Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story failed to note that trading in shares of NIVS Intellimedia Technology had been halted by NYSE Amex in late March. The Fool regrets the error.
When asked for the secret of his success, baseball player Wee Willie Keeler replied, "Hit 'em where they ain't." What worked for Willie at the plate applies equally well in investing.
Seeking stocks that others ignore, shun, or simply forget gives individual investors like you an edge over the professionals. When Wall Street turns a blind eye, you have a chance to get in before these stocks get discovered -- or rediscovered -- and start taking off.
Below, we'll check out companies with only a handful of analyst coverage, then pair our list with the opinions of the Motley Fool CAPS community. A stock that garners CAPS' top ratings, but hasn't yet caught analysts' attention, could be your next home run investment.
|
Stock |
CAPS Rating (out of 5) |
Wall St. Picks |
Est. EPS Growth Next Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| China Information Technology (Nasdaq: CNIT) |
**** |
2 |
NA |
| NIVS IntelliMedia Technology (NYSE: NIV) |
***** |
1 |
23% |
| RAM Energy Resources (Nasdaq: RAME) |
***** |
5 |
33% |
Source: Yahoo! Finance; Motley Fool CAPS; NA = not available.
Remember, without much analyst support, you'll have to do your own scouting to see whether these stocks deserve a spot on your portfolio's roster. Don't just buy or sell them based solely on their appearance here.
Hiding in plain sight
In a country that already closely monitors the movements of its people through surveillance cameras such as those installed by China Security & Surveillance Technology (NYSE: CSR), it's not such a leap to imagine China controlling the populace through use of the sophisticated technology developed by China Information Technology.
CIT uses geographical information technology (GIS) to plot data on maps. While useful for such mundane tasks as locating a bus stop on a map, when combined with the biometric identification systems CIT is developing, it provides law enforcement with a useful tool to monitor individual movement. And local ID card systems can be integrated with police GIS tools to keep track of the estimated 210 million "internal immigrants" in the country. That system is being tested in Shenzhen with an eye toward expanding it to 660 cities across the country.
That just so happens to be the same number of cities China Security & Surveillance is seeking to deploy its camera systems in as part of China's Safe Cities plan, part of a larger so-called "Golden Shield," a broad application of technology to monitor, censor, and otherwise contain its citizens.
China's not alone in using such technology to watch its people. L-1 Identity Solutions (NYSE: ID) makes facial recognition technology for use right here in the U.S.
CAPS member ScryingPool believes the stock of China Information has been unduly depressed:
This stock has taken a tremendous beating over the past few months, why, I can't imagine- because they cater to evil and are responsible for censoring China's Internet? I doubt that fact will distract investors in America from their growth.
Let us know on the China Information Technology CAPS page whether you think the stock will recognize growth again.
All hot and bothered
Another Chinese company that also finds its stock beaten up is NIVS IntelliMedia Technology. NIVS seeks to help Chinese citizens communicate with one another. In addition to signing on China's big telecom operators China Mobile (NYSE: CHL), China Telecom, and China Unicom for the production of mobile handsets, the maker of intelligent audio and visual products is also inking deals in India. In February, it added several multi-million dollar contracts for custom mobile phones there.
The CAPS community believes it will be able to ring up plenty of growth, since 97% of the CAPS All-Stars rating the AV specialist expect it to outperform the broad market averages. Dial up your own opinion on the NIVS IntelliMedia Technology CAPS page and add it to your watchlist if it's still too risky for your real dollars.
Drill, baby, drill!
Middle East tension and turmoil is pushing oil higher, but being able to profit from it is not such a sure thing for producers with assets located in those countries. A way for investors to capitalize on the unrest would be to look to domestic producers like RAM Energy Resources or Energy XXI (Nasdaq: EXXI), which focus their efforts in and around Texas and Louisiana.
Highly rated CAPS All-Star member QtimeisinfiniteA finds RAM offers investors a decent discount as the stock is some 16% below its 52-week high. With Saudi Arabia saying it's possible that oil hits $200 to $300 a barrel if the riots hit the oil-producing country, a bet on RAM would still profit without having to worry about assets being destroyed.
Add the oil and gas play to the Fool's free portfolio tracker and have all the Foolish news and analysis about it aggregated for you in one place.
Swing for the fences
When seeking investments where no one else is looking, Motley Fool CAPS is the best place to start your own research. 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.
Sign up today for the completely free service, and tell us whether these hidden stock opportunities will help us go one up on Wall Street.
