When a stock hits a fresh low, it can either signal a dirt cheap dream stock or a dreadful stock to avoid. Separating the wheat from the chaff is difficult, but finding well-run companies at bargain-basement prices is a great way to accumulate a fortune over the long run.

With that in mind, we'll use the aggregate intelligence of the 115,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS to see what the community is saying about stocks hitting 52-week lows today. The community's approval (signified by four- and five-star ratings) could indicate that further research is in order.

Here are three such stocks:

Company

Today’s Intraday Price

Industry

CAPS Rating (out of 5)

Fools Saying Outperform

International Assets Holding Corp (NASDAQ:IAAC)

$16.88

Asset Management

3 Stars

358 of 376

Flamel Technologies S.A. (ADR) (NASDAQ:FLML)

$6.10

Drug Delivery

4 Stars

389 of 421

CPFL Energia S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:CPL)

$41.86

Foreign Utilities

5 Stars

530 of 536

Source: Motley Fool CAPS, as of Oct. 8, 2008.

Top-rated asset management companies:

  • Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. (NYSE:WHG): Stock price is 25% higher than last year.
  • American Physicians Service Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH): Stock price is 5% lower than last year.

Top-rated drug delivery companies:

  • Matrixx Initiatives, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTXX): Stock price is 20% lower than last year.
  • Alkermes, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALKS): Stock price is 38% lower than last year.

Join us on CAPS to learn more about these and countless other interesting stock ideas.
This article represents the opinion of the writer, who may disagree with the “official” recommendation position of a Motley Fool premium advisory service. We’re motley! Questioning an investing thesis -- even one of our own -- helps us all think critically about investing and make decisions that help us become smarter, happier, and richer.