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There are about a million ways you can pick top stocks, maybe more. Investors from every stripe and school will spout their theories and hawk their stock picking software. You may be swayed by the gobldygook they spew forth (and some if it really works), but at the end of the day the only thing that matters is; do their picks make your portfolio rise or fall?

Here are three other ways you can use, along with more traditional methods, to make top stock picks:

Top Stock Pick Method 1 -
Look at the insider trading. This, like any other method, definitely isn't foolproof by any stretch of the imagination, but if the insiders are buying their companies stock, that is a definite vote of confidence from those that ostensibly know the company and its market the best. If the firm is well established and the stock is near a 52 week low, strong insider acquisition activity can indicate good things to come. Every time someone who holds more than 10% of a publicly traded company's shares wants to buy or sell, they must file a form 4 with the SEC indicating their intent to do so. They must fill out this form within 48 hours of their making a transaction, weather it be buying, accepting a stock grant, or selling. This gives the average investor the ability to track their trading and learn from it.

Top Stock Pick Method 2 -
Look at companies that have consistently beat analysts earnings predictions. If a company has handily exceeded the pros predictions for 3 quarters in a row, that says a lot about not only their health, but the firm's ability to generate a profit. It is doing this while in many cases remaining under appreciated. This lack of love can translate into a stock that's under priced in the market compared to it's performance. The strong revenue can, in many cases, drive the stock price higher.

Top Stock Pick Method 3 -
Look to the news for your stock picks. Use some of the many news search engines. Look for companies that have positive stories done on them, from reputable news outlets, over the last 6 months. The more positive news stories, the better a stock pick it will be according to this theory. This can be coupled with a news search for articles on the company's principal industry and market. If they are generating positive news stories as well, it can be an indicator of good times ahead for the firm in question.

These are just three methods you can use to generate top stock picks. However (seems there's always one of those), you should combine these methods with more conventional analysis before you actually pick a stock to add to your portfolio.