Sometimes the best way to see where you are going is to look where you have been. Of course every financial commentator always covers his backside by telling you “past performance is not an indication of future returns,” just as he whips out charts of historic action.

With the second quarter in the history books, we can learn who were the winners and the losers and work to uncover any important patterns or indicators. The results may be surprising.

I will start with the top three gainers, all listed on the Nasdaq exchange.

Dendreon (NASDAQ:DNDN) wins top honors with a quarterly gain of 495%. The biotech company that was trading for just $2.55 per share in March is now going for close to $24 today after stretching as high as $27.40 in recent weeks. The surge came thanks to positive news from the company’s prostate-fighter Provenge.

The exchange’s next top gainer is MAP Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MAPP) with quarterly gains of 481%. Its wealth-generating propensity came on the news that the company’s migraine drug met four critical endpoints. Most of the company’s movement came last month when shares soared from the $3 range to a high of close to $14.

Finally, the third-place winner, with gains of 340% is Fuqi International (NASDAQ:FUQI), a precious metal jeweler in China. As the country’s economy showed signs of strength, Fuqi surged from $3.31 to close to $20 per share.

Two drug companies and a gold player in the winners. If you visit TFN with any regularity, you are not surprised by the news.

How about the losers?

Earning the Nasdaq’s worst-performance award is Star Scientific (NASDAQ:STSI), a manufacturer of “less-deadly” tobacco products.

Its precipitous decline came after word broke the company lost a patent lawsuit against a behemoth competitor, Reynolds America. In just the first half of June, shares of the company dropped from over $5 to just north of a buck a share. In all, the company lost 79% of its value during the year’s second quarter.

Trailing closely is yet another biopharm player, Anadys Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:ANDS). When word the company’s Hepatitis C treatments were not up to par hit the Street, shares began shedding value like a dog shakes off a heavy rain.

The company lost 73% of its value in the past three months.

Rounding out the Nasdaq’s losers is yet another biotech, Sequenom (NASDAQ:SQNM). It lost 72% of its share price after it announced “employee mishandling” of data made Down syndrome testing results unreliable.

Two more examples of the volatility associated with the speculative biotech industry. It is proof one news event can make or break these fast-moving companies, sometimes permanently.

Pay attention here

Finally, after compiling a list of losers for the NYSE, it is obvious those leveraged short ETFs are some of the most dangerous investment tools out there. Far worse than the default swaps so many investors love to hate.

When the markets surged from their March lows, the last investment you wanted in your portfolio was the Direxion Financial Bear 3X Short (NYSE:FAZ). Designed to use leverage to create gains tripling an intraday drop in the market, the ETF created losses of 77% for the folks that unwisely bought into the fund with a buy-and-hold strategy.

This is perfect proof that these funds are dangerous when not used properly and it exemplifies why no investor should hold a leveraged short position for more than a few hours, let alone an entire quarter.

As the math shows, even if you get the trend right, you can still lose an awful lot of money.

The last three months were filled with stories of great gains and strong losses. Most intriguing is the gap between so many biotech companies.

Pick the right ones (which we appear to be quite good at here at TFN) and you can make out like a bandit. Go with the wrong one and, well, the numbers speak for themselves.

For my take on what the current quarter’s list of winners and losers will look like, click here.

Source: The Second Quarter’s Biggest Winners… and Losers

Even helicopter Ben is worried. He’s told Congress that inflation risks have “intensified” and that there’s now a threat of “significant downside” to growth.

But contrarian investors should be lapping it up, says Marc Lichtenfeld in The Smart Profits Report. A bear market is where bargains are made.

Marc has put together a list of stocks that performed well in during the last bear… and four stocks that are currently battling the bear head on…

Rewind: The Best Bear Market Bets From 2000-2002

When you’re faced with a challenging market, one option is to look for the stocks that historically perform well during downturns. You’ll often find that the companies that not only weather the storm, but thrive during it, are the ones that lead the pack once the market stabilize and heads higher again.

