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3 Stocks Shaking the Market

Some stocks are one-hit wonders that make a big splash when they first appear and then fizzle out. But for other stocks, that initial big move is only a preview for even bigger and better gains to come.

Today, we've listed three stocks that made some of the biggest upward moves over the past month, and we'll pair them with ratings from our Motley Fool CAPS community. The higher each stock's rating, the greater CAPS members' faith in that company's ability to keep on beating the market.

Stock

1 Month  % Change*

CAPS Rating (out of 5)

Jones Soda (Nasdaq: JSDA  )

63.5%

**

Universal Display (Nasdaq: PANL  )

32.5%

****

Neurocrine Biosciences (Nasdaq: NBIX  )

24.6%

***

*April 19 to May 20.

As the markets whipsaw to changes in consumer sentiment, there will be weeks where it's hard to believe anyone recorded a positive performance -- like this one. So before we get shaken out again, let's see why the CAPS community thinks some of these companies might continue to outperform the market.

A mighty temblor
Getting its soda in front of millions of consumers through the marketing muscle of Wal-Mart was the catalyst that sent Jones Soda higher. Like the distribution power behind Coca-Cola, which can pretty much introduce a new soft drink and get millions of people to drink it merely by dint of the scale of its network, Wal-Mart offers consumer-goods companies the potential for explosive growth -- and that's what investors latched onto with Jones.

Yet they probably need to be mindful that Jones Soda's margins might take a hit in the process too, since Wal-Mart is notoriously ruthless in extracting the best terms from suppliers to pass the savings onto its shoppers. It's a dual-edged sword for suppliers: You get the reach, but often you have to accept slimmer profits.

CAPS members are cautious about the drink maker. Although 82% believe it will outperform the broad market averages, its two-star CAPS rating suggests that they're not convinced Jones can be as effervescent as other drinks. Fill your glass on the Jones Soda CAPS page and let us know whether this Wal-Mart deal will help it bubble up to the top.

Does it compute?
The demand for OLED displays is such that manufacturers Universal Display, DuPont (NYSE: DD  ) , Sony, and Samsung can barely keep up. There's an incredible shortage right now, as cell-phone handset manufacturers have consumed all there is and want more still.

Cost is the main culprit in preventing OLED screens from making the leap from the small screen to bigger TV displays. DuPont, which has cross-licensing agreements in place with Universal Display for making solution-processed OLED displays, is working on lowering the price to make it affordable. A Sony-marketed 11-inch screen currently costs upwards of $2,000.

With demand high, supplies low, and no end in sight, I'd hazard a guess that we'll see companies investing in more capacity very soon. Photolithography laser maker Cymer (Nasdaq: CYMI  ) , for example, recently announced that it's rolling out OLED technology for a large Korean display maker. As more companies get in on the act, prices should come down.

Highly rated CAPS All-Star member TMFBreakerTAllan sees Universal Display being able to capitalize on all the products that will be coming to market: "Universal has slowly increased revenues from commercial sales and from developmental contracts over the past several years. I expect that slow increase to continue in the next few years, but when OLED tech becomes the defacto display for laptops, tablets, and netbooks, those revenues will explode."

Still feeling the aftershocks
Of more immediate interest for Neurocrine Biosciences are the positive results it received for its gynecological drug candidate elagolix. Mid-stage clinical trials showed that the therapy worked much better than a placebo did at reducing pain during menstruation, and non-menstrual pelvic pain related to endometriosis.

Earlier this year, analysts at Piper Jaffray suggested that if Neurocrine could show just such positive outcomes, it had a big chance to sign up a licensing partner that could mean big bucks, given that the market for these treatments exceeded $1 billion.

More than 90% of CAPS members rating Neurocrine Biosciences think it will outperform the market, so it seems the investment community was counting on the biotech to come through. Let us know on the Neurocrine Biosciences CAPS page how it will fare on the next stage of its growth story.

Shake, rattle, and roll
With all these stocks shaking the market this past month, it pays to start your own research on them at 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.

The Steve Jobs Betrayal
You may already know that in the final year of his life, Jobs revealed a stunning betrayal — and told his biographer, "I will spend my last dying breath... and every penny of Apple's $40 billion in the bank to right this wrong." What was it that made Jobs so irate — and why could it make a few in-the-know investors some major profits over the coming months and years?

Enter your email address below to find out what made Jobs so enraged!

Coca-Cola and Wal-Mart Stores are Motley Fool Inside Value selections. Universal Display is a Motley Fool Rule Breakers recommendation. Coca-Cola is a Motley Fool Income Investor pick. The Fool owns shares of Coca-Cola. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days.

Fool contributor Rich Duprey has no financial position in any of the stocks mentioned in this article. You can see his holdings. You can shake, rattle, and roll The Motley Fool's disclosure policy, but it still won't break.


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Related Tickers

5/25/2012 4:00 PM
PANL $29.87 Up +0.07 +0.23%
Universal Display CAPS Rating: ***
NBIX $6.50 Up +0.02 +0.31%
Neurocrine Bioscie… CAPS Rating: **
JSDA $0.35 Down +0.00 +0.00%
Jones Soda CAPS Rating: **
DD $48.40 Down -0.26 -0.53%
E.I. du Pont de Ne… CAPS Rating: ****
CYMI $53.30 Down -0.08 -0.15%
Cymer, Inc. CAPS Rating: ***

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