Tomorrow's Monster Stock?

Stocks climbing to 10 times their original price are rare breeds -- but they're not impossible to find. Especially when you have Fools for friends.

The market's best stocks include companies that have risen dozens of times in value by taking advantage of the market's weaknesses. These aren't penny stocks; they're viable companies with sound business prospects that are achieving phenomenal returns. Finding just one or two of these monstrously successful firms can help you establish a winning portfolio.

Stalking the monster
To find tomorrow's winners, we've enlisted the help of more than 170,000 monster trackers at Motley Fool CAPS. We've compiled a list of the most successful CAPS members, dubbed All-Stars, whose picks have doubled, tripled, or even quadrupled in price. Then we've plucked out some of their recent picks for stocks they find equally promising.

Score is how many percentage points that pick is beating the S&P 500.

Of course, this is not a list of stocks to buy -- or, for those monster stocks that our CAPS All-Stars have already found, sell. Just consider them starting points for your own further research of extreme buying opportunities.

In search of Bigfoot
While people are often instructed to trust their first instincts, rarely is it advisable to invest in a stock simply on first impressions. And when it comes to gold and silver miners, investors would be well advised to accept initial resource estimates of projects with a skeptical eye. Not that they can't be as generous as they first appear, but as Rubicon Minerals investors found out, they just might be a tad overly exuberant.

Rubicon's consultant on the project scaled back by 10% the inferred resource estimate and sliced by 30% its high-end estimate of F2 Gold System's total geological potential of up to 9 million ounces of gold. With 20 grams of gold per ton, the mine still has the potential to generate a gold rush all its own, but until that can all be proven, investor enthusiasm should be kept in check.

The Fool's precious metals guru Christopher Barker urges caution when valuing gold projects, particularly acquisitions based on reserves, whether its New Gold's (NYSE: NGD) purchase of Richfield Ventures or Gammon Gold's (NYSE: GRS) buyout of Capital Gold.

CAPS member tCat41 says with the doubts about the restatement priced into Rubicon's stock, it will simply go higher from here: "The amended 43-101 still indicates a potload of gold. Now that the cloud has lifted watch [Rubicon] go!"

Head over to the Rubicon Minerals CAPS page and mine the stock for further insights into its future.

Cheap by any measure?
After getting bailed out and partially nationalized by the British government, Lloyds Banking Group is struggling to regain its footing by cutting its workforce and possibly selling its insurance business, the graphically named Scottish Widows, which could bring in some $11 billion for the banking giant. Getting out from underneath the British government's 41% ownership stake and sidestepping the proposed breakup of the banks remain high on Lloyds's to-do list.

The new capital and liquidity rules governments put in place following the financial meltdown are having an impact on earnings, though. Spanish banking giant Santander (NYSE: STD) said its British unit will post profits that are down 5% rather than up 20% because of the regulations. While banks and their investors might complain, no doubt taxpayers feel relieved that the institutions have to have more money on hand.

With 95% of the nearly 1,100 CAPS members rating Lloyds to outperform the broad market averages, it seems they think the bank is on the right track. Follow along by adding it to your watchlist.

A bright idea
There's been no "dead man's hand" dealt to Wynn Resorts (Nasdaq: WYNN) or Las Vegas Sands as they've bet big on Macau being the gambling mecca that it's become. Casino gambling revenue jumped 43% there in the first quarter, with high rollers accounting for 73% of the total, up from 70% a year ago. At the same time, Las Vegas gaming revenue has shown serious weakness.

For CAPS member kylehusky however, going all in on Macau is just as risky a bet as doubling down on Las Vegas.

I am seeing limited upside on it's Macau casinos ( Venetian and Sands) from here since the Chinese government is getting ready to limit the travel visa to Macau. LVS just can't depends on it's Macau and Singapore earning. Too many political factors on both Macau and Singapore, and the bull market of Macau is time to cool down.

You can add the Sands to the Fool's free portfolio tracker, then head over to the Las Vegas Sands CAPS page and tell us if you think its wise for the casino operator to bet it all on black.

A chance for scary growth
It takes more than a few All-Star picks and a quick pitch to make buy or sell decisions, so start your own research on these stocks on Motley Fool CAPS and marvel at the range of opinions there.