Dawn of the Geeks

The Motley Fool is a web-site for individual investors looking for winning strategies to make it big. After Sept 11th I invested in America West Airlines at a little over $1 per share. 6 months later I sold it at nearly $5 per share.

…the ugly ducklings can have the biggest profit potential. Remember when Martha Stewart first got into hot legal water? Potential business alliances wouldn’t talk with her. Advertisers ran from her. Her stock collapsed. Martha was a pariah, plain and simple.

10 Year Stock History

Her stock has about tripled since then. Lots of people look for solid stocks that have been around for a long time. But, the stocks that tend to pay off big are the stocks for companies that hit a big bump in the road. Of course the risk is that the company won’t bounce back.

Another company mentioned is PACCAR. This is a company with a solid history.

PACCAR is a company that builds trucks. Huge, hulking 18-wheelers. The company has a rock solid foundation, is dominant in its industry and has a management team Tom believes in.

Here’s why this company is still one of his best bet performance stocks today: PACCAR is in a cash generating business that is gaining market share, and is run by very shareholder friendly leadership that is delivering share buybacks and steadily rising dividends.

Provident Energy Trust (PVX) is a company I’m invested in that seems to have that same rock solid foundation. Avanair Pharmaceuticals (AVN) is an up and coming drug company that I think has a lot of potential. Both stocks are currently bringing in a positive return. PVX is one I think I can just sit on for awhile. AVN is awaiting an FDA response to a new drug it has developed. That announcment will make or break the stock.

The thing that is common to all these stocks is the fact that they were bought after considering the products they’re producing. A lot of people just buy a stock based on the name of the company. It’s more important to look at what the company is selling and how the consumer will react to it. If a company is trying to sell something nobody wants, don’t buy. If the company has a novel idea that you think will take off, invest in it.