10 Stocks Shaking the Market

Some stocks are one-hit wonders, making a big splash when they first appear, then quickly fizzling into obscurity. But for other stocks, that initial big move is only a preview of even better gains.

Today, we've listed 10 stocks that made some of the biggest moves up over the past 30 days. 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 Nov. 20 to Dec. 21.

As the markets whipsaw with changes in consumer sentiment, there will be weeks like this one when we see gains that are way ahead of the pace of the movers and shakers of previous 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
We hear a lot about the banks that are paying back their TARP money to get out from under restrictions on pay. Citigroup (NYSE:C) is even managing to hurt the taxpayer at the same time through a massive share-dilution scheme. Yet through it all, we're told the program is a success and that the banks paying back their loans is a sign of their strength.

What we don't hear enough about are the dozens of problem children that aren't paying back their loans. According to the Treasury, as of the latest due date for a dividend payment, in September, 46 banks had missed a payment, representing more than $75 million in dividends. Worse, like CIT Group, which was also a TARP payment deadbeat, they may eventually succumb altogether, making the taxpayers' "investment" in these banks worthless.

Among those smaller banks receiving TARP funds is First BanCorp, a regional outfit based in Puerto Rico that received $400 million, but has gone into arrears on the dividend. That makes it one of the largest recipients to miss a dividend payment to the government. Recently, Fitch Ratings downgraded FirstBanCorp's long-term issuer default rating over concerns about higher credit costs, a weak real estate market, and its tangible common equity ratio.

Yet investors got excited recently by a rumor that the company may be taken over by the Bank of Nova Scotia, which already owns a 10% stake in it. A Puerto Rican newspaper reported seeing the Canadian bank's executives at First BanCorp's offices, fanning the speculation that they were examining First BanCorp's books. Buying First BanCorp would make Bank of Nova Scotia the second-largest player in Puerto Rico.

CAPS member TSIF thinks First BanCorp's loan portfolio makes it a shaky investment candidate at best.

First BanCorp had some nice years, but Puerto Rico and the British Virgin Islands have suffered in this economic recession as well and the loan portfolio through its 194 branches looks to be even more doubtful than some of it's US only [brethren]. Banks are tricky to value. The 0.25 P/B and the $8.36 Book value make this one appear to have some potential, but the write downs and negative cash flow could signal even worse times ahead. I'm not clear how a bank with US, Puerto Rico AND the British Virgin Islands would [fare] under under the FDIC, but it appears that the $400 Million they received in TARP money back in January is already gone and First BanCorp, despite $20 Billion in deposits, missed it's dividend payment to the government.

You can deposit your opinion on the First BanCorp CAPS page, where 75% of the members rating the bank disagree with TSIF's assessment.

Shake, rattle, and roll
With these stocks shaking the market recently, 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.