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Healthy stocks that are within close striking distance of new highs are often great buy candidates for investors to keep on their watch lists, especially when the companies match favorably with all of the investment system's criteria.  When a stock is more than -10% off its 52-week high, and if it has violated its 50-day moving average (DMA) line, then the outlook only gets worse and worse as it spends a greater period of time trading deeper under that important short-term average line. By the time a stock's 50 DMA line starts sloping downward it should also be acknowledged that the stock has been struggling for a long while, in which case it might be time to reduce exposure and look for places to put that money to work in stronger buy candidates.

Flir Systems Inc. (FLIR +$1.67 or +4.21% to $41.38) surged to a fresh all-time high on volume more than 5 times its average daily trading total. After its most recent breakout it pulled back and found support near its pivot point. The recent action is a compelling sign of institutional sponsorship, especially during such a crummy market environment. FLIR sports strong ranks; its Earnings Per Share (EPS) rating is 90 and Relative Strength (RS) rating is 96.  This stock was recently featured on Thursday, May 22, 2008 in the CANSLIM.net Mid Day Breakouts Report (read here) with a $35.64 pivot point and a $37.42 maximum buy price and the following note: "Y - Gapped up today and hit new all-time highs on news of a military contract. There was an earlier bullish gap up on 4/24/08, during its recent base. It is clear of all chart resistance now that it has topped its November 2007 highs. Strong quarterly and annual earnings history satisfies the C & A criteria. Note that the major averages' latest "correction" which has begun this week is an overriding concern, and the investment system's M criteria presently argues for investors to avoid new buys and raise cash by selling any stocks that are faltering."  Disciplined investors stick to buying stocks within the investment system's guidelines and remember to always limit losses per the 7-8% sell rule. Which means that this high ranked leader should remain on an active watchlist in the event a new follow-through day emerges. Initially, FLIR was featured on Monday, March 07, 2005 in the CANSLIM.net Mid Day Breakouts Report (read here) and has been added and dropped from the Featured Stocks list several times in the past three years.

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