They're Up Today, But What About Tomorrow? DELL, KRA, and WIT in the Spotlight

Believe it or not, there are some stocks that are up today. The problem is, today's winners may not necessarily have the right stuff to be up tomorrow, or nest week, or nest month. It takes a very special set of conditions for a stock to overcome what's turning into a nasty marketwide correction, but Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT), Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL), and Kraton Performance Polymers Inc. (NYSE: KRA) may well have what it takes.

Wipro Limited obscure though it may be, may also have the most pent-up potential to rally from here. (Effectively) in consolidation mode since the beginning of last year, WIT has finally started to clearly make higher lows. Today's gain of 2.5% doesn't take it over the technical hump at $14.76 [it's currently priced at $14.02], but it's getting close.

What's helping WIT resist the bigger bearish tide is not the business model, but the business location.... India. The country's current technology revolution is right up Wipro Limited's alley. It's a bit frothy even at it forward-looking P/E of 23.11, but traders seem to be looking further down the road than that.

Dell Inc. shares are also up solidly today, to $15.93 (+2.2%) to extend what's becomes a long-term - even if erratic - rally. The bears took a bite out of the stock in mid-May when everything was getting whacked. But, DELL found a floor at the 50-day line (around $15.40) and is now pushing off of it.

So what's going to keep DELL running higher? To call a spade a spade, an economic rough patch is apt to crimp this computer maker like any other organization.... perhaps not by as much, but it'll still be noticed. But, as the economic chips fall, it's becoming pretty clear that Dell Incorporated's worst possible performance is still better than the best possible performance from most other companies. That plausible forward-looking P/E of 8.6 is like a big juicy steak.

Last but not least, Kraton Performance Polymers Inc. is more than boring enough (in a good way) to be passed over by any bears looking for a name to hit.

As the name indicates, KRA makes polymers, which is not even close to being as sexy as tech, biotech, or precious metals. That off-the-radar business, however, also works to owners' advantage, as there's no real interest in or need to sell it if/when the market gets ugly. Besides, it's not like KRA is all that economically-sensitive. Yet, it is a good (i.e. growing) business to be in. Earnings are expected to rise from $3.20 last year to $4.10 this year to $4.35 next year, translating into a projected P/E of 8.9 for Kraton Performance Polymers. There's not apt to be much economic disruption that could alter its current growth rate.

Anyway, KRA is up 1.7% today and pushing off its 100-day moving average line, following a healthy pullback from $46 to $35 early last month.