Get Ready for the Bounce

"Don't catch a falling knife." Thus commandeth the old saw (to mix a cutlery metaphor.)

But if people weren't tempted to catch cutlery in the first place, there'd be no need for this little bit of investing wisdom, would there? The idea of buying a former highflier at a discount price certainly has its attractions. The trick, of course, is to increase the odds that when you make your grab, you're catching haft, not blade. That's where we come in.

In The Motley Fool's continuing effort to keep your investing dollars safe, today we once again assume our position beneath Mr. Market's silverware drawer. As the knives plummet, we'll measure who's fallen farthest. Then we'll head over to Motley Fool CAPS, and ask which of these stocks Foolish investors think are ready to rebound to new highs -- if any.

With that said, let's meet today's list of contenders, drawn from the latest "52-week lows list" at MSN Money:

Knives and knaves
Once again, our list proves the converse of the "everybody loves a winner" maxim. When a stock falls on hard times, its popularity evaporates right quick. And so it is that of the six companies named above, only one earns an above-average rating from CAPS investors -- but boy, do they ever love that one.

Ready to bounce?
That company: worldwide silver and gold (and lead and zinc!) prospector Coeur d'Alene Mines. With a stellar five-star rating, and 337 CAPS endorsements (including 98 out of 99 All-Stars polled), CAPS players clearly "heart" Coeur d' Alene. Why? Let's ask a few of our All-Stars:

• bsharvy calls silver "a multi-purpose investment, with industrial, electronic, and safe-haven value." Coeur doesn't just dig the stuff up. Additionally, it's got "Earnings estimates, up. Insider buying, up."
• Others see in Coeur echoes of the gold boom that have lifted stocks like Yamana Gold (AMEX:AUY). Says martynanasi: "Silver historically lags gold on movements in price. I expect to see continued strength in gold and silver markets as inflation creeps higher due to corporate pricing power and weak U.S. currency. Many central banks have moved assets in gold rather than buy more U.S. debt treasuries (dollars)... Expect... gold and silver to move in bullish territories for foreseeable future. CDE is a great play on this material run."
• Vince1172 adds a bit more detail on the prospects (pun intended) for silver and its miners: "1. The world has nearly run out of silver. 2. The nations of the world have printed up nearly unlimited amounts of unbacked paper money. Put together, these two factors have never occurred before in the history of mankind... Silver today may be the best investment opportunity in the history of mankind."

Time to chime in
"The best investment in history" -- heady words. But are they true? At Motley Fool Hidden Gems, we've highlighted Yamana Gold as a "tiny gem" worthy of close inspection (and it's not even among our formal recommendations, currently beating the S&P 500 by 36 points.) If silver's the next bull to ride, then perhaps Coeur deserves a place in the heart of your portfolio.

Take a look and tell us what you think. And while you're at it, if you happen to know something about the three stocks not yet rated in today's column -- Sun American, Pure Cycle, and Virage Logic -- we'd love to hear your comments on those as well.

Fool contributor Rich Smith does not own shares of any company named above. You can find him on CAPS, publicly pontificating under the handle TMFDitty, where he's currently ranked 509th out of more than 28,000 raters.