5 Surging Stocks to Buy Now with Plenty of Upside

By Tara Clarke, Associate Editor, Money Morning • @TaraKateClarke • August 12, 2014

Best stocks to buy for the week ending Aug. 8, 2014: Gold has outperformed other asset classes so far in 2014. And with geopolitical tensions raging in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, inflation on the rise, and Asian demand soaring through the roof, the yellow metal's run won't be over anytime soon.

That's why last week, our Resource Specialist Peter Krauth highlighted for readers four gold stocks to buy to cash in on gold's bullish run.

Additionally, Money Morning Defense & Tech Specialist Michael A. Robinson shared a telephone company stock pick that's already brought his readers a 29% gain since he first recommended it on May 2. Robinson stressed that the recent surge was "just the start" and explained how to play this company that's just "rewritten the rules on telecom competition."

You can find all of last week's tips and recommendations here in our newest list of the best stocks to buy.

Money Morning's Latest "Best Stocks to Buy" List

• Two weeks ago, a rural telephone company announced a breakup plan that's set to transform it from a sleepy dividend payer into a deal-making broadband firm. The day of the spin-off announcement, shares jumped 12.4% in a single session. The move also sparked single-day price spikes as high as 16% for several other rural carriers. Even the big boys - AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) - reaped the benefits. But according to Money Morning Defense & Tech Specialist Michael A. Robinson, the innovative spin-off strategy is just the start of this company's success story. "With this single move, the Little Rock, Ark.-based company has rewritten the rules on telecom competition. Rivals will have to react or fall behind," Robinson told readers on Thursday. Robinson outlined the company's next move - and how to play its stock's incredible "special situation" for maximum gain...

• Junior miners can be some of the most speculative, volatile stocks to buy. "They boom, bust, and repeat. Only they do this with more extreme swings than most any other market," Money Morning Resource Specialist Peter Krauth told readers last Wednesday. To illustrate, compare the last five years of the Nasdaq Composite to junior miners. The Nasdaq's up nearly 120%, while junior miners doubled - then gave it all back. But it's looking increasingly like we're entering a new boom phase, with junior miners up as much as 45.8% this year, and a lot more in store, according to Krauth. Using four charts, Krauth illustrated why gaining exposure to some higher-quality names in this sector is a great move right now - and he provided two junior miner stock picks to get readers started...

• Junior miners aren't the only precious metals stocks on the up-and-up. After gold's 28% price drop in 2013, all miners had to go through a strict round of cost cutting to increase profitability. While many faltered, those companies that managed to strengthen operations during the down gold market were poised to capitalize on gold prices' rise in 2014. That's why several gold mining stocks have benefitted from gold prices' 6.24% rise in 2014 - with some posting gains as much as 13 times the rise in physical gold. Last week, two gold mining stocks that Krauth had his eye on both signaled "Buy" to investors when they reported impressive earnings - and indications of more room to surge...

• According to the latest data from S&P Dow Jones Indexes, dividend income made up 5.64% of U.S. per capita personal income in 2012, compared with 4.39% in the previous 10 years and 3.51% in the last 20 years. The rise is fueled by the 696 dividend boosts that were reported in Q2 2014 (compared to the 591 hikes posted in the same quarter last year). A total of 63 companies sweetened the dividend pot in the week ending Aug. 1, and we tracked the 30 most notable boosts. Among them is a bank that just reported Q2 earnings showing a whopping 122% year-over-year increase in earnings; another company calls itself "America's favorite restaurant" and just raised its quarterly payout 18%...