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.

Source: FinViz.com; 1-month % change from March 8 to April 6.

While you were out, the market has plunged below the 12,000 level and soared back up, 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
Even with Travelzoo's shares now off their recent highs by about 10%, the online travel site has still offered investors incredible returns. The stock has tripled since October, and shares have quadrupled over the last 12 months. They really got a burst of speed with the hullabaloo surrounding Groupon and the $25 billion valuation analysts pegged it at.

Yet Travelzoo was seen as a Groupon wannabe last year when it launched its Local Deals service. With an annual report released last month showing the travel site's Asian business as a source of tremendous growth, the potential for even greater gains was too much to ignore. Other travel sites, like online agents Expedia (Nasdaq: EXPE) and priceline.com (Nasdaq: PCLN) are counting on Asia to bolster slack growth in Europe and the U.S.

CAPS member kevhead64 says now that the cat's out of the bag regarding Travelzoo, it will surge even higher:

TZOO is the best kept secret in the travel industry. Now making a play at the local level [a la] groupon. This thing is going to explode.

Take a trip to the Travelzoo CAPS page and let us know whether the stock has simply come too far, too fast, or it's just pausing before the next leg higher.

Secure in the knowledge
Shelling out $6.5 billion for National Semiconductor, Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) is betting it can swing a turnaround at the analog chip maker. But thanks to TI's deep pockets, rival companies in the analog chip industry got pushed higher too, including Intersil and ON Semiconductor (Nasdaq: ONNN).

While the analog sector isn't dead, it's tough to ignore the premium TI was willing to pay for its lagging competitor. Shelling out $25 a stub for a stock that was going for just $14 at the time represents an incredible markup in value, a 78% premium in fact. The deal will give TI ownership of half of the analog market. That's certainly something to pay up for since it ought to give TI a decent return on its investment, but it still seems it could have had the same result for a lot less money.

While 85% of the CAPS members rating National Semi thought it would outperform the broad market averages, its low two-star rating suggested they thought there were better places for your money. Who knew TI would be willing to throw gobs of cash at them?

Regulatory hurdles are expected to be low, but add National Semiconductor to the Fool's free portfolio tracker to make sure nothing trips up the deal.

Should I stay or go?
Investors in dental laser specialist Biolase Technology have good reason to smile: It just updated guidance it gave out only last month and said sales will come in at $10.4 million, 10% higher than it previously thought and amounting to a 136% increase over last year's effort.

It would mark a nice comeback for the aesthetic laser industry, which had fallen on hard times during the recession. Palomar Medical Technologies reported flat revenues for the fourth quarter ending in December and is set to announce first-quarter earnings in the next few weeks. If Biolase's results are any indication, it could be a good showing. Syneron used the time to buy out rival Candela.

CAPS All-Stars, however, remain almost evenly divided over Biolase's future, though the broader CAPS community gave it more of the benefit of the doubt, as 67% of those rating it believe it will outperform the indexes.

You can brighten your smile by sharing your thoughts on the Biolase Technology CAPS page and by adding it to the Fool's free portfolio tracker.

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.