Stocks climbing to 10 times their original price are rare breeds -- but they're not impossible to find. Especially when you have Fools for friends.
The market's best stocks include companies that have risen dozens of times in value by taking advantage of the market's weaknesses. These aren't penny stocks; they're viable companies with sound business prospects that are achieving phenomenal returns. Finding just one or two of these monstrously successful firms can help you establish a winning portfolio.
Stalking the monster
To find tomorrow's winners, we've enlisted the help of more than 145,000 monster trackers at Motley Fool CAPS. We've compiled a list of the most successful CAPS members, dubbed All-Stars, whose picks have doubled, tripled, or even quadrupled in price. Then we've plucked out some of their recent picks for stocks they find equally promising.
*Number of percentage points of outperformance over the S&P 500.
Of course, this is not a list of stocks to buy -- or, for those monster stocks that our CAPS All-Stars have already found, sell. Just consider them starting points for your own further research into extreme buying opportunities. To help you get started, here's a closer look at a couple of them.
In search of Bigfoot
Can a no-promotions policy work for a teen clothing retailer in this economic environment? Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) found out the hard way that if you want to destroy sales and market share, refusing to discount your merchandise is a surefire way to achieve it. So it's curious Buckle is going that route this holiday, particularly after Abercrombie threw in the towel and started lowering prices.
Buckle has been one of the few success stories this year, able to turn in regular increases in same-store sales. In the most recent quarter, as many other retailers suffered from falling comps, Buckle posted better-than-4% gains.
Management says it's not so much that it's refusing to lower prices, but rather that it's following the game plan that's worked for it all along. Last year, the company offered a few specials but little other promotional activity. It must be working -- the teen apparel retailer saw profits rise 14% in the third quarter, partly on the basis of those higher price points.
Highly rated CAPS All-Star member 00100 likes Buckle's ability to grow and simultaneously generate heaps of free cash flow. Meanwhile, A00971591 appreciates its avoidance of any debt: "A debt free retailer, that is a winner right there. Good management as well with great marketing and name recognition."
Tell us over on the Buckle CAPS page whether you think this retailer is ready for a dressing-down or if it's dressing up for the holidays.
Powering up
Power company Dynegy has been downsizing and streamlining its business in an attempt to simplify its structure. That's lead to some sizeable near-term losses as it writes down the value of the assets it is selling off. Yet the underlying remaining business seems to remain both viable and valuable.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) for Dynegy rose 44% last quarter to $388 million as it saw the sale and assignment of a multi-year power sales contract, greater capacity, higher tolling revenues, and higher energy prices in its Midwest region.
CAPS member ggorlano3 finds energy stocks unfairly discounted, meaning this is an excellent time to be scooping them up, at least as short-term plays: "With the state of the [economy], energy stocks are at bargain prices, which includes DYNEGY. I am in this for the short term...."
A chance for scary growth
It takes more than a few All-Star picks and a quick paragraph to make buy or sell decisions, so start your own research on these stocks on Motley Fool CAPS. You can 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. And while you're there, weigh in with your own thoughts on whether you think these are tomorrow's monster stocks.
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