The CAPS Screen: 5 Stocks on a Roll

Finding the next big stock is both satisfying and profitable. Like Nirvana for those early on the grunge scene, or, in my case, Modest Mouse, it's even more rewarding if you can discover greatness before everyone else.

With that in mind, I used our new CAPS screening tool to find stocks with growing bullish sentiment. Following a screen similar to this one last year would have turned up Southern Copper (NYSE: PCU), netting you a 168% gain. Specifically, I looked for stocks whose CAPS ratings have risen in the last two months to four or five stars (out of five) from one, two, or three stars.

They also have:

• Market caps greater than $100 million.
• At least 200 active CAPS picks.

Remember, in the first year for which we have data, newly minted four-star companies crushed all other categories, with an average gain of 41%.                                                                                               

Company	Share Price	Sector	Market Cap
Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB)	$38.67	Consumer Goods	$13.95 billion
General Mills (NYSE: GIS)	$67.00	Consumer Goods	$22.39 billion
Take-Two Interactive (Nasdaq: TTWO)	$13.77	Technology	$1.07 billion
Direct TV Group (Nasdaq: DTV)	$23.15	Technology	$25.7 billion
Tractor Supply Co. (NYSE: TSCO)	$38.43	Services	$1.4 billion

Data from Motley Fool CAPS and Yahoo! Finance as of Oct 8. Screen period from Aug. 11 to Oct. 8.

Of course, screens are merely a first step in the stock selection process. After all, there's no long-term use in picking the next Chumbawamba. So come and join our 115,000-person-strong (and growing) Motley Fool CAPS community in finding the best up-and-comers.

For more Foolery:

• How I Tripled My Money in a Year
• Tomorrow's Monster Stocks
• The CAPS Screen: 10 Stocks Ready to Run