The clock's ticking. Your team's down one -- you're being double-teamed -- and you wouldn't have time for a good shot even if you could drop-kick both defenders. Who do you dish the rock to?
Your first thought might be the resident superstar -- the Kobe Bryant or LeBron James. But what if Kobe, as good as Kobe is, is playing colder than an Alaskan snowdrift? That's right, you dish to the guy with the hot hand, the guy who will be deemed en fuego tomorrow on ESPN.
Momentum investors look for stocks in a similar state of sizzle when they make investments. They give the nod to stocks that are hot to the touch.
But momentum by itself will get you only so far. More interesting than stocks that have momentum is finding high-quality stocks that also have positive inertia on their side. It's like moving the ball to Michael Jordan or Larry Bird when he doesn't have a hot hand.
To find these high-scoring winners, I cross-referenced a simple momentum screen with data from The Motley Fool's investing community, CAPS. The result is a starting line-up of all-star stocks that currently have a fiery shooting hand. Each company in the table below is up 30% or more over the past year, is within 5% of its 52-week high, and has been rated highly by CAPS players.
|
Stock |
12-Month |
Percent Below |
CAPS Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
|
NAVTEQ |
143% |
3.3% |
***** |
|
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries |
41% |
3.7% |
**** |
|
Constellation Energy Group |
46% |
4.1% |
***** |
|
L-3 Communications |
41% |
3.4% |
***** |
|
Turkcell |
90% |
2.6% |
***** |
At first glance, this sure looks like a high-quality group. But, as always, take a close look before you throw a bounce pass in the direction of any one of these stocks.
In times past, NAVTEQ might have been my pick of the litter. It's a company with great technology and a leadership role in a high-growth industry. However, it's now the subject of a buyout offer from Nokia
So where can we turn? How about Turkcell? This international favorite and Motley Fool Global Gains recommendation has continued to show its mettle as a provider of wireless communications in Turkey's emerging economy. In its recently announced third quarter, the company showed a lot of zip as it boosted revenue and EBITDA by 44% and 62%, respectively, versus the prior year. Net income increased only 29%, primarily because of losses caused by the falling value of the U.S. dollar against the Turkish new lira.
On CAPS, the stock has more than 300 fans, including seijin0201, who noted:
[The] Turkish economy is starting to show signs of strong growth. Mobile phones tend to grow rapidly in emerging markets. [It's] much like America Movil [NYSE: AMX] in Latin America.
Does Turkcell deserve a place on your All-Star team? You can share your thoughts on it, or check out more of what your fellow Fools have to say about it or any of the other stocks above by stopping by CAPS. And while you're there, take a peek at a few of the 5,000 other stocks rated on CAPS.
I think I heard a boo-yah somewhere out there -- thanks, Stuart Scott!
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