Great Call on eBay! What's Next?

"Ugh" seems like it could be the best way to describe eBay's (NASDAQ:EBAY) recent performance -- particularly when it comes to its core auction business. But some analysts think that eBay's auction business could be poised to start ticking back up again. My fellow Fool Alex Dumortier also called out eBay recently as a stock that looks promising, even when stacked against the likes of Google, Amazon.com, and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL).

There are nearly 3,500 members of the Motley Fool's CAPS community who also have a positive outlook for eBay. But there is also a clutch of eBay bears, many of whom are very vocal about their dislike of the company's auction business. This group of eBay haters has helped keep the stock stuck in neutral with a three-star CAPS rating (out of a possible five).

Some CAPS members, however, have done quite well by being bullish on eBay. yak2081, for instance, one of the current score leaders on eBay, has racked up more than 35 points by giving the stock a thumbs-up back in March.

yak2081 is one of CAPS' All-Stars -- players with a rating of 80 or greater -- and has managed a stock-picking accuracy of 57% while racking up more than 2,100 points of outperformance. eBay isn't this player's only great call. Here's a look at a few of the other prescient picks:

Data from CAPS.

So what is this investor looking at these days? Here are a few of the most recent calls on CAPS:

Data from CAPS.

While not all of these picks may pan out, they could be a good place to start further research. I decided to take a closer look at Verizon.

Do you fear me now?
Yeah, yeah, we all know that AT&T (NYSE:T) has Apple's category-killing iPhone. Verizon doesn't. Nor is it yet to offer Palm's Pre (though it supposedly will in 2010). And yet Verizon's wireless segment continues to drive the company to new heights.

Why is that? Well, it appears that either the whole "can you hear me now" thing is either brilliant marketing that has convinced customers that carrier reliability is more important than the device, or the marketing push simply reflect the fact that customers put a lot of value on the network. Either way, there's good reason for other wireless carriers to fear the Goliath that is Verizon.

That's not to say that Verizon is a one-trick pony. The traditional wire-line telephone business at Verizon is both boring and contracting, but it's also not a stream of income that should dry up all at once. In the meantime, the company is building up the subscriber base for its broadband and TV offerings. FiOS -- Verizon's fiber optic network that delivers TV, high-speed data, and voice -- has raised a lot of eyebrows and could be a nice growth engine for Verizon in the future.

One of the many Verizon fans on CAPS, Polarimetric, gave the stock a thumbs-up back in October, and raved about the potential for FiOS:

Verizon has really gotten their act together lately. ... FiOS is huge and almost single-handedly responsible for the popularization of fiber optic technology. Fiber optic technology is increasing in popularity among those who need higher speed, and the prices are very decent as well. I believe that FiOS will continue to be a success moving forward, and they may pick up a few [Sprint (NYSE:S)] customers while Sprint implodes, too. They have been extremely aggressive in advertising of late and I think it will benefit them overall.

But here's the important question: What's your take on it? Will Verizon's wireless and fiber optic services propel the company and reward investors? Get in the action by clicking over to CAPS, it's absolutely free and already has more than 135,000 stock pickers chipping in to find the best stocks out there.

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