Tomorrow's Monster Stock

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 180,000 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.

CAPS Score = how many percentage points that pick is beating the S&P 500.

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.

Hiding in plain sight
As investors, we may well profit from the world's increasing focus on security. Security companies from American Science & Engineering to L-3 Communications and OSI Systems (Nasdaq: OSIS) all could gain. Each makes versions of both package and people scanners, and some think ASE may have the lead with its mobile Z Backscatter Vans, which, like airport screening devices, generate for some an uncomfortable level of detail. You can drive the van past the target (or the target can move past the van) and get a detailed photo of what's inside or being carried.

Over 1,000 CAPS members have weighed in on ASE, and 98% of them believe it will outperform the market average. Let us know in the comments section below or on the American Science & Engineering CAPS page whether you think the recent protests represent an opportunity for security companies, and add it to your watchlist to be notified of the latest developments.

Not so precious
I stand corrected. Investors in wireless specialist InterDigital took exception to my reporting that news service dealReporter had said the company had only been receiving bids in the $1 billion to $2 billion range -- below InterDigital's market cap at the time -- when it went shopping for a buyer. It was true, but it amounted to a huge disappointment considering there were expectations that bids might run in the range of the $4.5 billion a consortium of investors paid for bankrupt Nortel's patents and the $12.5 billion Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) shelled out for Motorola Mobility (NYSE: MMI).

It also turned out to be just half the story: dealReporter followed up by saying that the $1 billion to $2 billion was not for the whole company and there were actually multiple bidders, so that, like Nortel, a consortium might form to take out InterDigital at much higher valuations.

That helped InterDigital's stock recover from the slide it took after the original report, but it still trades 35% below the highs it hit after the Nortel price tag was announced and Google's blockbuster deal was announced.

Highly rated CAPS All-Star Calinvestments calls it "an arms race for patents," and believes that a company with InterDigital's track record should receive a premium offer.

InterDigital shares do not appear to be super overvalued. In other words, InterDigital is a pretty good company in its own right with the added bonus of potentially being bought out by Apple, Microsoft, or Samsung. It has been successful with its patent portfolio business by increasing both revenues and cash flow consistently year in and year out.

Add InterDigital to your watchlist and let us know in the comments section below what you think a reasonable offer would be.

Buckle up
The Eagle Ford shale formation has quickly become the next up-and-coming play, as everyone's starting to make deals in the space, which will likely work in Magnum Hunter Resources' favor for the short term. Magnum has the potential for more than 100 drilling locations in its Eagle Ford acreage, according to the company's website. Others think it's a big opportunity too, with Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) exciting many investors with its leadership in the Texas shale play even after it sold a third of its assets there to CNOOC, one of China's three government-owned oil and gas companies.

Of course, other hot areas like the Niobrara quicken the pulse of natural-gas drillers, though one shouldn't forget the Marcellus and Bakken, either. It's one of the reasons nat gas is being pushed as the alt fuel: It's so darn plentiful here.

With 93% of the CAPS members rating Magnum Hunter to beat Wall Street's expectations, it's clear they see the situation remaining unchanged for some time to come. Add the driller to the Fool's free portfolio tracker and tell us on the Magnum Hunter Resources CAPS page if you think it can continue to drill deep for gains.