3 Attractive Stocks for Your Portfolio

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I have three fresh names for you that are especially attractive opportunities from our Buy List that I’d like to share with you. If you are just joining us or have more money to invest, I recommend you give strong consideration to these stocks.

Let’s have a look:

AutoNation (AN) continues to show solid sales growth, and its latest quarterly report (see here for more detail)  further proved that the trend toward replacing aging vehicles – especially in the United States – remains quite strong.

Industry-wide sales of new vehicles this year would have been on the higher end of the 15-16 million range had it not been for the government shutdown. In fact, management said U.S. new vehicle sales will likely be more than 16 million units next year, which would be a big number considering that number was around a paltry 10 million units in the depths of the recession. With long-term catalysts and a solid growth record in place, the stock is well positioned for further upside ahead.

Cree (CREE) has been regaining some ground from the panic selling that occurred after its most recent earnings report. Management’s top-line guidance was in line with expectations, but the earnings numbers were a bit light, owing to the continued investment in sales needed to drive consumer awareness of its push into the LED retail market.

As I’ve said before, this is an important strategy and I believe CREE is doing exactly what it should be: spending money to make money. That means that every dollar spent today in advertising, sales and marketing should pay dividends in the future, especially as its bulbs were just awarded the Energy Star designation.

Though there has been some speculation in the press about Wal-Mart’s (WMT) own retail push to efficient lighting, Cree has been well received in the marketplace, and its solid relationship with Home Depot (HD) is nothing to take lightly. I firmly believe that Cree is one of the best ways to play the phase out of incandescent bulbs.

EMC’s (EMC) post-earnings drop earlier this month is giving us a good buying opportunity, and I want us to take advantage as the stock works to regain its footing. The company reported solid growth in its third-quarter report, but fell short of estimates as it reflected a slowdown in federal IT spending.

However, this was largely due to the political brinksmanship that took place at the end of summer, so I’m not surprised by the spending delay and believe it’s only a temporary blip.

The stock still has upside ahead, especially as it continues to see growth in its storage business. We could also see some pent up demand make up for the reset in September.