10 Stocks to Shake the Market

Some stocks are one-hit wonders, making a big splash when they first appear, then quickly fizzling into obscurity or oblivion. But for other stocks, that initial big move is only a preview for even bigger and better gains to come.

Today, we've compiled 10 stocks that made some of the biggest upward moves over the past month. We'll then pair that list with the ratings issued by our Motley Fool CAPS community. The higher each stock's rating, the greater CAPS members' faith in that company's ability to keep on beating the market.

With half of the stocks carrying average or better ratings, let's see why the CAPS community thinks any of these might outperform the market.

A new lease on life
The near-death experience that had Sunrise Senior Living anticipating a bankruptcy filing was buried when the assisted living facility operator renegotiated debt agreements with its lenders. In addition to sparing its creditors the need to advance any more money to the company, Sunrise Senior Living also removed virtually all financial covenants, other than minimum liquidity tests. That was enough to revive investors' confidence and send the company's shares soaring to new heights.

Top-rated CAPS All-Star bradford86 approves of the new agreement: "All said and done the tight restrictions leave no chance for the management to wiggle and hence the rights of the shareholders and the bond holders will be protected and enhanced."

It's not the years, it's the mileage
Bankruptcy concerns following the implosion of Detroit's automakers drove shares of Avis Budget Group and Hertz dramatically lower, and both companies' pandering for a government bailout probably didn't help. The argument that Avis and Hertz are big fleet purchasers of cars from the Big Three automakers (thus, helping them would help Detroit) seems to have found few takers.

Yet the government's reengineering of Chrysler and GM could ultimately save Avis. CAPS member Controverzy believes that despite its financial woes, Avis could still yield gains for investors:

This is the number 2 [public car rental] company in the world,.. Still a bargain at the current price as the eventual recession will pass like others and the stock will return to the $5.00 mark by years end is my prediction on it. Currently the car market and the big 3 are still dragging on the rebound for the rental companies and there are gains to be made.

Shake, rattle, and roll
It pays to start your own research on these market-shaking stocks at Motley Fool CAPS. Read a company's financial reports, scrutinize key data and charts, and examine the comments your fellow investors have made, all from a stock's CAPS page.