump isn't going down, more domestic drilling is needed until renewable energy has structure and technology available to take OILs place:

Few key points (thanks to lakesideinvestor on gfinance):
a) CLR has the most acreage in the Bakken; (~half million acres)
b) the Bakken is the largest continuous oil reservoir in the lower 48 (bigger than any in Texas/Louisiana)
c) oil holding its own above $135

A 1-in-100 opportunity|
Some of the best and smartest members in the CAPS investor intelligence community have made their mark, but it pays to start your own research on these stocks on Motley Fool CAPS. Read a company's financial reports, scrutinize key data and charts, and examine the comments your fellow investors have made all from a stock's CAPS page.

As hockey great Wayne Gretzky once noted, "You miss 100% of the shots you never take." At Motley Fool CAPS every investor's opinion counts and since it's free to sign up, why not use this opportunity to take your best shot?