Just as the first 100 days in office set the tone for any new president, Motley Fool CAPS keeps an eye on how well 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. In this column, we look at our best members who made some of their best stock selections early on, and we're seeing which stocks those players think will be the next big hits.
One of our most highly rated CAPS members is primero, who sports a 99.96 member rating. A member just since March, primero has 200 active picks on CAPS, out of almost 670 stock picks made. Achieving 80% accuracy, primero has already attracted eight "groupies," CAPS members 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.
|
Stock
|
CAPS Rating (Out of 5)
|
Call
|
Price*
|
Current Score
|
|
Allegheny Technologies
|
****
|
Outperform
|
$33.84
|
(0.53)
|
|
Cliffs Natural Resources
|
****
|
Outperform
|
$23.07
|
4.66
|
|
Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX )
|
****
|
Outperform
|
$45.52
|
8.42
|
|
Horsehead Holdings
|
*****
|
Outperform
|
$6.89
|
7.10
|
|
LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK )
|
***
|
Outperform
|
$9.91
|
11.40
|
|
Melco Crown Entertainment (Nasdaq: MPEL )
|
****
|
Outperform
|
$4.79
|
(4.90)
|
|
Petro-Canada (NYSE: PCZ )
|
*****
|
Outperform
|
$35.49
|
4.82
|
|
Precision Drilling (NYSE: PDS )
|
*****
|
Outperform
|
$4.36
|
9.07
|
|
Southern Copper (NYSE: PCU )
|
*****
|
Outperform
|
$19.52
|
3.34
|
|
Titanium Metals (NYSE: TIE )
|
*****
|
Outperform
|
$8.88
|
0.98
|
Source: Motley Fool CAPS.
*Price when call was made. Current score is how many points a member is beating (lagging) the S&P500 index from the time of the call.
With primero expecting each of the companies to outperform the market, let's zero in on one of these top stocks, and see whether other CAPS members agree with this leading player's assessment.
Degree of risk
Even after having to write down inventory over the past two quarters, LDK Solar is ready to ramp up polysilicon supplies further. The industry remains awash in the key ingredient for making photovoltaic panels, but with the Chinese government taking a larger role in juicing support for solar power in the country, LDK could be a leading beneficiary. Factor in the increased efficiency in polysilicon production, and the pricing on PV panels built with silicon becomes more competitive with thin-film modules.
Yet the solar specialist's financial condition remains a concern, and credit markets are still tight, so there may be too few projects to consume the supplies being brought online. Other solar companies haven't had such sunny outlooks, and a cloud remains over the industry.
Nonetheless, solar stocks themselves remain hot. The average company in the CAPS Solar Power sector has risen by 8% over the past month, but LDK Solar has outstripped most of them, surging more than 26% over the last 30 days. In comparison, the S&P 500 has been essentially flat.
Highly rated CAPS All-Star member Barebonez enumerates several reasons why he expects LDK Solar to maintain its current trajectory:
Why will solar be a winning technology when others fail?
-- The cost per kilowatt of solar panels is dropping dramatically with the introduction of thin film technology;
-- Solar is the cleanest and quietest alternative energy technology available;
-- Solar power can be installed as huge commercial power plants or on an individual home;
-- It is the perfect distributed power technology.
"With prices dropping and efficiency rising, we see solar as the next big thing in alternative energy at a time when demand is being pushed hard by Congress and the Obama administration," stated Robert Kaapke, CEO of Evolution Solar Corp. "We believe we are well positioned in an industry poised to experience explosive growth."
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?
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