"The weak start to 2008 has left many investors scrambling for a safe haven in which to stash their cash," notes Jocelynn Drake, who sees the defense sector as one such haven.

The analyst with Schaeffer's Investment Research explains, "The recent losses suffered by many of the defense-sector components has brought them back to long-term support, creating potentially strong buying opportunities."

"What do General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC), and L-3 Communications (NYSE: LLL) have in common? These four defense stocks have enjoyed strong rallies during the past four years.

"In addition, they are all currently resting right near support at their ascending 10-month moving averages. These stocks have benefited from this long-term support level and could use their respective trendlines as springboards to launch them on the next leg of their uptrends.

"What also makes these stocks very appealing from a bullish perspective is that short-term options players are very skeptical of the stocks' outlooks. As a result, options speculators have loaded up on bearish bets toward these securities in an attempt to call a top to their rallies.

"It's time to get back to basics; return to those things that everyone still needs regardless of what the stock market is doing," says Jocelynn Drake. "And everyone needs shoes, right?"

The analyst with Schaeffer's Investment Research notes, "Several stocks have managed to weather the storm with remarkable resilience. And a pair of those outperformers is in the footwear sector: Crocs (NASDAQ: CROX) and Deckers Outdoor (NASDAQ: DECK).

Crocs, she explains, is known for its colorful slip-on shoes that are made of a proprietary closed-cell resin. She observes, "The security has staged a stellar rally this year, gaining nearly 139% since the start of 2007."

What's more, she adds, the shares of Crocs have marched steadily higher along their 10-week and 20-week moving averages since late July 2006. From a sentiment standpoint, she points out that short sellers are attempting to call a top to the trendy shoemaker's uptrend.

Last week, I looked at toy maker, Hasbro (NYSE: HAS). Today, we turn to toy maker Mattel (NYSE: MAT), which is being recommended by Jocelynn Drake.

The analyst with Schaeffer's Investment Research notes, "Mattel skipped into the earnings spotlight; second-quarter net income jumped 15.2% to $43.5 million, or 11 cents per share, with sales for the 3-month period up 6.5% to $1.02 billion."

Revenue for the second quarter, she notes, was boosted by favorable exchange rates and sales growth for the firm's Barbie and Hot Wheels toys, which rose 6% and 20%, respectively.

She explains, "Heading into the earnings report, investors were extremely skeptical of the shares. Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio has risen to 0.77, which is higher than 84% of all those taken during the past 52 weeks."