5 Stocks Shaking 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 listed five stocks that made some of the biggest upward moves over the past month, which we'll pair 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.

*From Feb. 5 to March 9.

As the markets whipsaw to changes in consumer sentiment, there will be weeks like this one when we see gains that are exceptionally ahead of the pace of the movers and shakers of prior weeks. So before we get shaken out again, let's see why the CAPS community thinks some of these companies might continue to outperform the market.

A mighty temblor
The big news at TiVo was winning a ruling which upheld the company's long-maintained position that the DVR software from EchoStar (Nasdaq: SATS) and Dish Network (Nasdaq: DISH) infringed on its patents. That will be worth at least $300 million to TiVo, and probably more, since the court also ruled Dish didn't fully comply with an injunction to disable the technology in its DVRs.

While the influx of cash is a welcome addition to the balance sheet, the business TiVo can ultimately garner as a result of having the premier technology may be the bigger win, setting it up as a possible acquisition candidate. As CAPS member jclawsonPHN notes, it'll be in a better bargaining position with customers. The biggest loser will be Dish, which indemnified EchoStar for all but $5 million in damages, according to researcher CreditSights.

Still feeling the aftershocks
Management at Strategic Hotels & Resorts highlighted the Four Seasons in Washington, D.C. in its fourth-quarter earnings call. It said the hotel's performance was helped by the addition of a new steakhouse, but I'm willing to wager Strategic Hotels & Resorts saw a 6% increase in total RevPar (Revenue per available room) there as a result of lobbyists descending on the capital to manipulate debate on health-care reform.

Regardless of the actual reason, management says we're probably at the trough of the down cycle, which might be true since the hotel operator has been on a tear since the lows of last March. However, if that forecast is correct, it would also find other hotel operators like Starwood Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: HOT) and Marriott (NYSE: MAR) looking at better times ahead, too.

Despite recent optimism, CAPS All-Star member TSIF isn't so sure, as he senses better deals from Strategic Hotels & Resorts' peers:

[Strategic Hotels & Resorts] is international and plays heavily into luxury hotels in North America and Europe. Half the stockholder equity has been wiped from the books in the last two years and the $1.6 Billion in Debt has become a burden that can't be fully serviced until a better return of the economy. From a long term perspective, [Strategic Hotels & Resorts] might come out ahead someday, but in the short term there is little chance of a restored dividend and losses will most likely continue for several more quarters, lagging the rest of the economy. [Strategic Hotels & Resorts] is in a better position than some of [its] peers, but there are others in much better condition.

A leaning tower
Even though commercial real estate lender iStar Financial beat analyst expectations for the fourth quarter, its losses still widened over the year-ago period, and CAPS All-Star UltraLong thinks investors who've shaken this stock have deluded themselves:

330 people long this??? Are we looking at the same stock here folks? Let's break this down to the point where you see that I-Star is a glorified Jenga, ready to crumble when the next report comes out. How many more $4-$8 yearly EPS losses can this company deal with. 4.2 BILLION dollars still in non-performing status, over 11 BILLION dollars in long-term debts with minimal cash. Net investment income down almost 60%! Absolutely no change basically in loss provisions going forward while revenues tick down at about 20% per year. These guys are terminal as far as I'm concerned so tell me, even if they could get 80% of value for their assets, is there anything left?

Be a star on the iStar Financial CAPS page and let us know whether you're one of those who thinks it will be shaking things up further.

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.