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.
Apparently, the investors in the Motley Fool CAPS community also like a bargain. Below, you'll find three companies whose shares are selling at least 50% below their 52-week highs, but still earn high honors from our investor-intelligence database. Consider it a BOGO sale on stocks.
|
Stock
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CAPS Rating
(out of 5)
|
% Off 12-Month High
|
|
China Natural Gas (Nasdaq: CHNG )
|
****
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53.4%
|
|
TeleCommunication Systems (Nasdaq: TSYS )
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****
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55.3%
|
|
Telestone Technologies (Nasdaq: TSTC )
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****
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60.1%
|
Source: CAPS.
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
China Natural Gas is completing the first phase of its new liquefied natural gas facility just in time. Management expects the project to be done by the end of this month; it will have production capacity of 500,000 cubic meters per day, or 150 million cubic meters per year.
Why is it good timing? Well, China announced today that it plans to double the use of natural gas in its energy consumption. Right now, it accounts for 4% of energy used in the country; it should grow to 8% in the next five years.
China Natural Gas's new plant is the first one that has been approved in the Shaanxi province. Its capital city, Xi'an, has been targeted for development, which is one of the reasons why General Steel (NYSE: GSI ) put the region's only fully integrated steel mill there. Like Clean Energy Fuels (Nasdaq: CLNE ) here at home, China Natural Gas is building a series of natural gas fueling stations across the country, so CAPS member Jdragon80 is bullish.
Natural gas will be huge in China and this company is small, but will continue to benefit from the overall trend. Their commitment to bringing on liquified natural gas transport and distribution assets will be a key to long term success.
A little private time
Mobile communications technology company TeleCommunication Systems is touting a new patent it earned for tracking multiple mobile communication devices. Although it hails the technology as a way for businesses and customers "to track and analyze location and time data associated with both themselves and related assets," I can't help but wonder whether there might be some resistance based on privacy concerns.
We see how Facebook has been pilloried for its lax adherence to its users' requests for privacy, and Google (Nasdaq: GOOG ) came under fire because its "Street View" project inadvertently collected data that could be used to obtain e-mail addresses, passwords, and bank account information. Tracking users of cell phones might not go over so well.
But CAPS member MoneyWorksforMe says TeleCommunication Systems has been the victim of the market's manic moods, and the price is a great entry point.
Buying now means a huge discount. This stock was trading higher in March 09 during the market low. It was pummeled over the last month or so, halving it's stock price. This is a typical market overreaction leading to an undervalued stock and a great investment opportunity. If this isn't its bottom, it is extremely close. Very limited downside risk, with large upside potential.
With friends like these
Another company piggybacking on the growth of mobile communications is Telestone Technologies. China's big three wireless giants are China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom (NYSE: CHU ) , whose 3G network expanded by more than a million users to more than 6.5 million in May. All of them have signed up with Telestone.
Telestone looks to capitalize on the rapid expansion of their 3G networks, with eventual deployment of 4G. Its network services and wireless fiber-optic distribution system are drawing hefty demand from the telecom leaders, and Telestone is benefiting from government policies geared to grow their capabilities.
CAPS member edwjm wrote last month that the selloff in Telestone's stock was an opportunity to get a good price on a good company. Shares are a touch lower since then.
I am bottom fishing with Telestone Technologies Corp. ... The Company designs and sells to its customers electronic equipment used to provide wireless communications coverage. At the current price of $10.94, the p/e is about 12.
Have half a mind
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