The Globe and Mail attempts to identify stocks that are considered stars by the standards of today's stockpickers in its Thursday, March 14, edition. The Globe's Ian McGugan writes in the Number Cruncher column that the market is fickle and what it looks for in a stock can change quickly. To see which stocks fit the market's mood right now, Mr. McGugan sought ones that score highly based on the best-performing valuation yardsticks of the past year. Some of those yardsticks were the price-to-sales ratio, price-to-trailing earnings ratio, earnings stability and price-closest-to-12-month high. The list of all-round stars featured many of Canada's biggest and best-known companies. But while these companies all score well on several factors in current favour, they are not sure things, warns Mr. McGugan. The Globe writer notes that the qualities the market rewards can shift rapidly. Mr. McGugan recommends readers do further research before buying his recommended picks. Stocks fitting the market mood right now are Stantec, Magna International, Dorel Industries, George Weston, Toromont Industries and Transcontinental.