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 125,000-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 two such stocks:

Company

Today’s Intraday Price

Industry

CAPS Rating (out of 5)

Fools Saying Outperform

Silicon Motion Technology Corp. (ADR) (NASDAQ:SIMO)

$1.95

Semiconductors and Semiconductor Equipment

5 Stars

731 of 747

Complete Production Services, Inc. (NYSE:CPX)

$2.66

Energy Equipment and Services

4 Stars

262 of 270

Source: Motley Fool CAPS, as of March 2, 2009.

Top-rated semiconductors and semiconductor equipment companies:

  • IXYS Corp (NASDAQ:IXYS): Stock price is 20% higher than last year.
  • Cypress Semiconductor Corp (NYSE:CY): Stock price is 10% higher than last year.

Top-rated hotels, restaurants and leisure companies:

  • Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM): Stock price is 25% lower than last year.

Join us on CAPS to learn more about these and countless other interesting stock ideas.