Wednesday's Big Stocks for Big Profits

When large caps make a run for it, Fools should pay attention.

Think of Motley Fool Inside Value pick Microsoft. After years of poor performance, Mr. Softy and his $300-billion-plus market cap finally got moving last month, enriching investors who bought and stayed in.

Hence this column. As lucrative as fast-movers like Blue Nile (NASDAQ:NILE) and TurboChef Technologies (NASDAQ:OVEN) can be, the turtle often beats the hare. Here's a look at Wednesday's finest terrapins, courtesy of The Wall Street Journal:

Shares of our top gainer, Liberty Media Holding, benefited from a strong quarterly report from soon-to-be subsidiary DirecTV. Interesting, but we Fools prefer buy-to-hold stock stories. Are any of our large cap leaders worth owning over the next three to five years?

Most of them, yes -- if you believe the 73,000-plus professional and amateur stock pickers in our Motley Fool CAPS community. Their only concern seems to be casino operator Harrah's, which is stuck in the middle with a three-star rating.

Of the 210 CAPS investors who've evaluated Harrah's, 187 would go long, while 23 others -- including nine All-Stars -- would sell short. I wouldn't be bold enough to follow suit. By selling short, I'd be betting against a long-promised $90-per-share buyout, a strategy that seems less than Foolish to me.

Then again, with only 4% in gains left on the table -- if a buyout goes through, that is -- I can think of plenty of better places for my money. Here, for example.

What would you do? Let us know by signing up for CAPS today. It's 100% free to participate.

See you back here tomorrow for more of the best of the biggest.

Cap off your day with related CAPS Foolishness:

• Check out Tuesday's stock stars.
• Perhaps you'd prefer rocket stocks?
• Grab your contrarian shopping list.
• Sometimes, highly rated stocks go on sale.