3 Top Stocks at Half Price

You love buying your shirts when they go on sale. And who can resist a buy-one-get-one-free offer? So when our stocks go on sale, why do we bemoan their low prices?

Smart investors like Warren Buffett or Marty Whitman love it when their stocks are suddenly selling at bargain-basement prices. For them, these companies become no-brainer buys.

The investors in the Motley Fool CAPS community also like a bargain, apparently. Below, you'll find three companies whose shares are selling at least 50% below their 52-week highs, but which still earn high honors from our investor-intelligence database. Consider it a BOGO sale on stocks.

Naturally, we want you to look a bit closer at these stocks before buying. You can get low-priced appliances in the dent-and-ding section of your home-remodeling superstore, but their quality might not be so good. Same thing here: Make sure there's nothing seriously wrong with the company before you plug it into your portfolio.

Take two, they're small
Investors seeking an international component in their portfolio might want to think about more than what's on the other side of the Great Wall. The International Monetary Fund estimates that the Indian economy will grow by 8.75% this year, followed by 8.5% growth next year. That might not be the same red-hot expansion China's forecast to enjoy, but it's nothing to sneeze at, either. Furthermore, telecom could be a promising sector within this market. India has been holding a series of auctions this month for its 3G and broadband airwaves.

Although the big telcos seem to have bid up the 3G networks to what looks like irrational levels, reaching almost $1.8 billion for a pan-India license, local telecom services provider Tata Communications is looking to bid on the broadband wireless spectrum, whose auctions start two days after the close of the 3G auctions. Since it'll be competing against international carrier Qwest Communications (NYSE: Q), Tata needs to ensure it doesn't end up with a balance-sheet-busting bid.

Even if it doesn't ultimately win, Tata has been laying the groundwork for growth by expanding its presence in Asia, laying subsea cables that will connect Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and the coast of Africa.

CAPS All-Star member scottgeiger thinks Tata's international investments will enable it to grow:

Long term play. [Tata Communications] has been steadily extending its presence in developing countries. Will be well positioned for future growth.

Going into reverse
China's so-called economic miracle isn't trickling down to all corners of its economy. Manufacturing and natural-resource companies may get the headlines, but other businesses aren't seeing the same kind of returns.

Nutritional supplement maker Tiens Biotech Group USA, for instance, recorded a 20% drop in revenues in 2009, causing a 17% drop in profits. Even traditional Chinese medicine specialists American Oriental Bioengineering (NYSE: AOB) and Tianyin Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: TPI) weren't able to meet analysts' expectations for growth last quarter.

Real estate growth is expanding beyond the confines of the major Tier I cities into the second and third tiers, clearly benefiting real estate developers that target those areas, like Xinyuan Real Estate and China Housing & Land Development (Nasdaq: CHLN). However, real estate's rapid expansion still leaves some observers wondering whether the Chinese market is in the midst of a bubble.

Even with the restrictions the government is imposing on real estate speculation -- including cracking down on loans to those who would buy three or more houses -- CAPS member cashkid79 says China's housing market remains a strong play. Apparently, the CAPS community agrees, with 97% of those who've rated the company believing that Xinyuan Real Estate will outperform the market.

Similarly, only 6% of those rating the Chinese nutritional supplement company Tiens think it won't be able to beat the broader market averages. On the Tiens Biotech Group USA CAPS page, you can tell us whether you think the Chinese economy is one developing into a group of haves and have-nots.

Have half a mind
Sign up today for the completely free CAPS service, and tell us whether these stocks are twice as good at half the price.