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, despite the incredible volatility in the market, 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 Sept. 6 to Oct. 6.

While you were out, the markets collapsed and may continue to do so as the impact of the U.S. credit downgrade filters through. So before we get shaken out again, let's see why the CAPS community thinks these companies might continue to outperform the market.

A mighty temblor
Roche's $230 million buyout of hepatitis C drug developer Anadys Pharmaceuticals had the happy circumstance of boosting interest in the sector, even briefly lifting Idenix Pharmaceuticals by as much as 26%. The global hepatitis market was valued around $5 billion in 2009 and could be worth as much as $15 billion by 2019, making it an obvious target for larger drug companies like Merck and GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK).

Setrobuvir, Anadys' most advanced hep C candidate, is being tested in combination with Roche's pegylated interferon treatment, and could boost the drug giant's portfolio targeting the disease.

Roche is looking to ultimately develop an interferon-free therapy, and Abbott Labs just announced an advance in that direction as well. Abbott says its treatment could achieve $2 billion in annual sales if approved for sale in 2015. Pharmasset (Nasdaq: VRUS) is also pursuing interferon-free treatments. Patients have mixed results with interferon-based therapies and there are significant side effects that make it a dicey regimen even for patients who respond well to it.

This hope is probably why 89% of the CAPS members rating Anadys think it will outperform the broad market averages. Tell us in the comments section below or on the Anadys Pharmaceuticals CAPS page if you think the partnership will work out, and then add the device maker to your watchlist to keep track of the deal's progress.

No lumps of coal
The market for metallurgical coal is improving as recent earnings results from Consul Energy, Peabody Energy, and Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI) highlight. Consul doubled its profits and raised its dividend thanks to record pricing and margins for met coal, Peabody saw earnings jump 22% on higher coal demand, and Arch shipped more met coal in the quarter despite its own profits falling.

The broad-based gains in pricing and demand likely herald positive results from James River Coal, which is set to report its third-quarter earnings next week. However, the company bought International Resource Partners earlier this year to capture rising met coal prices, only to watch them turn south.

Wall Street is seemingly unified in its belief the coal miner will beat the broad market averages, so add James River Coal to your watchlist and let us know in the comments section below what your estimates are for the coming earnings report.

Buckle up
In the wake of Solyndra's bankruptcy filing, the role played by massive subsidies paid to Chinese solar shops is going front and center. Seven U.S. solar panel companies filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission and the Commerce Department, alleging a dumping of product on the market, depressing prices. They want the Obama administration to impose a 100% tariff on Chinese solar imports.

China-based JinkoSolar says it's reviewing the complaint, but the industry has more going against it right now than the Chinese government being willing to support loss-making solar companies. The damage on the other side of the Pacific could be deeper and more pronounced than what we're seeing here, and there's no need for Obama to risk a trade war to mollify these companies.

A second U.S. solar company just declared bankruptcy, too, though the Energy Department says the loan guarantees it received from taxpayers are not the same as the ones given to Solyndra. Of course, this makes one wonder why Solyndra was given such preferential treatment in the first place.

Industry problems are exacerbated by actions undertaken by many companies. First Solar (Nasdaq: FSLR), for example, pursued a growth program that doubled its capacity even though there was a glut on the market. Its CEO was forced out after the last earnings report as a result, but polysilicon prices continue to tumble and subsidy cuts are spreading globally (even if they're still entrenched in China).

Jinko is getting back on track after starting production again at its plant that caused a minicrisis after it was discovered it was polluting the local water supply due to a fluoride leak. That helped spur the increase in the stock's price.

CAPS member StockDocStan thinks it got unfairly beat up and is a Chinese solar company that surpasses its rivals. "WOW this company is superior to all the other Chinese solar companies by every metric, and yet is suffering the worst September of all of them. Time to catch that falling knife!!!"

Add the solar specialist to the Fool's free portfolio tracker and tell us on the JinkoSolar CAPS page if the U.S. solar companies have a legitimate gripe against the Chinese.

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.

Editor's note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated the number of new hepatitis cases diagnosed each year. The Fool regrets the error.