A solid growth stock on the skids

• Sell all shares of Vanguard Large-Cap ETF (VV, news, msgs) at the open.

• Put all available cash into Hurco (HURC, news, msgs) at the open.

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The housing/credit crunch is still in full swing, the price of a barrel of oil is setting new all-time highs, the weakening of the U.S. dollar seems to make the news on a regular basis, and the dreaded R-word -- recession -- is on a lot of people's lips.

Seems like a pretty lousy time to invest, right?

I'm not so sure. Uncertain? Absolutely. But this sort of uncertainty often spooks a lot of people out of the stock market, and in their rush for the exits, they often leave behind some really great companies trading at attractive prices.

I think Hurco (HURC, news, msgs) may be an example of this.

Hurco operates in an industry, computerized metal-working tools, that I believe is going to be experiencing a long-term bullish run for many years to come. It shows impressive growth, and it's relatively cheap, trading at price-to-earnings rating of about 9.3.

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Couple the fact that continued weakening of the U.S. dollar has only helped increase overseas sales (especially in Europe) with a pristine balance sheet that shows zero long-term debt, and I'm seeing the makings of a growing company poised to capitalize on continued weakness in the U.S. dollar.

But this company committed the cardinal sin of posting earnings growth of only 17% quarter over quarter for the second quarter, after completely knocking the cover off the ball during the first quarter. In doing so, it missed some analysts' expectations.

In these uncertain times, the market didn't react kindly, sending the shares down a little over 18% in a single day. They're at around $34.50 now.

A perfect rating

Of course I wouldn't be the CAPS Commando if I didn't mention that Hurco sports a perfect five-star ranking in our CAPS stock ranking service. Here's what "Nainara," whose player rating is a lofty 93.75 out of a possible 100, has to say about Hurco:

Three reasons to get in now:

• Since the last quarterly report, this company's P/E ratio has fallen to a near-historic low.

• 99% of revenue is generated overseas in non-dollar-denominated currencies. The continuing slide of the dollar will improve margins and increase overall marketplace competitiveness.

• Several new product lines in are slated to be released in September."

Dare to work through it

While I think Hurco is poised to outperform the market in the years to come, the only thing that seems certain in this market is continued uncertainty -- to which I say, "Bring it on!

Uncertainty often leaves the shares of some truly great companies trading at deep discounts to their intrinsic value. For those with a long-term investing horizon and the fortitude to weather near-term volatility, it is during times like these that I think the very best trades can be made.

Finding these values isn't always easy. But the intelligence, knowledge and insights offered daily by the tens of thousands of my fellow investors who use CAPS have helped me separate the proverbial wheat from the chaff.

In keeping consistent with my strategy of staying fully invested via ETFs and replacing the ETF holdings over time with promising individual stock ideas, I'm selling my entire position in the Vanguard Large-Cap ETF (VV, news, msgs) to help fund this trade.