Marcial: U.S. Steel Is on a Roll

They say that a big company, like an ocean liner, is difficult to turn around rapidly. But U.S. Steel (X) may have disproved the adage. After being battered by treacherous waters in 2007, Big Steel, as Wall Street loves to call it, was able to mount a relatively quick comeback. Some bold pros who scooped up shares in late 2007, when they knocked about between $80 and $100 a share, bagged tidy profits as the stock bounced up to a 52-week high of $196 by June 24. Predictably, profit-taking and market nervousness pulled the stock down to $185 by June 26, when the Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 358.41 points, to 11453.42—the market barometer's lowest level in 2008.

To some, U.S. Steel no longer looks like the Big Steal it was when it was trading below $100. But if you look at the prospects for rising demand—and the market price the metal fetches—you would disagree. In particular, a more positive conclusion is easier to justify when you study the background of U.S. Steel and its stock: The shares typically tumble after a negative headline but quickly rebound just before good news comes rolling back.