As I wrote a few weeks ago, traders and fans of low priced stocks should ignore fallen blue chips like Ford Motor Co (NYSE: F) and Sirius Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI) and focus more on smaller volatile stocks like China Precisions Steel Inc (NASDAQ: CPSL) and Solarfun Power Holdings (NASDAQ: SOLF). Not just because fallen blue chip stocks are all about guessing major business trends and the time lags involved with pricing those into their stocks -- good luck with that -- but because these lesser known plays offer much more predictability due to their speculative nature. Earnings, profit margins, product potential is all well and good for long-term investors in higher-priced names, but here in the gutter of the stock market (also known as penny stock land), those variables are highly irrelevant to predicting hourly, daily and even weekly price swings. Down here it's all about self fulfilling prophecies, pumping and message board hype.
Take for example, Middlebrook Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: MBRK), mercilessly pumped by TheStreet.com's Adam Feuerstein for the past several months as a takeover candidate, as his sources indicate bidders in the $6 to $8 range. Now he might be right -- not that it's going to matter to the SEC -- and while he certainly can't compete with CNBC, in terms of effectiveness, his credibility and frequent teasing have predictably pumped this stock up a solid 20-30% so far.
Chasing Value: Ten stocks for 2010 -- Part 2
Advanced Micro Devices rallies after settling Intel tiff
United Technologies fires up a deal with GE
