In late July, The Motley Fool started our "11 O'Clock Stock" series that challenged our analysts to pick 50 stocks across 50 days. While we're only a short way into watching this group of stocks that we think will be long-term winners, many of the stocks have already seen impressive gains while others have seen setbacks.
In this column, we're going to drill into a couple of stocks outperforming, and one that's been lagging. Then we'll check in with recent news on some portfolio stocks.
2 stocks exploding
When Inside Value analyst Andy Louis-Charles selected Vistaprint
Special Ops
analyst Toby Shute went digging into the oil patch this summer at a time when lingering fears over BP's Deepwater Horizon disaster continued to weigh down share prices of exploration and production (E&P) companies. From his research, Shute recommended Contango Oil & Gas
- Click here to see Vistaprint's buy recommendation.
- Click here to see Contango's buy recommendation.
1 stock faltering
While Microsoft
Still, Microsoft keeps one of the healthiest balance sheets in the world and has returned $170 billion to shareholders in the last decade through dividend and share buybacks. Its grip on enterprise spending remains strong. The company might look about as sexy as Bill Gates in a Speedo right now, but for investors seeking safety and accelerating dividends, Microsoft fits the bill. Or, if you're leery of Microsoft's prospects going forward, consider fellow 11 O'Clock Stock buy recommendation IBM
- Click here to see Microsoft's buy recommendation.
2 Stocks in focus
- Shipper Seaspan
encountered some choppy waters after its last quarterly earnings were released, and the stock took a dive after a consistent run-up that had continued since early July. While the market might not have been impressed, it was more of the same for Seaspan: utilization rates approaching 100% and strong revenues and cash flow. That's the kind of boring "more of the same" we love to see at the Fool. Seaspan remains in a build-out phase that should be completed in 2012, and unless the stock runs up to unreasonable levels or something drastic and unforeseen happens, Seaspan will stay in the "buy" column until then.(NYSE: SSW) - While Ultra Petroleum
was recommended as a play for patient investors waiting for an impending supply and demand correction to bring natural gas prices higher, investors who took the advice to buy the natural gas company have been healthily rewarded with short-term gains in recent weeks. Picking the market's brain on this rise could prove pointless, as natural gas prices remain low and Ultra Petroleum's recent quarter appeared to be business as usual. However, for long-term investors looking for a well-run natural gas company with some of the lowest production costs in the industry, Ultra Petroleum still looks like a solid buy.(NYSE: UPL)
If you're interested in seeing more selections from our "11 O'Clock Stock" series, we've put together a special report highlighting five of our top ideas from the series -- with two extra bonus picks for free. You can get access to the report by clicking here now.