Stocks Shaking the Investment World

Some stocks are one-hit wonders, making a big splash when they first appear, and 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 a pair of 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. One-month % change from Jan. 24 to Feb. 23.

While you were out, the markets rebounded, but they may turn tail again if Europe's fragile financial system falls apart. 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.

Trouble on the high seas
The pall that the glut in ships is casting over the shipping market is likely to have far-reaching effects years down the road. Depending on which shipping companies survive this downturn, it will affect how DryShips, Frontline (NYSE: FRO), and Diana Shipping all respond to future boom cycles.

The collapse of charter rates has led some shippers to use "slow steaming" tactics and suspended dividends, leading to a general drop in value among industry players. Last year, Frontline's CEO said he expected the industry to collapse within the next two years. Both the Baltic Dry Index and the Bloomberg Tanker Index have nearly sunk to all-time lows.

So DryShips was in for a bit of smooth sailing when its recently spun-off Ocean Rig (Nasdaq: ORIG) unit -- in which it maintains a majority interest -- reported a new contract. That DryShips rode higher than Ocean Rig attests to the former's volatility and hardly provides encouragement it won't soon be swimming in Davey Jones' locker.

While I've marked the dry bulk shipper to underperform on CAPS, atarheelfool finds the weakness in the BDI's providing the means for its recovery.

Up 42% on my investment since Oct 2011. The collapse of the Baltic Dry Index help drive volume and share price up significantly in Jan. The financial crisis with Greece is key, if they can get some financial stability then a much larger move up should happen.

Tell us in the comments section below which side of the debate you fall on. Then add it to your watchlist to see how it plays out.

Smoke 'em if you got 'em
So far, Star Scientific hasn't lived up to the hype that the naturally occurring anatabine compound it uses in its smoking suppression supplement CiGRX can actually cure Alzheimer's disease. But in early stage trials, it does seem to have some positive impact on C-reactive protein levels in the blood, helping to promote the treatment as an anti-inflammatory.

In its previously reported quarter, sales of CiGRX nearly doubled while expenses almost quadrupled, but much of that was attributable to the introduction of its new dietary supplement Anatabloc. Signs are encouraging that it could be a big seller and giving investors a different avenue of investing in "tobacco" without having to buy shares of Altria or Lorillard. CAPS member taraowner sees it that way, too.

Company has new inflammatory product lines based on Anatabine substance getting excellent results as OTC nutritional product. Chew tobacco lines should be sold off and Patents have been validated.

Add Star Scientific to the Fool's free portfolio tracker and tell us on the Star Scientific CAPS page if you think it will go up in smoke.

Shake, rattle, and roll
These two stocks shook the market this past month, but the Fool has found one company that's digging up massive profits and is likely to continue to do so if the markets become rattled. Roll on over to get your free copy, but hurry, because it's available only for a limited time.