10 Stocks to Shake the Market

In music they're called one-hit wonders, singers who belt out tunes but are never able to regain the magic of their big hit song. Think Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit in the Sky" or Brownsville Station's "Smokin' in the Boys Room." Monster hits never to be repeated.

We have seen similar one-hit wonders in stocks, too, like Pets.com or drkoop.com. Companies that burst on the scene -- many during the tech bubble heyday -- and never live up to the promise they held.

Whole lotta shakin' going on
While nostalgia's fun, "10 Stocks to Shake the Market" isn't about finding stocks that can't repeat their success; it's about looking at those that have made big moves and are likely to continue doing so.

To do that, we're looking at 10 stocks that made some of the biggest moves up over the past month. We'll then pair that with the ratings issued by our Motley Fool CAPS community. Those that rate higher suggest the members believe they'll continue to move higher in the future and outperform the market. 

Data as of Feb.17.

With almost all of the stocks carrying a four-star or better rating (out of five max), let's see why the CAPS community thinks they might outperform the market.

A mighty temblor
It's not enough to have a great idea, you also have to have the wherewithal to put it into play. Similarly, having the next great technology is of little use if you can't get it to market. French biotech Flamel Technologies has been suffering from this affliction with its twin innovations, the Micropump and Medusa platforms, both useful in controlled-release formulations of drugs.

It wasn't that long ago that the company's founder was ousted because he seemed hesitant to share his babies with anyone. The new team that came on also suffered from inertia as few if any contracts were signed. The potential of the two platforms was what first attracted the Motley Fool Hidden Gems team to the biotech, but it was the lack of movement that ultimately caused the small-cap investment service to recommend selling it.

Apparently, Flamel has decided to get off the dime and get the pharmaceutical industry behind what it has to offer. It now has 17 partnered projects and says it's working with seven of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies in the world, including a continuing research collaboration with Pfizer (NYSE:PFE). And just the other day it announced that Merck Serono, the subsidiary of German pharmaceutical giant Merck KGaA, entered into a full licensing agreement for the Medusa controlled-release nanotechnology.

This is what a superior biotech needs to accomplish, and it's attracting the notice of famed value investors like Jean-Marie Eveillard, who has initiated a position in Flamel. With shares trading for just a tiny fraction of the $35 they attained back in early 2007, they've been on the move, jumping by nearly 60% this month alone. The improving prospects would underscore the potential that top-rated CAPS All-Star member quinpeung saw back in November:

The potential for their technology is huge! Flamel's Medusa technology delivers controlled-release formulations of therapeutic proteins, peptides, and other molecules, without reduction in bioactivity. Many drugs could benefit from this approach, and in fact, they have deals with 6 of the major drug companies.

As more pharmaceuticals face the prospect of their drugs going off patent and generics taking their place, the potential to use a controlled-release formulation should spur ever greater interest from those wanting to preserve a drug's exclusivity.

Shake, rattle, and roll
With these stocks shaking the market this past month, it pays to start your own research on them at Motley Fool CAPS. Read a company's financial reports, scrutinize key data and charts, and examine the comments your fellow investors have made -- all from a stock's CAPS page.