The old adage of throwing the baby out with the bath water certainly can happen when the stock market is taking a beating. While the recent sell-off from peak to trough is not as bad as the summer of 2011, it has been very close to the levels after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. With that kind of volatility, even stocks that are posting solid numbers and have a bright future can get hit.

We recently screened research from Cowen and came up with three top companies that have been hit hard, that are cheap, posted good numbers and overall results, and may offer aggressive growth investors some outstanding returns.

Anthem

This company is a top health care provider and its stock has been mauled since June. Anthem Inc. (NYSE: ANTM) is a top health plan company that delivers quality products and services that give its members access to the care they need. With more than 68 million people served by its affiliated companies, including more than 37 million enrolled in its family of health plans, continued growth is not out of the question with an aging population that is living longer.

The Cowen team raised estimates for the rest of this year and 2016, and they are very positive on the proposed merger with Cigna. In fact, they see it accretive by $1.36 to the current standalone 2017 numbers.

Anthem investors are paid a 1.76% dividend. The Cowen price target for the stock is $180, and the Thomson/First Call consensus price target is $183.88. The shares closed most recently at $142.05.

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