3 Stocks That Blew the Market Away

Every week, I take a look at a few companies that lapped their profit targets. Leaving Wall Street's pros with quizzical looks on their faces can be a good thing. It usually means that the companies have more in the tank than analysts figured, and capital appreciation often follows.

Let's take a look at a few companies that humbled the prognosticators over the past few trading days.

We can start with TiVo (Nasdaq: TIVO). The creator of the digital video recorder -- and a couch potato's favorite verb -- posted a record profit of $0.04 a share in its latest quarter. Wall Street was looking for TiVo to post a small loss. With margins improving as TiVo relies less on subsidizing its hardware and more on selling its high-def systems, the company is finally turning heads.

Shanda Interactive (Nasdaq: SNDA) is another topper. The Chinese online gaming giant earned $0.56 a share in the first quarter, or $0.60 a share on an adjusted basis. Analysts were expecting an adjusted profit of just $0.51 a share. Shanda's report came on the heels of several rivals like Perfect World (Nasdaq: PWRD), Giant Interactive (NYSE: GA), and The9 (Nasdaq: NCTY), which are also lapping profit targets.

Finally, we have Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) bouncing back with some good news. The computer maker's first-quarter income climbed by 12% to $0.38 a share. The market was expecting a bottom-line showing flat with last year's $0.34 a share.

Dell isn't out of the woods completely, though it was able to widen margins by eating away at its operating expenses. Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) has been doing this successfully for a couple of years now. It's good to know that Dell can still play that game.

So, keep watching the companies that lap expectations. Over time, it will be a rewarding experience for investors as the market rewards the overachievers. That's the kind of surprise we look for in the Rule Breakers newsletter service. Want in? Check out a 30-day trial subscription.

Either way, come back next Monday to learn about more stocks that blew the market away.