10 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 of even bigger and better gains to come.

Today, we've compiled 10 stocks that made some of the biggest upward moves over the past month. We'll then pair that list 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.

30-day % change from Oct. 16 to Nov. 16.

As the markets whipsaw to changes in consumer sentiment, there will be weeks like this one, in which we see gains that are exceptionally ahead of the pace of the movers and shakers of prior weeks. 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
Silver miner Hecla Mining struck a rich vein earlier this month, blowing past analyst revenue estimates by more than 38%. Hecla recorded revenues of $95 million compared to the Street's expectation of just $69 million as its acquisition of Greens Creek mine -- the fifth-largest silver mine in the world -- from Rio Tinto (NYSE:RTP) last year doubled its production of silver and tripled zinc production. Hecla also has some very low cash costs of just $0.85 per ounce.

According to CAPS member flywest, the company has fundamentals in place that warrant Hecla trading at much higher valuations. Meanwhile, flywest argues, macroeconomic forces will ultimately cause silver itself to soar:

I simply believe the fundamentals justify a much higher price $7 based on no debt, better than projected metal quality, cost of mining silver from the ground now below $3/oz. Meanwhile the USG is printing money like its going out of style. This is a recipe for a dollar disaster. Precious metal will rocket. HL will move much higher.

The seeds of doubt?
Origin Agritech may have doubled in value over the past month, but that's not what's causing us to take notice; rather, it's that its price doubled yesterday. The Chinese maker of genetically modified seeds said on Saturday that it received government approval for the commercial sale of the first genetically modified phytase corn, which will allow farmers to save time, money, and labor. Currently, they physically mix a phytase additive with corn feed to help break down phytic acid, but the seed will allow them to forego this process.

It's a big step forward for Origin, but does that justify it doubling in value in one day? Equally important, will it maintain those lofty levels? It was a year and a half ago that I laid out a short case for Origin Agritech by noting the many hurdles it had to clear, as well as the potential for a backlash from its genetically modified seeds. While the stock did subsequently plunge in value afterwards, I'm not convinced its current price can be sustained. Many of those same factors I listed back then remain in place today, and it will be competing against Monsanto (NYSE:MON), one of the leading producers of GM corn seeds.

China will consume some 158 million metric tons of corn this year, according to the USDA, but will produce more than 165 million. Even if output falls to 151 million metric tons next year as expected due to severe drought conditions, there is a large carryover inventory that will need to be worked through first. With Origin Agritech saying only a limited amount of seed will be available for farmers in 2010, this development is not bound to be a bumper crop just yet.

A few highly rated CAPS All-Stars remain unimpressed by the pop in Origin's share price and mark it to underperform as a result, but AxIt thinks Chinese demographics ultimately makes it a long-term winner: "High productivity genetic modified corn approved in China. Will be part of the program to feed the ever increasing population there."

On CAPS, I've also marked the seed maker to underperform the broader market averages, because I believe it will take some time for the new seed to have any impact on the company's bottom line. I invite you to head over to Origin Agritech's CAPS page to add your thoughts on how this development modifies its future.

Shake, rattle, and roll
These stocks have been shaking the market this past month, and 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.