The average stock in the Russell 3,000 is up 48.98% year to date, while the index itself is up 23.18%. If you take out the top performing stock in the index, the average year-to-date change for all stocks drops to 45.8%! That's because the top stock -- DDRX -- is up a whopping 9,319% in 2009. The next best performing stock this year -- VNDA -- is up 1,980%, so DDRX is the leader by a wide margin.

In the Russell 3,000, 72% of stocks are up so far in 2009, and 30.5% of the index is up more than 50%. Four hundred and sixteen stocks are up more than 100%, 130 are up more than 200%, 58 are up more than 300%, and 9 are up more than 1000%. Many traders like to buy the best performing stocks heading into the last month of the year with the idea that professional money managers will want to have these names on their books when end-of-year statements go out. The stocks listed below are all up more than 325% in 2009.

At the end of each trading week, Hillbent scans the equity market for potential anomalies which exhibit extremely oversold and overbought conditions. Past observations have revealed that such candidates may experience reversal corrections to the upside or downside once the market reconfirms that their fundamentals remain solidly intact or relatively poor. From a contrarian perspective, these lists may also serve as a precursor to changes in institutional sentiment and underlying fundamentals.

(The purpose of this report is not to provide specific recommendations, but instead serve as a time-saving reference tool and starting point for investment ideas as the upcoming trading week unfolds. Of course, the results generated are not always perfect and users are strongly encouraged to perform their own due diligence on these names. Note that overbought and oversold conditions are based upon proprietary algorithms and quantitative models instead of conventional technical analysis indicators. As a supplement to this report, please refer to our ETF Market Trends™ Report to determine if market direction trends support a bullish or bearish investment bias over short-term, intermediate, and long-term timeframes.)

After starting out strong, the S&P 500 is now down about 1% this earnings season. The average stock that has reported has gone down 0.27% on its report day as well, so while the numbers have come in strong, stocks have reacted very poorly.

Below we highlight stocks that have gone up or down at least 15% on their report days this earnings season. Companies highlighted in yellow are in the S&P 500. As shown, Revlon (REV) went up the most on its earnings report with a gain of 43.3% yesterday. Amazon.com (AMZN) ranks second with a gain of 26.8%, followed by Timberland (TBL), American Superconductor (AMSC, New York Times (NYT), Cardtronics (CATM), and SLM Corp. (SLM). Other notables on the earnings winners list include Lexmark (LXK) and RadioShack (RSH).

Q3 2009 Earnings Call

October 29, 2009 11:00 AM ET

Sell-Side Loves Everything and Everybody

I Love you Man!

Just as we did Friday for the S&P 500, for our small cap focused readers we are providing a list of the top 20 performing stocks in the Russell 2000 as well as a sector breakdown of the YTD returns from the index to keep up to date on which companies and sectors have lead the way thus far through 3 quarters of 2009.

Also by using The Applied Finance Group’s (AFG's) research and valuation model we have provided further analysis on 4 of the top performing companies, 2 that we find attractive going forward and 2 that we find unattractive, based on valuation attractiveness, expected improvement in economic profitability and the overall investment attractiveness, which is based on various criteria AFG uses when identifying long/short opportunities.

When the market was crashing during the '08 and early '09 bear, the path of least resistance was down. Unless there was a strong economic or earnings report to send shares higher for a day or two, the market was headed lower without question. Now, however, the path of least resistance is up. Unless there is big news that comes out and causes investors to worry, the market is heading higher, and this new trend is not something to be overlooked.

The Nasdaq is up 35% year to date and the S&P 500 is up 18%. Below we highlight stocks in the Russell 3,000 that are up more than 400% year to date. There are a whopping 44 of them. Diedrich Coffee (DDRX) is by far up the most year to date with a gain of 6,800%. VNDA, DTG, and ATSG are all up more than 2,000%, and CAR, VCI, BZ, OGXI, SMRT, and CTIC are all up more than 1,000%. If you've owned any of these names since the start of the year, chances are your portfolio is doing pretty well.

In this post I have identified an updated list of 26 stocks which have broken out on big (very unusual) volume. As always, I believe the stocks listed in this post are worthy of adding to the stock watch list.

As stated at the bottom of this post, I have chosen two stocks from the list which I may be speculating with in the weeks to come. Last week I had a stock LaserCard (LCRD) which I speculated with Monday the day after posting it, and the day they reported earnings (after the bell). It is a week later, and up over 50%. Here is the outcome to that trade.

