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.

Source: FinViz.com; one-month % change from April 1 to May 3.

While you were out, the market has plunged below the 12,000 level and soared back up, 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
A buyout offer featuring a 50% premium to its then stock price was what sent Kendle International soaring as the biotech clinical research shop agreed to be acquired by privately held INC Research for $15.25 a share.

The contract research market has had a rough go of it throughout the recession, and afterward as pharmaceuticals have been reluctant to open their purse strings very far. Kendle's been reporting consistent losses over the past few quarters, though Charles River Labs (NYSE: CRL) and Pharmaceutical Product Development have managed to turn a profit.

With pharmaceuticals needing to come up with new drugs as their current stable loses patent protection, they will eventually need to spend more. That's undoubtedly why 96% of the more than 230 CAPS members rating the contract research organization believed it would outperform the broad market averages.

While the deal for Kendle isn't expected to close until later this year, there doesn't seem to be any hurdles in its path that should stop it from going through. But you can still keep track of any developments by adding it to your watchlist.

Secure in the knowledge
There was nothing like a takeover offer to account for the steady rise in China-Biotics shares over the past month, other than maybe short-seller fatigue. The biotech has been the subject of allegations of fraud that have been directed at numerous Chinese reverse merger stocks. While trading has been halted on a number of them, including NIVS IntelliMedia Technologies (NYSE: NIV), ChinaMedia Express (Nasdaq: CCME), and others.

Citron Research, which has led many of the charges against the Chinese RTOs, notes that many of the stocks stopped trading in March because their audits were due and they couldn't meet the deadline. Next month a new round of audits comes up and China-Biotics is on that schedule. Whether it makes the cut-off date remains to be seen, but hope springs eternal and 80% of CAPS members rating the biotech believe it can outperform the broad market averages. However, they've also assigned it the lowest one-star rating, which means they believe there are much better places for you to put your money.

Add China-Biotics to the Fool's free portfolio tracker then head over to the China-Biotics CAPS page and inject your opinion into the debate.

Should I stay or go?
Although L&L Energy dropped hard after investigations were launched into fellow China coal miner Puda Coal (Nasdaq: PUDA), it was already on a downward spiral following questions regarding its own operations. But the bounce it's since enjoyed no doubt stems from the belief that Puda's problems are its own. L&L fell, bounced back up, and has since traded in a very tight range.

After all, Yanzhou Coal Mining hasn't been bothered by the charges, and investors like CAPS member staranalystkc believe L&L's management is an aboveboard team.

A well-managed coal operator with stellar board of directors and management team doing business in both U.S. and China. The company is taking once per century opportunities to consolidate valuable coal mines in south west China under cheap acquisition prices and huge revenue expansion potential.

Let us know your thoughts on its future on the L&L Energy CAPS page and by adding it to the Fool's free portfolio tracker.

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.