10 Top-Rated Fast Growing Companies

Over the years, some of the best stock market performers have had one thing in common – solid earnings growth. This makes sense. Why would anyone want to buy the stock if the underlying company wasn’t growing and making money?

But just how much growth is good? Based on research of winning stocks, you should see a minimum 25% increase in a company’s current quarterly profit growth vs. the same period a year ago. Remember, this is just a floor; the best stocks will often have results far above that.

Our research showed that three out of four of the best stocks had earnings growth of 70% or higher in their latest reported quarter. And that was before they began their major price advances.

Recent leader Baidu.com had a 128% surge in quarterly profit, before it shot out of a base.

We filtered this week’s list to include only equities with a strong combination of fundamentals and chart action. Stocks on this week’s list were screened for an Earnings Per Share Rating* and Relative Price Strength Rating** of 70 or higher. Quarterly earnings and sales increase of 25% or better. And three-year profit and revenue growth rates of 25% or higher. Further, Accumulation/Distribution Ratings*** had to be A, B or C. Stocks were then sorted by their three-year growth rate, with a secondary sort by Composite Rating. Only issues trading above $15 with average daily volume of at least 200,000 shares were included.

* The Earnings Per Share Rating compares a company’s last two quarters and last three to five years of growth and stability with those of all other companies. A 90 rating means its earnings outperformed 90% of all companies’.

** The Relative Price Strength Rating that appears for each stock is calculated by comparing its price change over the past 12 months to that of all other stocks in the tables. Results are rated on a scale from 1 to 99, with 99 being best. A RS Rating of 99 is the highest possible and means the stock has outperformed 99% of all stocks in the past 12 months. An RS Rating of 1 means nearly all other issues have done better. Market leaders usually rate 85 or higher.

*** The Accumulation/ Distribution Rating uses a price and volume formula to determine if a stock is under accumulation (buying) or distribution (selling) in the last 13 weeks. A signals heavy buying; E is heavy selling.

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