Earnings and Sales Leaders

If this market has another leg up, these six stocks will continue to lead the way based on their impressive three year sales and earnings numbers.

I know they look extended and have come a long way but stocks that are accustomed to making new highs typically continue to make higher highs in a bull run. Remember, what seems high to one investor may still be low to another. Look for the stocks to establish support along moving averages or key areas prior to entering a position.

Stocks are traded based on perception and if the smart money crowd perceives these stocks to go higher, they will jump in and push them higher. Besides, additional buys will only support the large cash positions that institutions have already established in these stocks throughout 2007. Take a look at the institutional numbers below to determine if smart money is pouring in or out.

As you can see, the latest numbers are telling us that institutional money has been leaving both CROX and BIDU while it has been pouring into PRXI, STP and ARD. Don’t use these statistics as your sole reason for buying or selling because they do lag the market but understand that they can confirm trends on the charts.

*All data from latest reporting periods*

Crocs (CROX) Institutional Analysis:
Total Institutions: 535
Money Market: 220
Mutual Fund: 304
Other: 11

Shares Held: 116.8 mil
Shares Held Previous Period: 118.3 mil

Shares Bought: 28.4 mil
Shares Sold: 29.9 mil
Value of Shares Bought: $1.43 Bil
Value of Shares Sold: $1.5 Bil

Baidu.com (BIDU) Institutional Analysis:
Total Institutions: 238
Money Market: 117
Mutual Fund: 119
Other: 2

Shares Held: 19.5 mil
Shares Held Previous Period: 22.0 mil

Shares Bought: 6.5 mil
Shares Sold: 9.0 mil
Value of Shares Bought: $1.36 Bil
Value of Shares Sold: $1.89 Bil

Premier Exhibitions (PRXI) Institutional Analysis:
Total Institutions: 69
Money Market: 42
Mutual Fund: 26
Other: 1

Shares Held: 11.7 mil
Shares Held Previous Period: 2.8 mil

Shares Bought: 9.5 mil
Shares Sold: 0.6 mil
Value of Shares Bought: $160.2 Mil
Value of Shares Sold: $9.8 Mil

Suntech Power Holdings (STP) Institutional Analysis:
Total Institutions: 344
Money Market: 160
Mutual Fund: 179
Other: 5

Shares Held: 131.5 mil
Shares Held Previous Period: 100.3 mil

Shares Bought: 48.2 mil
Shares Sold: 17.1 mil
Value of Shares Bought: $1.9 Bil
Value of Shares Sold: $680.6 Mil

Arena Resources (ARD) Institutional Analysis:
Total Institutions: 285
Money Market: 111
Mutual Fund: 162
Other: 12

Shares Held: 18.5 mil
Shares Held Previous Period: 15.1 mil

Shares Bought: 5.8 mil
Shares Sold: 2.5 mil
Value of Shares Bought: $322.7 Mil
Value of Shares Sold: $136.8 Mil

Flotek Industries (FTK) Institutional Analysis:
Total Institutions: 63
Money Market: 34
Mutual Fund: 28
Other: 1

Shares Held: 7.9 mil
Shares Held Previous Period: 7.3 mil

Shares Bought: 1.9 mil
Shares Sold: 1.3 mil
Value of Shares Bought: $56.4 Mil
Value of Shares Sold: $39.1 Mil

Final Note: I would buy any of these along the 200-day moving average!