In his latest column for Forbes.com, Validea CEO John Reese takes a look at what stocks have actually been among the biggest gainers while the market has plunged in the past couple months. These stocks can be awfully tempting for investors, who are trying to latch on to any sort of positive market vibes amid this difficult climate. But, Reese cautions, buyers should beware: “Blindly following hot stocks can get you in trouble,” he says, “and in this environment, it can spell disaster for your portfolio. Simply going with stocks that have been hot during an incredibly anomalous climate is no strategy for success.”

If a stock has been hot and also has strong underlying fundamentals, however, it can net you some strong gains, Reese notes. He thus examines five hot performers that still get approval from one or more of his value-focused Guru Strategy computer models, each of which is based on the approach of a different Wall Street great. One of the top picks: Emergent BioSolutions (EBS), the anthrax vaccine maker whose stock has surged 70 percent over the past three months.