Here are some examples of stocks that held up well during the last bear market, which growled from March 2000 to October 2002. During that time, the S&P 500 lost a whopping 50.4%.

Ventas (NYSE: VTR): Check out these results. While most other stocks were in freefall, Ventas gained a sensational 578% and then went on to post additional gains of 356% at the stock’s high.

THQ Inc (Nasdaq: THQI): Investors who held on to THQI during the last bear were rewarded with a return of 68%. But that pales in comparison to the 178% gains at the stock’s high afterward.

Manor Care: Shares jumped 36% during the last bear market. However, by the time the Carlyle Group bought the company in 2007, its shares had rocketed another 255% since the end of the bear market.

But I imagine you want the best stocks to invest in during a bear market today. Below are a few stocks to look into. They are all trading well during what has been a treacherous market. That should be some indication that their prospects are especially bright.

Fast Forward: The Best Bear Market Bets Today

From solar power, to biotech, to healthcare and hospice services, these four companies are currently battling the bear head-on… and winning.

Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ): Shares of this Ontario-based manufacturer of solar modules have skyrocketed over the past year. Although currently 25% off its high, the stock is still well-placed to profit from high oil prices, and with the company having recently raised its revenue outlook, there’s no reason to think that solar stocks will quit any time soon.

Note: Solar power is still a young, up-and-coming industry in stock market terms. Our newly added technology expert Paul Moore is cautious on the sector and I’m sure he’ll have more to say about solar in coming months.

Moving to the healthcare area, several names have recently hit 52-week highs…

Allos Therapeutics (Nasdaq: ALTH): Shares of this biotech company have recovered nicely since the firm’s brain cancer drug failed Phase III trials last summer. At the moment, its leading candidate, PDX, is in Phase II trials for T-cell lymphoma. The company raised over $65 million this spring, so it should have enough cash to fund its research in the near-term at least. Allos is not expected to generate any revenue this year, though.

Amedisys (Nasdaq: AMED): This profitable provider of home health and hospice services is projected to earn $2.73 per share this year and $3.32 next year. However, not everyone is bullish on AMED. Over 26% of the float is sold short. So either the bears know something, or there could be a big short squeeze coming if the stock continues to rise. Note: The company’s earnings report is scheduled for July 29, which should provide more clues.

Sequenom (Nasdaq: SQNM): This genetic and molecular diagnostics company has seen its shares quadruple since April. But the stock really started cooking in June when the company announced very strong results in tests to determine Down Syndrome in fetuses using the mother’s blood. The Down Syndrome testing market is at least $1 billion and if Sequenom’s tests are proven superior, the company could be in the position to grab much of that revenue.

Source: The Best Stocks to Invest in During a Bear Market

Ipsen had an option to buy up to 40% of Tercica through to a 2006 deal. It will buy the remaining 44.9 million outstanding shares for $9 each.

That price reflects a 104 percent premium on Wednesday’s cling price of $4.41 per share.

The stock hist $8.90 today before contracting in the afternoon. No volume spike indicating advance buying tipped the company’s hand.

We consider the speculative upside negligible at this point (at least compared to today’s run-up), at less than 10%.

Our momentum play Sequenom, Inc. (Nasdaq:SQNM), which had soared over 20% on news that its nucleic acid technology is able to detect Down’s syndrome, continued to pack on the shekels today, gaining an additional 20%.

Not bad for not working for a day!

Source: Tercica, Inc. Stock Doubles on Acquisition News

Sequenom, Inc. is a San Diego-based genetics and molecular diagnostic company that provides genetic analysis products/services and develops diagnostic tests initially targeted at non-invasive prenatal genetic disorders.

The stock currently trades just below $10, up over 100% from its March 2008 low of $4.25, but still comfortably below its 52-week high of $11.63.

Momentum traders should buy this stock in view of the media dissemination chain of positive news, which should keep the company in the news for at least until the weekend. Buy at current levels below $9.50, with a 20-25% profit short-to-medium-term profit target.

Source: Sequenom Gains 20% on Down’s Syndrome Discovery