Should You Buy These Stocks Now?

Some stocks simply have such great potential that "everyone" knows they're a good buy today. Yeah, right.

If we had known in advance that Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) would return over 2,300% over the past decade, we'd have mortgaged our house on it -- and yours, too! It's easy to see which companies have been winning investments after the fact. We need to know beforehand which stocks will grow hundreds or thousands of percent in value over the years.

That's where Motley Fool CAPS comes in.

The more than 99,000 professional and novice investors in CAPS rarely agree on a stock's prospects. Motley Fool Hidden Gems recommendation Buffalo Wild Wings (Nasdaq: BWLD) is a well-respected, top-rated stock, but 225 of the more than 4,300 CAPS players to rate it still believe it will underperform the market.

So when you come across a stock that everyone on CAPS thinks will outperform, you've got something special. Here are a handful of those "obvious" investments.

As always, none of these companies should be considered formal recommendations -- these names are offered as starting points for further research. We've used CAPS to find them and lighten your workload.

Now that's a gas!
Is there any part of our daily routines that doesn't have some sort of electronic component in it? From mobile phones and desktop computers to engine control panels and video games, sockets, connectors, and antennae are all needed. Molex, the world's second largest manufacturer of these products, has a hand in powering our world, and it's a good bet you probably use one or more of its products.

The cell-phone business in the U.S. has hit a rough spot, particularly for Motorola (NYSE: MOT), which is planning to spin off the division next year as it has witnessed a 39% decline in sales this quarter. But worldwide demand has Molex seeing it as a growth industry, specifically in China. With Nokia (NYSE: NOK) chomping at the bit to grab hold of much of Motorola's North American market, Molex -- which counts both companies as customers -- will gain no matter which one wins.

Molex sees the telecom markets pushing to download video to handsets, especially as the summer Olympics come up. Certainly for the next few quarters, that is where it is expecting demand to rise.

The electronics components maker has two classes of shares, and it's the Class A that the CAPS community endorses. Molex has received the support of about 83% of the investors who, like CAPS investor MercuryGS, perceive the company as having put in place the restructuring necessary to get its business moving again.

Molex is taking the steps necessary to be a first-rate player in the global market with their new global strategy. After the first year of learning to think globally, Key Divisions are showing great improvement. They are also downsizing where necessary and where the global structure have made many jobs redundant.

Let's hear from you
How about your take on these or other "obvious" winning investments? Is this a chance to dig deep with your portfolio to expand to the next "buy-now" stock?  If you want to add your 2 cents, sign up to join the Motley Fool CAPS community, which is 100% free.