3 Stocks Hitting Low Notes

When a stock hits a fresh low, it can either signal a dirt cheap dream stock or a dreadful stock to avoid. Separating the wheat from the chaff is difficult, but finding well-run companies at bargain-basement prices is a great way to accumulate a fortune over the long run.

With that in mind, we'll use the aggregate intelligence of the 110,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS to see what the community is saying about stocks hitting 52-week lows today. The community's approval (signified by four- and five-star ratings) could be a sign that further research is in order.

Here are three such stocks:

	Today’s Low	Industry	CAPS Rating (out of 5)	Fools Saying Outperform
VMware (NYSE: VMW)	$32.31	Computer software and services	***	1,267 of 1,402
ADC Telecommunications (Nasdaq: ADCT)	$35.05	Telecommunications	***	194 of 218
Ameren Corp (NYSE: AEE)	$39.85	Utilities	***	91 of 113

Source: Motley Fool CAPS, as of July 23, 2008.

Four- and Five-Star Computer Software and Services Companies
Oracle Corp (Nasdaq: ORCL): Up 4.8% in past year.
Smith Micro Software, Inc. (Nasdaq: SMSI): Stock price is 56.6% cheaper than last year.

Four- and Five-Star Utilities Companies
PPL Corp (NYSE: PPL): Up 3.7% in the past year.
Duke Energy Corp (NYSE: DUK): Up 1.3% in the past year.

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