Rally in Coal Stocks Goes Unnoticed

By Chuck LeBeau, director of analytics at www.SmartStops.net.

There have been many market segments that have rallied substantially over the last two months but as might be expected it is the tech stocks and banking stocks that have received the most attention. The quiet rally in more mundane areas like coal has mostly gone unnoticed. Perhaps we can borrow a miner's helmet lamp and shine some light on these stocks.

Foundation Coal Holdings(FCL Quote), in just 11 market days, leaped to a May high of $31.54 from $14.65.

Peabody Energy(BTU Quote) has seesawed its way from a March low of $20.17 to a May high of $34.15.

James River Coal (JRCC Quote) has crept to a May high of $24.30 from a March low of $8.85, an impressive gain of 174%.

And the leader of the pack, Patriot Coal(PCX Quote), has recovered from a March low of $2.76 to a May high of $10.90. That represents a quiet gain of 295%.

Representing the general strength in the coal stocks, the Market Vectors Coal ETF(KOL Quote), has climbed from a March low of $10.88 to a May high of $24.

Prudent investors may want to avoid excessive risk in these stocks and a new service at www.SmartStops.net can help. Like the proverbial "canary in a coal mine" SmartStops can alert you when your stocks are getting into trouble. According to the most recent SmartStops data, the critical levels to watch are if FCL drops to $23.36; BTU to $27.92; JRCC drops to $16.85; PCX if it drops to $8.26; and KOL if it drops to $20.14.

Note: SmartStop alert prices change daily. For up to date daily alerts visit www.SmartStops.net.