5 Rocket Stocks to Buy in August : GM, HPQ, JNJ, MA, PEP, V, DLPH

The combination of summer doldrums, Fed tapering, and muted earnings expectations can't seem to derail the rally in stocks. And it looks like investors are finally starting to get the hint...

The S&P 500 is more than 18% higher today than it was on January 1. And as the upside from equities becomes more and more conspicuous, retail investors are starting to become buyers again. Don't mistake that for a contrarian signal – fewer U.S. households owned stocks at the start of the year than in any time during the last two decades. That extreme was a contrarian signal to start buying; this modest uptick in investor participation is just confirmation of the rally.

So, with more upside left to wring out in 2013, we're taking a closer look at five new Rocket Stocks worth buying in August.

For the uninitiated, "Rocket Stocks" are our list of companies with short-term gain catalysts and longer-term growth potential. To find them, I run a weekly quantitative screen that seeks out stocks with a combination of analyst upgrades and positive earnings surprises to identify rising analyst expectations, a bullish signal for stocks in any market. After all, where analysts' expectations are increasing, institutional cash often follows. In the last 209 weeks, our weekly list of five plays has outperformed the S&P 500 by 80.66%.  (more)

Please share this article