Are you really a growth investor?
It's worth asking. Fast-moving tech stocks have taken a beating recently, leading to a slew of bargains for those with the guts to buy.
No surprises there. Market panics occur daily. Just ask investors who hold shares of NetSuite
That's why all-star investors bet on growth over the very long term. They know that:
- Businesses that make investors billions always begin as growth stocks.
- The best of them feature massive and identifiable competitive advantages.
- Growth as a strategy has the capacity to deliver 20% or greater annual returns for decades at a time.
How we do it
Of course, not all growth stocks will do. Our weekly hunt is for the next great multibagger. But unlike David Gardner and his team at Motley Fool Rule Breakers, who scour everything from financial statements to trade magazines to clinical reports in their research, we're going to rely on our Motley Fool CAPS investor intelligence database.
Specifically, we're looking for stocks that have earned the maximum five-star rating in CAPS and that are expected to grow their earnings by at least 20% annually over the next five years. Five-star stocks are those that the community, on the whole, believes will outperform the S&P 500.
Let's have the list
Now, with that preamble behind us, here are five more top growth stocks:
|
Company |
No. of CAPS Ratings |
Percent Bulls |
5-Year Growth Estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
|
MercadoLibre |
497 |
96.2% |
40% |
|
CryptoLogic |
1,466 |
96.4% |
30% |
|
ShengdaTech |
720 |
98.1% |
26% |
|
CNOOC |
839 |
97.4% |
23% |
|
Siliconware Precision |
458 |
97.6% |
20% |
Bear in mind that this isn't a list of recommendations. Instead, I offer these stocks as candidates for further research.
We have some decent stocks to work with. MercadoLibre, for example. Latin America's answer to eBay
Then there's Chinese chemist ShengdaTech, a hot stock in January and, at 13.8 times current-year estimates, the stock appears to be trading on the cheap.
Shuffle up and deal
But my choice today is online casino software maker CryptoLogic, which hit the jackpot last month. Foolish colleague Morgan Housel explains:
On Tuesday, CryptoLogic reported that fourth-quarter profit per share had tripled in the past year to $0.36 per share on $4.3 million in net income. That easily blew away analysts' expectations of $0.21 per share. In the fourth quarter of 2006, CryptoLogic earned just $1.7 million, or $0.12 per share.
But there's more. Its competitors have struggled, but CryptoLogic remains flush with cash, which means it'd be in a better position than others if U.S. regulators were to overturn the ban of Internet gaming.
At least one CAPS investor, freemoney4all, sees that as a very strong possibility. Quoting from a recent pitch:
Settled after exodus from U.S. and poised to profit heavily from online poker and gaming boom in Asia and Europe. I think the UIGA will be overturned very soon and this will create opportunity for CryptoLogic to move back to the U.S.
Soon? I'm not so sure. But I agree that the ban isn't likely to persist.
What's your take? Would you buy CryptoLogic at today's prices? Let us know by signing up for CAPS today. It's 100% free to participate.
See you back here next week with five more top growth stocks. Fool on!
