This article is part of our Rising Star Portfolios Series.
Most investors don't keep tabs on their companies' fundamental value. That's a mistake. If you take the time to read past the headlines and crack a filing now and then, you're in a much better position to spot potential trouble early. Better yet, you'll improve your odds of finding the underappreciated home run stocks that provide the market's best returns.
We can help you keep tabs on your companies with MyWatchlist.com, our free, personalized stock tracking service. Here are three stocks from my watchlist.
1. CAPS Weekly Top Stock Idea: ChinaCache
Each week, I cull a top stock idea from the pitches made on CAPS, the Motley Fool's 170,000-member free investing community. ChinaCache, a pick from last month, caught my eye, since it had fallen from where it was picked over general fears of Chinese stocks.
Similar to U.S. firms Akamai
- Add ChinaCache to My Watchlist.
2. Cree
Cree manufactures LEDs, the very small, intensely bright lights now popping up all over. The LED market has been taking off lately, as consumers discover the benefits of LEDs: They use a tiny trickle of electricity and last for years. Cree and competitor RF Micro Devices
- Add Cree to My Watchlist.
3. Veeco Instruments
Veeco makes equipment used to manufacture solar cells and LEDs. Recently, analysts have been worried that the Chinese solar market is slowing, which would hurt Veeco's sales going forward. Veeco appears to be more confident in its future direction, since it recently announced a $200 million buyback. At 10 times earnings, Veeco is worth taking a look at.
- Add Veeco Instruments to My Watchlist.
My Foolish bottom line
If you're looking for more information on these companies, keep checking in on my Rising Star portfolio in the coming weeks as I look further into each of them.
This article is part of our Rising Star Portfolios series, where we give some of our most promising stock analysts cold, hard cash to manage on the Fool's behalf. We'd like you to track our performance and benefit from these real-money, real-time free stock picks. Click here to see all of our Rising Star analysts (and their portfolios).