Watch out, Fool! Black Friday is upon us!
Actually, it's not that bad. The day after Thanksgiving traditionally marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season, and it's one of the busiest shopping days of the year. The "Black Friday" nickname might be rooted in stress about large traffic volume or the (possibly mistaken) belief that it's the day retailers finally move to profitability after being in the "red" all year. Wherever it comes from, though, the name is here to stay, and that gives us a chance to present you with some ideas for your portfolio shopping (if not for your gift shopping).
This is where Motley Fool CAPS comes in. CAPS is our community-intelligence stock database, where more than 75,000 investors have given their opinions on all the stocks we could think of and some we couldn't -- more than 5,200 of them in all. CAPS takes those opinions and uses a secret algorithm (which involves at least one saber-toothed tiger -- don't ask) to rate the stocks from best (five stars) to worst (one star).
In the spirit of bargain hunting, we ran a screen to find some highly rated stocks that are on sale right now. We wanted:
- High-quality four- or five-star CAPS companies ...
- ... with a market cap of at least $500 million, for some meat on the bones ...
- ... and they definitely had to be on sale (fallen in price since last year).
We took the results, fed that tiger, and chose some for your consideration. That's where you come in: to help us vet out the best Black Friday bargain.
Is the best one Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS)? Fellow Fool Anders Bylund argues that it is, because by whatever metric he chooses, he comes up with a valuation considerably higher than where the stock is currently trading.
Or possibly the best deal can be found at Mexican cement producer Cemex (NYSE:CX). Is it being unduly punished by the U.S. housing-market woes?
Then there's ViroPharma (NASDAQ:VPHM), which sells antibiotic Vancocin and has run into some trouble with tests for a new drug to treat hepatitis C. This could spell opportunity, argues fellow Fool Brian Lawler.
Then again, the best stock might be Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM), which could have a bigger moat than previously realized, according to Tim Beyers. Warren Buffett would be so proud. He could also be proud of Tata Motors (NYSE:TTM), the Indian automaker that dominates that market and is coming out with an inexpensive car to make its own moat a bit deeper.
Take a break from your holiday gift shopping, step away from the crowds, and spend some time reviewing some Black Friday bargain stocks with us here at the Fool. And when you're finished, stop by CAPS to give us your opinion. Doing so is easy and free. (What better bargain are you going to find?) Tell us whether Disney, Portfolio Recovery (NASDAQ:PRAA), or American Eagle (NYSE:AEO) -- or any of the other stocks we're featuring -- will do well, or whether they'll tumble and fall. We'll tally up the votes and declare the winner on Monday.
Happy Thanksgiving, and happy Black Friday, from all of us at the Fool!
Black Friday Bargain Stocks:
- Akamai Technologies
- American Eagle
- American Reprographics
- Cemex
- Disney
- Dr. Reddy's Laboratories
- Portfolio Recovery Associates
- RC2
- Tata Motors
- ViroPharma
- Volcom
- Zumiez
Looking for Black Friday leftovers? Fools are discussing holiday promotions at your local retailers, so shop 'til you drop with these stories:
