3 Fastest Climbers Off The Market Bottom

We can haggle over whether the decline in equities that began in April is over and a new segment of the bull market has begun, but there's no questioning the strength of the companies we'll look at here.

IN PICTURES: 7 Currency Blunders You Could Cash In On

Since the last lows were set on July 7, these three stocks have rocketed higher in extraordinary fashion. But what drove them? And will they lose ground as quickly if the markets fall? Hard to say for certain, but some things are clear. The impetus behind these issues will certainly still be there when the markets do eventually rebound. Some phrase it this way: the strongest performers in a weak market usually overachieve when all systems are go.

Confidence in Debt Insurance
MBIA, Inc. (NYSE:MBI) is in the insurance and reinsurance business, with an emphasis on guaranteeing financial products. In the aftermath of the sub-prime market meltdown, the company's stock lost close to 90% of its value. Over the same period, the broad financial sector, as represented by the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSE:XLF) lost approximately 70% of its value. Of course, the financials were the hardest hit group in the market. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:SPY), by comparison, dropped by roughly half during that time frame.

Recent confidence in the stock came as result of investment guru Bruce Berkowitz and his Fairholme Capital Management Fund announcing they had taken a significant stake in the company. From the July 7 bottom, MBIA shares are up nearly 30%.

Messy Oil on the Move
Shares of Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE:APC) are up better than 30% since the beginning of July. Anadarko, which owns 25% of BP's mess-making Gulf of Mexico oil well, recently informed British Petroleum that it would not, for now, be contributing to the bill for the cleanup. Last month Moody's debt rating agency downgraded Anadarko's credit rating to junk status.

priceline.com, Inc. (Nasdaq:PCLN) is an online travel agent, offering car rental, hotel, rail, sea cruise and air bookings. The company's stock is up over 12% since July 7 and 85% over the last twelve months. The shares have moved higher recently as worries over the impact on air travel from the volcano in Iceland abated.

The Wrap
The above three stocks should outperform their peers in the eventuality of a continued bull run in the markets. Fresh confidence in a company is a hard thing to break. (For additional stock analysis, see Double Digit Dividends.)

Use the Investopedia Stock Simulator to trade the stocks mentioned in this stock analysis, risk free!