"Bull markets are born on pessimism, grow on skepticism, mature on optimism, and die on euphoria. The time of maximum pessimism is the best time to buy, and the time of maximum optimism is the best time to sell." -- Sir John Templeton

Just as it makes sense to research the stocks attracting top investors, it's equally important to figure out why smart money is leaving other investments. Using Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's 120,000-member-strong investing community, we can see which stocks are losing support from CAPS All-Star players.

A sudden decrease in interest from top-rated investors could signal that the stock is losing steam, which might make it an awful stock to avoid for now. At the very least, such drops should signal that further research is in order.

Here are seven stocks receiving less support from CAPS All-Stars over the past month:

Company

Industry

% Change in All-Star Bulls From 9/22 to 10/22

CAPS Rating (out of 5)

CAPS Research

Callon Petroleum Company (NYSE:CPE)

Independent Oil & Gas

(62%)

3 Stars CPE

ION Geophysical Corporation (NYSE:IO)

Scientific & Technical Instruments

(61%)

5 Stars IO

Aegean Marine Petroleum Network, Inc. (NYSE:ANW)

Basic Materials Wholesale

(60%)

3 Stars ANW

Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. (NYSE:ANR)

Industrial Metals & Minerals

(60%)

3 Stars ANR

Superior Energy Services, Inc. (NYSE:SPN)

Oil & Gas Equipment & Services

(58%)

5 Stars SPN

GulfMark Offshore, Inc. (NYSE:GLF)

Oil & Gas Equipment & Services

(57%)

5 Stars GLF

Bucyrus International, Inc. (NASDAQ:BUCY)

Farm & Construction Machinery

(56%)

4 Stars BUCY

Source: Motley Fool CAPS, as of Oct. 22, 2008.

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