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Byline: DAVID SAITO-CHUNG
Best Stocks Of 2004
Some superior stocks need two or three tries to launch a great breakout. Last year was no exception.
If you get knocked out of a good-quality stock once, don't dismiss it for the rest of your investing life. If the market improves, the same stock may really take off.
Penn National Gaming serves as a good example. Like other growth stocks, the operator of casinos and horse racetracks across the U.S. fell hard during the brutal three-year bear market. From October to December 2002, Penn sank 34% in less than 10 weeks. During the Nasdaq's hot run-up of 2003, Penn took an even deeper plunge in May, falling 37% (1).
Institutional investors, however, began moving their chips into Penn. The reason was not surprising. In the second, third and fourth quarters of 2003, Penn's earnings per share bulged 109%, 76% and 21% from year-ago levels. Revenue swung 77%, 55% and 81% higher over the same time frame. The booming popularity of casinos and savvy acquisitions spurred growth.
At the end of October 2003, Penn scored a B- Accumulation/Distribution Rating when it broke out of a six-month ...