I like to check out stocks that are at or near a 52-week high in a tough market. Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) is one of them. Not only is the stock near a 52-week high right now, but it is up today almost 3% by nearly a buck.

Netflix is a very interesting company -- it has done extremely well with its DVD-by-mail subscription model, and it has offered a lot of competition for Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI). It's got great brand equity, the company's stock seems to be working -- why not go with it? In fact, Larry Schutts recently talked about how the stock was in bullish-flag mode. (By the way, I recently discussed my negative feelings about Blockbuster.)

The only problem here is that the market has been so volatile that my gut tells me many 52-week-high-stocks might be dangerous. In an upward-trending market, they might work, but in our current bear environment, I'm not so sure. Plus, I've been burned recently by some badly-timed purchases. So, while I have been watching Netflix, I'm a bit sheepish about getting in at the moment. A pullback will make this one much more interesting. Yes, many technical traders will tell me that the trend is a friend -- it is oftentimes. And I do have to say that this is one strong stock that almost got me to enter in near the high -- but I resisted, and I will continue to wait this one out.

Steven Mallas owns none of the companies mentioned here.

Not buying Netflix for now originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 12 Mar 2008 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.