A 1-in-100 Investor

The first 100 days in office set the tone for any new president. Similarly, Motley Fool CAPS keeps an eye on members who score 100 points of market outperformance on stock picks in their first 100 days. Here, we're looking at our All-Stars who made some of their best stock selections early on and seeing which ones they think will do best next.

One of our highest rated CAPS members is mordante, who sports a top 99.85 member rating. Below are a few of this top member's most recent stock selections and how they were rated.

Source: Motley Fool CAPS.
^Price when call was made. Current score is how many points a member is beating (lagging) the S&P 500 index from the time of the call.

Let's take a look at what other CAPS members are saying about these stocks, and whether they agree with this top player's assessment.

Degree of risk
The Obama administration recently announced that it would accept help from 12 countries in cleaning up BP's oil spill in the Gulf. The Dutch, for example, who apparently have sophisticated skimmers and dredging equipment, stood ready to deploy their ships back in April, but because of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 -- also known as the Jones Act, which restricts the activities of foreign vessels in U.S. waters -- were prevented from doing so. Whether they'll be allowed to operate within the three-mile limit proscribed by the Jones Act is still unclear. It is important to note that other countries, such as Canada and Norway, have already been helping with the BP mess.

Yet time could be running out -- Hurricane Alex is barreling down on the Gulf and work to secure the leak has been halted until the storm passes. BP and Royal Dutch Shell have evacuated their rigs and platforms, as has Marathon Oil. Several other oil companies, including Chevron and ConocoPhillips, have not.

What the storm will do to the oil pouring out of the well is anyone's guess, and while no one is predicting an ecological apocalypse from this hurricane, storm surges could push the oil into wetlands areas that haven't yet been affected.

As dismal at it all sounds, investors haven't given up on BP as a stock to buy. Perhaps thinking back to how ExxonMobil was crushed in the aftermath of the Valdez spill only to become a hugely profitable enterprise again later on, investors like WPThatcher suggest it's necessary to look further down the road:

Blood is in the streets. You'll be kicking yourself in five years if you don't do make this purchase. This stock has the $to handle legal and cleanup expenses.

Helix Energy Solutions got a boost earlier this month when BP contracted with the oil services firm for one of its tankers to process and offload crude oil. CAPS All-Star member TMFDeej believes Helix has the makings of a good investment not only because of the opportunities available to it in the Gulf, but also because of financial maneuverings that position it to report greater profits in the future:

[Helix Energy] has taken non-cash charges versus earnings of more than a billion and a half dollars. Now that these items have been substantially written down that's another billion plus dollars that the company can report as earnings in future quarters. That's enough to turn the quarterly loss that the company has reported over the past three reporting periods very positive.

Insurance policy
The spill is also impacting insurance companies. Montpelier Re affirmed it had a $20 million loss related to the Transocean Deepwater Horizon rig that was destroyed in the Gulf, while XL Capital (NYSE: XL) had a $30 million loss. Perhaps the hardest hit was Swiss Re with a $200 million charge. Look for insurance companies to reexamine their policies, and you can probably expect Transocean, Noble, and other drillers to face higher premiums in the future.

Despite the challenges facing Montpelier Re from naturally occurring disasters, investors remain upbeat about its future. Nearly 2,500 CAPS members have rated the reinsurer, and 96% of them believe it will outperform the broad market average.

Ensure your opinion is heard by heading over to the Montpelier Re CAPS page and letting us know your views.

A 1-in-100 opportunity
As hockey great Wayne Gretzky once noted, "You miss 100% of the shots you never take." At Motley Fool CAPS, every investor's opinion counts, and since it's free to sign up, why not use this opportunity to take your best shot?