Get Ready for the Bounce: Nasdaq Edition

"Don't catch a falling knife," sayeth the sage. The idea of buying a former superstar stock at a discount price certainly has its attractions, but you have to make sure you catch the haft -- not the blade.

For the second time today, we're upending Mr. Market's kitchen drawers and watching the knives tumble. We've already sifted through the silverware on the NYSE. Now it's time to take a stab (pardon the pun) at bargain hunting on the Nazz. As always, our guides in this endeavor are twain -- we start with the latest "New 52-Week Lows" list at WSJ.com, and then we crunch the numbers on investor sentiment at Motley Fool CAPS:

Companies are selected from the "New 52-Week Lows" list published on WSJ.com on the Saturday following close of trading last week. Recent price and 52-week high from Yahoo! Finance. CAPS ratings from Motley Fool CAPS.

Mr. Market's madcap mayhem
They're at it again, folks. By the close of trading Friday, dozens of stocks on both the Nasdaq and NYSE ended the day at 52-week lows. Meanwhile, according to WSJ.com, more than a hundred of each exchange's finest companies touched new lows at some point during the day. They bobbed and weaved, zigged and zagged, but they ultimately eluded new annual lows by day's end.

In this regard, at least, last week wasn't as bad as the week before, but one thing's certain: We're not clear of this mess just yet.

Time to hunt some turkeys
In previous "Bounce" columns over the past few weeks, I've described this situation as a turkey shoot. You can't pull the trigger in any direction without bagging something attractive. Why, just take a gander at the table above -- five stocks selling near 52-week lows, and four stocks that CAPS members would love to own at these prices.

Top honors go to Ceragon Networks -- the Israeli "wireless backhaul technology provider," the contractor for Nokia (NYSE:NOK) and Siemens (NYSE:SI), and, of course, the Motley Fool Hidden Gems pick.

But is this particular turkey fowl or foul? Read what our CAPS members think, and then you be the judge.

The bull case for Ceragon Networks

CAPS member pw1623 introduced us to this company back in March:

Ceragon Networks ... serve a small niche market which does not have many other players in it. Basically there is no way around the technology they provide, which in turn makes them nonexpendable. Also, as we venture further into WiFi technology I believe they will be a huge player in establishing those networks. Quality company at a cheap price.

Note, however, that although pw1623 sees little competition, Ceragon itself lists telecom heavyweights such as Motorola (NYSE:MOT) and Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE:ALU) among its rivals.

Regardless, CAPS All-Star denalisbestfrien agrees with pw1623:

I travel quite a bit and everywhere I go I see people staring and tapping little devices. This is a growing trend that people will access the internet through portable devices. Ceragon supplies that trend with wireless backhauling.

And so far, so good. As CubanGiants informed us in March: "This company has been piling up the new contracts to develop the backend upgrades to cell networks. Sooner or later these contract wins, revenue, and the stock market will uptrend into a perfect storm for this company to outperform other tech investment options." 

It's easy to see what has Fools so enthused about Ceragon. At first glance, the company looks just wildly undervalued. I mean, seriously -- a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.6 on a stock expected to grow at 24% per year over the next five years? What's up with that?

Not much. Look down instead.
Unfortunately for Ceragon shareholders, the better question is "What's the down-low on Ceragon?"

This company has a dirty little secret. Although its P/E looks gorgeous, its free cash flow has been nonexistent for more than a decade, and it appears to have taken a major tumble in the past year. While Ceragon reported $27.4 million in net income over the past four quarters, its cash flow statement shows a cash burn of almost $20 million.

Sure, Ceragon has ample cash in the bank, tens of millions in long-term investments, and no long-term debt. All this tells me is that Ceragon can handle the cash burn and isn't going away any time soon. But neither is it producing any greenbacks, and for that reason, I'm not interested.

In this market, there are just too many better opportunities to waste time on this one.

Time to chime in
Of course, the aim of this column isn't just to tell you what I think about Ceragon Networks -- or even what other CAPS players are saying. We really want to hear your thoughts. Head on over to Motley Fool CAPS, and tell us what you think.

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