3 Top Stocks at Half Price

You love buying your shirts when they go on sale. And who can resist a buy-one, get-one-free offer? So when our stocks go on sale, why do we bemoan their low prices?

Smart investors like Warren Buffett or Marty Whitman love it when their stocks are suddenly selling at bargain-basement prices. For them, these companies become no-brainer buys.

The investors in the Motley Fool CAPS community also like a bargain, apparently. Below, you'll find three companies whose shares are selling at least 50% below their 52-week highs, but which still earn high honors from our investor-intelligence database. Consider it a BOGO sale on stocks.

Naturally, we want you to look a bit closer at these stocks before buying. You can get low-priced appliances in the dent-and-ding section of your home-remodeling superstore, but their quality might not be so good. Same thing here: Make sure there's nothing seriously wrong with the company before you plug it into your portfolio.

Take two; they're small
FormFactor's MicroSpring technology was a disruptive tool even by the fast-moving standard in the semiconductor industry, leaving rivals like Kulicke & Soffa (Nasdaq: KLIC) flat-footed and wafer-test companies like Advantest (NYSE: ATE) without a way to compete.

But FormFactor couldn't manage expansion: There were problems at new manufacturing facilities. Management was caught off-guard, and customers desperately needing a product went elsewhere. Reacting to these adversities, FormFactor initiated a series of leadership changes that caused it to stall and then fall. While the new team in place today seems to have a clear roadmap before it, considering previous stumbles, it has to prove to investors that it's moving in the right direction.

Management has promised profitability in early 2011, but a lot will hinge on successfully selling its new SmartMatrix product line, as well as keeping its bread-and-butter DRAM business growing. Recapturing many of the customers lost while FormFactor struggled won't be easy.

Fortunately, debt has never been an issue with FormFactor; otherwise it may have succumbed sooner. As CAPS member TMFMMTInvestor notes, there's plenty of cash on hand.

FORM's cash short-term investments of $398 million (as of 6/30/10) are more than its current market capitalization of $385 million (@ $7.59/share). Zero debt. Pick of the Buffalo Small Cap (BUFSX) and Royce Value Plus (RYVPX) funds. I see limited downside in the near-term and out-performance over the next several years.

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

A reserve player
You can't just look at the top-line number at Joe's Jeans for the latest quarter and get a sense of where it's heading. The number of retail stores nearly tripled to 14 year over year, and while the company enjoyed a 23% increase in same-store sales, a lot of merchandise ended up having to be sold through its outlet distribution channel, cutting into margins.

As Coach (NYSE: COH) has shown, the appeal of luxury goods is decidedly not dead, but the premium denim market represented by Joe's, True Religion (Nasdaq: TRLG), and 7 for All Mankind needs to contend with the increase in commodities prices. Cotton is becoming more expensive, and if denim companies were having a rough go of it before, heading into the holidays having to raise prices doesn't bode well.

Yet nearly 98% of the more than 550 CAPS members rating Joe's Jeans think it will beat the market, no doubt, as PeyDaFool says, based on a quality product.

I've never once heard anyone say anything bad about the way Joe's Jeans look or fit on them. The only downside is the price of the jeans. People will pay for quality and, as the economy improves, people will look to Joe's as a provider of fashionable, sexy jeans that will increase their level of attractiveness. Let's be honest here, you can't put a price on that.

Getting left back
Because of the lumpy nature of the government contracts it receives, you can't make easy comparisons with TeleCommunication Systems numbers either, but a series of new orders from the Army is likely to boost its top line next quarter and for several quarters after that. CAPS member appleaddict thinks the company has the inside track on growth.

Secure communications are only to get more important. Between their capabilities and the CEOs connections, this story looks like it'll have a good ending.

Let us know what you're hearing on the company's CAPS page and follow its trajectory by adding it to your My Watchlist tracker.

Have half a mind
Sign up today for the completely free CAPS service and tell us whether these stocks are twice as good at half the price.