5 Top-Rated Stocks Selling for Half Off

You love buying your shirts when they go on sale. And who can resist a buy-one-get-one-free offer? So why is it that when our stocks go on sale, we cry about their low prices?

Well, the smart investors (think Warren Buffett or Marty Whitman) love it when their stocks are suddenly selling at bargain-basement prices. For them, it's the time to stock up and buy more. That means the market that we're in could be one of the best markets ever.

The investors who populate the Motley Fool CAPS community also like a bargain, apparently. Below you'll find five stocks whose shares are selling at least 50% below their 52-week highs but still have top honors from the investor-intelligence database. Look at it as a BOGO sale on stocks.

Naturally, we want you to look a bit more closely at these stocks before buying. You can get low-priced appliances in the dent-and-ding section of your home remodeling superstore, but the quality might not be so good. Same thing here: Make sure there's nothing seriously wrong with the company before you plug it into your portfolio.

Take two stocks and call me in the morning
It would be natural to assume that in a worsening economy, buying up the debt that credit card companies have written off would be lucrative when you go to collect on it. Asta Funding gets those debts at a steep discount and has been profitable when converting the debts into payments. CAPS member pjani06 pointed to the worsening position of banks such as Lehman Brothers (NYSE:LEH) back in June to indicate that there are still plenty of places to find potential debt to buy.

Great entry point for a company turning cheap debt paper into real cash earnings. [Consistently] applying over more and more portfolios of debt that are increasing in current environment is very lucrative ... especially when you can buy the debt pennies on the dollar. financial companies themselves are on firesale today, look at [Washington Mutual, Countrywide, Lehman Brothers, Wachovia]. this company is well positioned to purchase the 'worthless' debt these banks are desperate to get rid of to keep favorable capital levels in the eyes of lenders, regulatory agencies, and the investor community. [Asta] is in the right place, at the right time, and at today's valuations, at the right price.

WAN application delivery should help Blue Coat Systems offset the pallid enterprise market that dragged earnings down this past quarter. As a leader in the field alongside Riverbed Technology (NASDAQ:RVBD), the potential for growth should be realized through its recent acquisition of Packeteer. CAPS All-Star member BfloBull finds the stock price too cheap not to get back in, particularly since he views it as a potential takeover candidate.

Getting back in! 25% Growth Rate with a PEG Ratio of .6 (Bargain!) Buyout candidate for sure, My [guess] [Cisco]! Owned by M&N, Vanguard Explorer Theme: Devm't of video content on internet

All right, I can't count. Here's a third one for your consideration:

One might not consider the recreational vehicle business to be particularly popular with both a recession upon us and gasoline still at elevated levels. Yet CAPS member TMFPlatoish figures RV components maker Drew Industries goes against that line of thought. The Motley Fool Hidden Gems recommendation continues to be profitable while widening its margins.

Drew Industries is one of the best managed companies I've looked at. It is in an industry that is out of favor and the trajectory of topline growth is negative. It manufactures a whole array of components, if you will, for the towed RV and manufactured home markets. With gas prices where they are, the end market is soft to say the least.

However, during these tough times, Drew has managed to stay profitable and improve margins. It has a laser focus on containing operating costs and improving manufacturing efficiency. Many plants have been closed and operations consolidated. It also has been able to continue doing what it does best, buying niche equipment makers at good prices. Its acquisitions are always intended to complement Drew's current offerings. It then uses its relationships with RV and MH makers to take the new offerings to a larger market. Its goal is to improve the dollar content of its equipment in every RV sold, and has done so year after year.

Have half a mind
It pays to start your own research on these stocks on 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.

Sign up today for the completely free service and tell us whether at these prices, these stocks are twice as good.