WMS Is Still Playing Nice

This column was originally published on RealMoney on Feb. 23 at 12:58 p.m. EST. It's being republished as a bonus for TheStreet.com readers. For more information about subscribing to RealMoney, please click here.

With shares of WMS Industries (WMS Quote) up a good 50% over the past year, investors who are worried about the top-down health of the market may view the stock as an obvious one to take profits on as they prepare for some long-awaited market crash. I'd like to propose an alternative.

I view WMS' performance as an illustration of why a major market downturn could be legitimately avoided. From both a fundamental and technical point of view, WMS still appears strong even after the stock's nice run. This is the case with the majority of the insider-inspired stocks I am now in as well. So, with so much going right from a bottom-up perspective, why would I assume that a top-down collapse is inevitable?

Slots of Growth Potential

This update is about WMS specifically, so let's get to it. WMS is a gaming-equipment company that sells and leases slot machines and video-gaming terminals, and it posted yet another round of strong results in its second quarter (ended Dec. 31). Sales for the quarter increased nearly 19% year over year to $134.6 million. That was a record for the company, and it also beat expectations by a couple of million dollars. ...