A 1-in-100 Investor

The first 100 days in office sets the tone for any new president. Similarly, Motley Fool CAPS keeps an eye on members who score 100 points of market outperformance on stock picks in their first 100 days. Here we're looking at our All-Stars who made some of their best stock selections early on and seeing which ones they think will do best next.

One of our highest-rated CAPS members is MKBender, who sports a 95.37 member rating. Below 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
China Gerui Advanced Materials Group (Nasdaq: CHOP  )	*****	Outperform	$7.50	0.12
Ivanhoe Energy (Nasdaq: IVAN  )	**	Outperform	$3.88	(17.09)
Lihua International	****	Outperform	$9.18	(2.21)
Syntroleum (Nasdaq: SYNM  )	**	Outperform	$2.22	(4.59)

Source: Motley Fool CAPS; *Price when call was made. Current score is how many percentage points by which a member is beating (lagging) the S&P 500 index from the time of the call.

Let's take a look at what other CAPS members are saying about these stocks and whether they agree with this top player's assessment.

Degree of risk
Cold-rolled steel producer China Gerui Advanced Materials Group could gain as China's manufacturing sector continues to expand and its insatiable need for steel grows unabated. The country is the world's largest steel producer, and its conviction of four Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP  ) executives who admitted to accepting bribes from private steel mills shows its determination to hold the line when negotiating for raw materials.

China Gerui pretty much flies under the radar of Wall Street at the moment, as only two analysts follow it, but odenpaul says its low valuation and strong balance sheet make it a good candidate for outperformance:

This strong specialty materials stock has an incredibly low PE, combined with a staggering growth rate. While in the short term, Chinese stocks may suffer due to potential lending problems, companies like China Gerui shouldn't be very adversely affected, due in part to its low debt. Currently the stock is thinly traded, but the daily volume should grow.

At a glance
Fourth-quarter earnings for heavy oil production company Ivanhoe Energy were hurt by lower benchmark crude oil prices. Yet with oil prices closing above $84 a barrel yesterday, their highest level since 2008, Ivanhoe could be ready to stage a rebound. It has new financing in hand, which will allow it to pursue development projects particularly in Canada and Ecuador, the latter of which CAPS member 1971Mach1 says holds the key to its becoming a major player:

I like the fact that [Ivanhoe Energy] has not dilute their number of shares like some other "below a dollar" stocks. The current price seems to be stabl. Depending on the current development at Ecuador, [Ivanhoe Energy] has a great chance become a player in oil production.

Yet like its neighbor Venezuela, Ecuador is a dicey country in which to do business these days. Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) just won a surprising court ruling ordering the country to pay it $700 million, but it faces what some charge are spurious environmental claims that could end up costing it $27 billion.

Tastes like chicken
When Tyson's (NYSE: TSN  ) biodiesel plant comes online this summer, we may find Syntroleum revving its engines because  the two have partnered to turn low-grade chicken fat into green gas. Biodiesel fuels have generated worldwide interest, with companies like Gushan Environmental Energy (NYSE: GU  ) producing it solely for the Chinese market. Yet both Gushan and Syntroleum have run into financial difficulties over the years that have some wondering whether they're too risky. So far they've been able to avoid the reaper, and CAPS member jamtheline says they no longer look as speculative as they once did:

Dynamic Feuls/Tyson Venture, SINOPEC venture, Australia partnership. $25 million rev when expected to be negative. 3-4 additional plants coming in next few years.

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. It's free to sign up, so why not use this opportunity to take your best shot?