3 Stocks Shaking the Market

Some stocks are one-hit wonders, making a big splash when they first appear, then quickly fizzling into obscurity or oblivion. 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, which we'll pair with the ratings issued by 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)
US Airways (NYSE: LCC  )	47.2%	*
Cray (Nasdaq: CRAY  )	27.2%	***
Houston American Energy (Nasdaq: HUSA  )	25.5%	*

Source: CAPS; change from May 17 to June 16.

As the markets whipsaw to changes in consumer sentiment, there will be times like now where it's hard to believe anyone recorded a positive performance. 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
We don't need no stinkin' mergers to be profitable. So said US Airways CEO Doug Parker (OK, I paraphrase), who is happy flying solo and says the airline should turn a profit in the second quarter. Analysts have been looking for another big tie-up because United's parent UAL (NYSE: UAUA  ) agreed to hook up with Continental Airlines.

There's good reason for US Airways to go it alone, however. Business travel jumped 50% from the year ago period and revenue per passenger mile is up 30%. Oil prices are still a concern, not to mention conditions in Europe, but mainline traffic in May rose 1.8% to 5.2 billion revenue passenger miles. Airlines in general have taken wing this year.

As US Airways isn't interested in pursuing anyone, CAPS member EPS100Momentum thinks that makes it a target for a takeover.

CEO says 100% chance its not gonna merge with a smaller airline. That implies that LCC will be bought by one of the big 3. Would not be surprised if it happens soon because the rising eps estimates are causing LCC share price to rise. One of the Big 3 will pull the trigger sooner rather than later.

A speedy opportunity
Who says President Obama's stimulus program was a failure? Supercomputer maker Cray just received a $47 million contract from the Energy Department for an advanced climate modeling computer for NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory that's being paid for with stimulus money.

While Cray has been synonymous with supercomputers and came out on top of an biannual ranking of system suppliers using standard benchmark tests (a Chinese supercomputer came out on top using a different model), it's actually not the top supplier in the U.S. International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM  ) actually got the nod with Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ  ) coming in second.

Still the DOE contract provides some steady business for the computer maker. It will deliver the system later this year, deliver upgrades next year, and provides for additional enhancements in 2012.

CAPS member NKVD1938 thinks the drop the stock suffered as a result of a disappointing earnings report positions it for a strong come back.

This is a decent little computer company. ... They looked like they had a pretty good flow going as far as good news and announcements of new contracts and whatnot. Then it fell short of analysts expectations and got smacked around

He's looking for the company to get back on track now as it's showing signs of strength.

Still feeling the aftershocks
While the immediate fallout of the Gulf oil spill affects shrimpers and fisherman, President Obama's drilling moratorium could cause the entire region to suffer economically for a long, long time as deepwater rigs leave the Gulf.

Anadarko Petroleum announced it was cancelling drilling at three sites in response to the six-month moratorium, leaving the rigs from Transocean (NYSE: RIG  ) , Diamond Offshore, and Noble free to go elsewhere. And when the moratorium eventually expires the rigs might not be available. That could lead to the loss of thousands of jobs.

While the situation for Gulf drillers is constrained, exploration on land could become more attractive. Houston American Energy, an oil and gas exploration company in the onshore Gulf Coast region, may be one to find added interest in its operations as a result of the moratorium, though CAPS All-Star Beorn10 thinks there are still risks from an investment in Houston American.

If the gulf becomes off limits, then the company's South American projects may become more profitable given the decreased availability of domestic oil and the likely rise in oil prices. However, the potential windfall profits maybe captured by the South American countries if additional safety taxes are added to [Houston American's] production costs. This could be justified based on BP current problems.

Shake, rattle, and roll
With 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.