Forget Low Volume—Stocks Are Underbought: Manager

Despite the recent rally in stocks, volume levels have been on the light side. What does it mean for investors? Craig Hodges, co-portfolio manager at The Hodges Fund, and John Morris, managing partner at Crestwood Advisors, shared their outlooks.

“There’s been so much negative news, it’s killed the enthusiasm,” Hodges told CNBC.

"It’s gotten so negative out there that the individual investor is gone and now the market is dominated by quants and computers...it’s made a lot of investors feel like they don’t have a chance and that’s part of the problem with the volume.”

But Hodges said stocks are currently underowned and cheap. (Scroll down to see his full picks.)

In the meantime, Morris said he is anticipating inflation and investing accordingly.

“[We’re investing in] TIPS and through gold allocations, and having businesses that can grow topline and earnings per share in an inflationary climate,” he explained.

(Read a second opinion:Inflation ETF Poised For Record High: Kanundrum's Kelly.)

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Recommendations

Hodges Likes:

Maidenform Brands

Transocean

Atwood Oceanics

IBM

Cisco

Morris Likes:

McCormick

Travelers

SPDR S&P Biotech

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Scorecard—What They Said:

  • Hodges' Previous Appearance on CNBC (Sept. 1, 2010)
  • Morris' Previous Appearance on CNBC (Sept. 14, 2010)

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CNBC Slideshows:

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Market Views—Across the Board:

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CNBC Data Pages:

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Disclosures:

No immediate information was available for Hodges or Morris.

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Disclaimer