3 Stocks That Decided to Skip the Bear Market

It�s easy to be bullish on stocks when the marketwide tide is rising. The real litmus test comes when the chips are down and your holdings are facing a headwind. Most stocks aren�t all-weather kind of names. These three, however, have defied the odds and overcome the recent weakness. As such, they might be your best bets for what�s looking like a rocky finish to Q3, and an uncertain beginning of Q4.

Las Vegas Sands

Sin sells. Actually, it doesn�t sell all time — even the recession-proof casinos discovered they weren�t as recession-proof as believed in 2008. The group as a whole is coming out of the rut, though, and Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) is leading the charge.

To be fair, LVS did take some lumps in early August along with the rest of the market. Shares fell from a peak of $48.74 to a low of $36.08 — a 26% drubbing, versus the market�s 18% pullback. That�s where the similarities stop. While the broad market has barely been able to get and stay above its early August lows, Las Vegas Sands has reclaimed about 80% of the round it lost with that sharp dip; it�s simply an amazing degree of relative strength.

More than that, the big move higher has carried LVS back above its key 200-day moving average line (green) — a feat most stocks can�t even fathom at this point. And the near-term momentum was already in the bullish camp.

What makes Las Vegas Sands such as exciting prospect at this point isn�t what it�s done so far, though — it�s what it hasn�t done yet. The recent ebbs and flows have painted a very clear horizontal trading range (framed in blue), which ultimately will act like a slingshot once the stock can break above the upper boundary around $48.50.

Intuitive Surgical

Like Las Vegas Sands, Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) took a hit like most stocks did in early August, sliding from a peak of $408 to a low of $322 (-21%) in just a two-week span. It�s what�s happened in the meantime that bodes so well for this surgical systems manufacturer.

After the dust settled from the initial rout, ISRG begin rebuilding, beginning with the help of support at its 200-day moving average line (green). Since then, the broad market has suffered two more setbacks. Intuitive Surgical half-heartedly mirrored the first one but completely skipped last week�s dip. Again, that kind of relative strength pays off when things are at their darkest.

As for what this means on a forward-looking basis, the brush with the 200-day average line acts as something of a “reset” for this chart�s bullishness. And, that�s a good thing — ISRG has a solid history with crosses (above as well as below) of the 200-day moving average line.

Coca-Cola

This can be no surprise. One of the most recession-proof stocks on the planet has sailed through the recent bearish volatility almost as if it never happened. From peak to trough in late July and early August, Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) was down only 8.9% versus the market�s 18%. Coca-Cola, as well as the S&P 500, made hard landings on the 10th, too, but Coke shares have rallied nearly 8% since then, while the broader market has struggled to hold onto what�s now just a hair above a 3% gain.

And yes, Coca-Cola used its 200-day moving average line as a springboard, too. It even managed to hit new multiyear highs last week, and isn�t showing any real signs of slowing down. If anything, the pseudo-consolidation phase (inside slightly bullish trend lines) we�ve seen during the past few months has primed the pump for a move not unlike the one we saw in late 2010.

That being said, the worst-case scenario for KO shareholders right now is that the stock remains in that bullish channel and continues to dole out gains at a reliably sustainable pace. Either way, the risk/reward scenario is attractive.