Q2 2009 Earnings Call

July 30, 2009 11:00 am ET

Sentiment

Stocks are broadly higher on upbeat earnings news and good results from the latest auction of Treasury notes. The day was off to a sluggish start after the Labor Department reported that weekly jobless claims increased by 15,000 to 627,000 in the week ended June 20. Economists were looking for a decline to 600,000.

The Dow dipped into the red early, but then found support in morning trading and began a move back into positive territory. Better-than-expected earnings lifted a number of consumer-related stocks including Nike (NKE) and Bed, Bath and Beyond (BBBY). Homebuilder Lennar (LEN) is enjoying a 16.4 percent post-earnings rally.

There are currently 1,483 stocks in the Russell 3,000 that are up year to date, 134 are up more than 100%, and 38 are up more than 200%. When we're looking for momentum stocks to trade for our money management clients or our Bespoke Premium Model Stock Portfolio, an easy place to start a filter is by looking at the top performing stocks year to date. If you're looking to filter through some potential trades this weekend, below we highlight the Russell 3,000 stocks that are up more than 200% so far in 2009. These stocks have the best relative strength in the index, and have no doubt gotten the attention of other traders as they have outperformed. Dollar Thrifty (DTG) is up the most at 680%, followed by Providence Service (the Obama stock), Avis Budget (CAR), Borders Group (BGP), and Stein Mart (SMRT).

The unofficial earnings season came to an end with Wal-Mart's report yesterday. In general, stocks performed well throughout the reporting period, and below we highlight the ones (>$5) that had the best one-day reactions to their earnings reports. For stocks that report in the morning, we use that day's change, and for stocks that report after the close, we use the next day's change.

As shown, Geokinetics (GOK) had the best one-day reaction to its earnings report this season with a gain of 61.59%. Ruby Tuesday (RT) went up the second most at 56.81%, followed by VCI, RCRC, PEGA, and BARE. Other notables on the list of earnings season winners include MGM and WYN.

ln our last post we highlighted the average change on earnings reports for stocks in each sector. Below we highlight the 30 stocks that have gone up the most in response to their Q1 '09 earnings reports and the 30 stocks that have gone down the most. For stocks that report earnings in the morning, we use that trading day's price change. For stocks that report after the close, we use the next trading day's price change.

As shown, HGSI has had the best earnings report response with a one-day gain of 57.55%. RT comes in a close second with a gain of 56.81%. Other notables on the list of winners include WYN, BGFV, EXPE, TIN, and BBBY.

Q1 2009 Earnings Call

April 30, 2009 11:00 am ET

Another highly leveraged company seems poised to test the generosity of its lenders. Commercial printer Cenveo (CVO) snuck the following language in its 10-K filing today, hoping nobody would notice and destroy its stock price ahead of "unprecedented economic uncertainty and volatility":

Capital Structure:

The recent word that Hearst is going to either sell (highly unlikely) or shutter (far more likely) the San Francisco Chronicle is only the latest but perhaps the most serious indicator that the entire sector is not beyond heroic revival measures. That one of the most vibrant metropolises in the world cannot even come close to supporting a daily metropolitan newspaper is proof enough that the segment is simple DOA.

True, the Chron has lost money for many years, faces high labor costs, and is in the most digitally-savvy (and least paper-centric) market in the country. All of that said, with the advertising dollars sloshing around the Bay Area one would think that if the business were viable, it would have a niche. Ditto for a city like Philadelphia, a capital of the insurance industry and big pharma and a place that is about to go dailyless. So let's take a look at what this unstoppable decline will mean.

Q4 2008 Earnings Call

February 17, 2009 11:00 am ET

Q3 2008 Earnings Call Transcript

November 6, 2008, 11:00 am ET

The large major food companies have increased the testing and use of new tech media over the last 12 months. By new tech media, we mean the use of online coupons, website marketing, mobile marketing and coupons, viral marketing, and all forms of internet advertising including search, banner ads, and other forms of web advertising. Food companies have been one of the more consistent advertisers on traditional media like cable television, print and Sunday newspaper supplements. More and more they are turning to non traditional media to test its effectiveness in reaching their target consumers.

The reasons for this increased usage are three-fold.