9 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 nine 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 the stocks carrying the lowest one-star rating, let's see why the CAPS community thinks they might outperform the market.

A mighty temblor
Pharmaceuticals with deep pockets and a desire to replenish depleted drug pipelines have been on the prowl looking for promising biotech candidates. The purchase of Cougar Biotechnology by Johnson & Johnson perked up the ears of any number of possibilities, particularly those specializing in oncology.

Not surprisingly, OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals saw its shares bid up in the aftermath of positive phase 2 trials for its prostate cancer therapy. Its novel drug candidate OGX-011 reduced the risk of death 39% in advanced prostate cancer patients when it was used in conjunction with docetaxel -- a previously FDA-approved treatment -- than when using docetaxel alone. Investors no doubt were heartened by the results and OncoGenex's stated desire to find a partner to continue funding the next stage of study.

And funding it needs. With no revenues and just $9.4 million in cash, it will need to come up with new resources to go the next step. The elevated share price and good phase 2 news will certainly help with a secondary offering should it decide to pursue that route, though at a cost to current shareholders.

Before breaking out your checkbook to sign up for new shares, though, you might want to first consider what the probability is that it will come out the other side of phase 3 trials in as good shape and ready for the market. OncoGenex's inflated valuation has brought out some commentary from some of the CAPS community's best members.

Top-rated CAPS All-Star UltraLong finds the history of tiny biotechs rocketing to stardom on promising phase 2 trials, only to dramatically crash and burn at phase 3, a long and sorry one. This investor is not moved by the potential of the therapy either and believes the dilution resulting from any secondary offering would be overly burdensome:

They only have 9.4M dollars in cash remaining and they are burning roughly $925,000 per month. Can we say impending secondary because I sure as hell can! I wouldn't be shocked to see their outstanding shares increase by 50% within the next week. I also wouldn't be surprised to see a secondary offered at 15-20% below current market values.

So we had Phase II drug data out and it looked promising. I think I've heard that now 300 and yada yada times in my life to see Phase III trials turn out negative. RARELY has a Phase II run up like this ever held in the biotech space. I can count on one hand out of 300-400 times where this has happened and held.

The ASCO conference is over, the real earnings of this company (or lack thereof) are in the forefront, and Phase III trials are still months off. OGXI has to deal with raising cash and minimizing the losing of that cash if it hopes to even remain a viable company. Until then, short, short away! The only danger here is with only 5.5M shares outstanding, a short squeeze is possible though highly improbable at these inflated levels.

Shake, rattle, and roll
With these stocks shaking the market this past month it pays to start your own research on them 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.