These Stocks Beat India's Stocks

Home of one of the fastest-growing economies, companies in India have made plenty of investors wealthy. But it's certainly not the only growth story, and I've found investments from another sector that are beating the pants off Indian stocks. I also know where you can find out more about them.

Would the real hot stocks please come forward
The 5,400 stocks that have been rated by the Motley Fool CAPS community of more than 115,000 members can be grouped by descriptive "tags" with other companies sharing similar qualities -- a country of origin, a sector, or an end product, for example. Clicking the "India" tag pulls up a list of 27 stocks that have taken a drubbing over the past year and lost 40%.

CAPS tags can lead you to stocks that have held up much better than Indian stocks lately: those in the category "Medical Device." This group comprises 43 companies that have had an average loss of only 1% in the past year.

From macro to micro
You can sort tag groups by their CAPS ratings, from one to a maximum five stars, and then see which players -- from Wall Street to Main Street -- are bullish or bearish on a company, and why.

Here are a few of the stocks in the India group:

Source: Motley Fool CAPS and Yahoo! Finance, as of Oct. 2.

Now, based on interest in the CAPS community, here's a sampling of Medical Device stocks that investors may want to consider.

Source: Motley Fool CAPS and Yahoo! Finance, as of Oct. 2.

Healthy Cash
Many investors see big, boring blue chips like Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) as great places to be right now. With a beta of 0.38, J&J isn't likely to have big daily price movements, making it a stock even your grandma would love. As the world's largest medical device company, Johnson & Johnson has had 75 straight years of sales increases and 46 straight years of dividend increases.

With $13.1 billion in cash and investments and ample free cash flow, J&J has plenty of options to move through this market. Its immense cash hoard gives it the resources to defend its turf from competitors and the flexibility to snap up smaller drugmakers. One recent example: J&J was awarded a $1.2 billion judgment in a patent lawsuit against Boston Scientific and Medtronic over stents. J&J has doggedly pursued the purported infringers for more than a decade, an effort smaller companies might have dropped long ago.               

J&J's stability and consistent growth keep it an investor favorite, and 96% of the 9,351 CAPS members rating Johnson & Johnson expect it to continue to outperform the market.

Baxter
Bull markets. Bear markets. Even impending credit disasters. Regardless of the state of the market, people need treatment when they get sick. Baxter sells medical devices to treat hemophilia, cancer, and kidney disease, and is helping investors survive this ugly market. Baxter also has products to stop bleeding and seal up tissue after surgery, but it isn't content to stop there.

The company recently inked a licensing deal with privately held Innocoll for the only implantable, biodegradable sponge approved to treat surgical site infections. If the antibiotic "sponge" is approved by the FDA, it could open up a vast market to protect against the development of infections in all surgeries.

Baxter also just received expanded labeling approval from the FDA for its new line of products aimed at decreasing risk associated with IV therapy. It's V-Link with VitalShield product helps reduce the risk of bloodstream infections and comes at a time when health-care professionals are seeking more ways to prevent contamination in hospitals. With rising health-care costs, many see an investment in Baxter as a hedge against growing medical bills. In CAPS, more than 93% of the 350 members rating Baxter are bullish today.

Before you buy ...
Of course, what's happened in the past is no indicator of where investors should be putting their capital now. But the underlying reasons behind dramatic run-ups in stocks or groups of stocks can clarify trends that may significantly affect investments. Just make sure to do your own due diligence rather than simply following crowds or individual recommendations.

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