Wall Street's Wish List

"Actions speak louder than words."

It's an old saying, with more than a grain of truth to it, I'll warrant. So why is it that when the Wall Street firms merely "initiate coverage" or "upgrade" their ratings on a company, that gets all the news coverage? After all, those are only words, when what really matters is how the big boys act. Luckily for Wall Street watchers, finding out which professionals put their money where their corporate mouthpieces are has become relatively easy in this Internet age of ours. All we have to do is read MSN Money's list of which companies the Street is most actively buying.

But once we've done that, what next? After all, "Monkey see, monkey do" may not make for the soundest of investment strategies. That's where Motley Fool CAPS can help. The Fool's newest venture into the realm of collective intelligence collects ratings from nearly 25,000 lay and professional analysts, then overweights the most successful raters' opinions to come up with a "CAPS rating" from one to five stars (five being the best). If Wall Street's buying and the smartest investors in Fooldom say they're right to do so, then that should get your attention.

And so, let's meet today's list of contenders:

Wall Street vs. Main Street
Main Street takes a skeptical view of Wall Street's darlings this week. On CAPS, the majority of the investment bankers' favorites receive below-average ratings from our raters. But in two cases, there's general agreement between lay and professional investors: lab operator Medtox Scientific and incontinence ameliorator Rochester Medical.

Ordinarily, I profile the highest-rated stock in this column -- in this case, Medtox. However, the pitches on that one aren't quite up to par, whereas investors have much more of substance to say about Rochester. So without further ado, let's proceed right away to review ...

... the bull case for Rochester Medical
Over at Motley Fool CAPS, a whopping 129 out of 134 of our fellow investors give Rochester the thumbs-up, including all but two of the All-Stars who have gone on record. Here's what these super-investors have to say about Rochester:

• FOOLBEFREE introduces us to the company as a play on the world's aging population: "Rochester makes and sells its own brand of catheters and incontinence care products in 70 countries." More important than mere demographics, though, is the fact that Rochester's products help to fight "hospital-acquired infections" by "embed[ding] antibiotics in [catheters]. The medicine seeps out slowly, killing pathogens in the urethra and bladder for up to 30 days. It's the only system of its kind."
• Think catheters are an unpleasant sort of business? Perhaps. But as fellow CAPS All-Star JiminyBillyBob observes, it's products that give many investors the willies that make Rochester a perfect "Peter Lynch type stock." And if you're not sure why, then review Chapter Eight of One Up on Wall Street, specifically, the section headed "There's Something Depressing About It."
• Moreover, burnt2acrisp confides that "Rochester Medical is finally starting to bring in a consistent revenue stream. With their line of personal catheters and a very independent but aging baby boom generation I like their chances."

Time to chime in
Convinced yet? Then join the crowd of Foolish investors singing Rochester's praises over on CAPS.

Not buying the party line? That's fine, too. All views are welcome on Motley Fool CAPS. Whether yours are ursine or bovine in nature, we're waiting to hear what you think about Rochester Medical. Click on over to CAPS, and tell us what you think.

Fool contributor Rich Smith does not own shares of any company named above. You can find him on CAPS, publicly pontificating under the handle TMFDitty, where he's currently ranked 67th out of more than 25,000 raters. The Fool has a disclosure policy.