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 170,000 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.
^Score is how many percentage points that pick is beating the S&P 500 by.
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 of extreme buying opportunities.
In search of Bigfoot
Despite its concentration of oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico, there's every reason to believe ATP Oil & Gas will rise to new heights, even though its stock is up 50% over the past six months and has more than doubled from the low point it hit last June during the oil-spill crisis.
The Obama administration's "permitorium" has devastated numerous drillers in the Gulf, with Seahawk Drilling (Nasdaq: HAWK ) declaring bankruptcy last Friday, less than two years after it went public as a spinoff from Pride International. Seahawk had operated the second-largest fleet of jackup rigs in the Gulf, but announced it was selling its assets to Hercules Offshore (Nasdaq: HERO ) , which sent that driller's shares soaring.
With the Interior Department having been ruled in contempt of the court order lifting the drilling ban, there are a lot of reasons to believe ATP will have several permits approved this year, giving CAPS member MUST429 high hopes:
CAPEX Done, Plenty of reserve capitol, lots or proven reserves, production doubled from last year, all we need now is a permit or two, and this company will be a cash machine
Head over to the ATP Oil & Gas CAPS page and join others expressing their opinions on this CAPS favorite.
One big nuclear family
Demand for steel is broadening all around the globe. China is expected to generate a record of 660 million tonnes of crude steel this year and Tata Steel, India's largest steelmaker, expects European demand to increase 3% to 5% in 2011. Even here at home, U.S. Steel (NYSE: X ) sees enough growth, particularly in the energy industry, that it's expanding a tubular steel plant.
Graphite producer GrafTech International is likely to see its business pick up as a result of the need for steel. Its graphite electrodes allow steel mills to use electric arc furnaces to transform scrap steel into molten steel. GrafTech's industrial materials segment, which produces the graphite electrodes, saw revenue in the last four quarters jump 30% from the previous period.
Almost 98% of the CAPS members rating GrafTech look for it to beat the market, and all of the All-Stars weighing in on the graphite producer agree. You can follow its progress by adding GrafTech to the Fool's free portfolio tracker.
Can you hear me now?
Most people probably remember Iridium Communications as the spectacular satellite communications flameout of Motorola Mobility from over a decade ago, if they remember it at all. What they might not realize is that Iridium still exists and is in fact thriving, providing communications access in remote areas that cellular service can't reach. It's the No. 2 player, behind Inmarsat, but ahead of Globalstar (Nasdaq: GSAT ) .
Although the government is its largest customer and provided nearly a quarter of its revenue in 2009, Iridium is looking to the commercial market as its primary growth vehicle. CAPS member hbrown19 said that as the market looks for better communications alternatives, Iridium's constellation of 66 satellites will provide the beacon for them to follow:
With wireless communication busting at the seams, and the current tired infrastructure in need of some serious help, these guys are posed to be ready when the market demands more.
Add Iridium to your watchlist, then head over to the Iridium Communications CAPS page and dial up further insights on its future.
A chance for scary growth
It takes more than a few All-Star picks and a quick pitch to make buy or sell decisions, so start your own research on these stocks on Motley Fool CAPS and find other opportunities with monster potential.
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