3 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 three 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.

1-month % change from Sept. 30 to Oct. 29.

As the markets whipsaw to changes in second-half economic performance, the S&P 500 has been volatile. 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
Imagine long-haul truckers driving goods cross-country, but constantly driving under the speed limit. Or planes taking a circuitous route to deliver a package. Or trains creeping across railroad crossings slower than you could walk (OK, they already seem to do that).

Then you have an idea of what ship companies are doing these days to combat the glut of ships on the high seas. According to the site Classic Boat, the 1860s clipper ship Cutty Sark traveled from Australia to Britain faster than today's modern container fleet because of a conscious "slow-steaming" effort to keep all the extra ships working and save costs. Earlier this year, The Journal of Commerce reported that shippers could save as much as $20 million annually on some routes by purposely sailing at less than full speed.

During the ship-building boom, shippers ordered more boats than they can use right now, and the dry bulk sector is undergoing a similar phenomenon. Global Ship Lease is one container shipper that will be taking possession of two new ships soon, adding to the 17 it already has, but it faces less risk from the glut than say Diana Shipping (NYSE: DSX) because all of its container ships are leased to one company, its former parent CMA CGM.

CAPS member tombilliodeaux says Global Ship Lease's new, larger fleet will give it the competitive edge to increase profits.

Increased fleet with income to cover for next 5 years. Expect dividend in 6mos to year and price to increase to over $5 if economy stays as is and steadily improves.

A sunny disposition
Fiber optics and solar power semiconductor components maker EMCORE has benefited from the rebound in the solar sector this year and even managed to significantly narrow its losses last quarter, reducing per-share losses from $0.09 to just $0.03. While it has reported annual losses for three years running, it now sees fourth-quarter revenues to increase 16% to 18% in both photovoltaics and fiber optics, with substantial positive cash flows generated from operations.

It's bucking the trend at other optical networking shops such as Oclaro (Nasdaq: OCLR) and JDS Uniphase (Nasdaq: JDSU), which are down big over the past month.

CAPS member StonedToTheBone thinks there's a simple equation behind EMCORE's relative outperformance: "below market + wireless + solid-state lighting = yes."

Follow along with EMCORE by adding the stock to your My Watchlist page and have all the Foolish news and analysis gathered together for you in one place.

A speedy opportunity
Having discussed SIGA Technologies' much-anticipated contract from the Department of Health and Human Services for antiviral smallpox drugs several times now, investors think I've closed the barn door a little early on PharmAthene (NYSE: PIP) winning a marketing contract lawsuit against SIGA. I'll admit that the lawyers on both sides will likely try to twist whether the two companies ever had a real merger agreement between them (or had agreed to agree), and calling one side the likely winner in the dispute was probably a bit premature.

Yet even if SIGA wins that case, it still faces a complaint placed with the Small Business Administration from privately held Chimerix, which objected to SIGA getting the contract because the contract was reserved for small businesses and it contends SIGA is not one. However, with just 55 employees, it seems difficult to believe SIGA won't fit the definition.

The CAPS community remains cautious about the biotech, with 30% rating it to underperform the broad market averages. Now if SIGA squashes Chimerix's protest and is able to make PharmAthene go away, the multibillion-dollar antiviral contract may have them changing their tune.

With uncertainty still surrounding the process, it's up to you to determine whether SIGA Technologies belongs in your own portfolio. Be sure to add it into the Fool's free portfolio tracker, My Watchlist.

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.