3 Stocks Trading at 52-Week Lows — Is This the Bottom?

The market is full of highs and lows and savvy investors know when to jump on a good deal. For these companies, a week like this could turn into an opportunity for investors, if they can ride out the waves of the markets.

Alamos Gold

Back in late April, Alamos Gold (TSX: AGI)(NYSE: AGI) revealed its Q1 report, which showed a 90% drop in its gold profits. Alamos only managed to bring in U.S. $2.7 million in the past quarter; the main factor behind this drop was a 21% drop in the price in gold compared to Q1 2013. Since this announcement the stock has tumbled down to its new 52-week low of $9.25 on May 16.

Alamos has long been a short-term stock for many investors, allowing for some quick gains if you can time out the price of gold correctly. Those who tend to look at Alamos as a long-term hold tend to get burned. Knowing this, the current price of $9.29 could be a good time to clock in for some short-term gains. Current price targets for the company are between $14.00 to $15.00 and the majority of analysts have a “buy” rating on the stock.

Serinus Energy Inc. 

A previous entrant in our series this oil and gas company has operations in Ukraine, Tunisia, Brunei, and Romania. The stock hit a new 52 week low of $2.40 on May 16, following the fall of Eastern Ukraine to Russian nationalists. This is significant to Sernius Energy (TSX: SEN) as 43% of its Ukrainian assets are in the “annexed” eastern part of the country.

The stock began its fall a month ago when a perfect storm of circumstances hit it with a decrease in production, the crisis in Ukraine, the cancelation of its Syrian operations, and the closure of its well in Brunei. After a vital part got stuck in the hole, the set back will cost the company $11.8 million. Despite all of these setbacks, analysts still maintain an average target price of $5.08.

TearLab Corporation 

A singularly focused healthcare company which manufactures devices to diagnose eye disease, TearLab (TSX: TLB)(NASDAQ: TEAR) hit a new 52-week low of $4.20 on May 12. The past year has been a rough one for the company, as the stock has gone from $15.30 last July to its lowest point since December 2012.

TearLab’s previous quarter was a mixed bag — revenues climbed 70% in the quarter to U.S. $4.2 million, but a net loss of US$5.6 million was also realized. This loss was down from the previous year’s quarter where the company lost U.S. $8.6 million. Despite these losses the company is sitting on U.S. $32 million in cash.