5 Stocks Heading Even Higher

Hundreds of stocks hit new highs last week, and some of those companies may just be getting started.

I scanned through the list yesterday to come up with five stocks that I think are headed for a fall. Now it's my turn to play the optimist.

A new high doesn't have to be a peak. In fact, many of the stocks that will be hitting new highs later this month also set new high marks last month.

Let's go over five highfliers that I predict will gain even more altitude.

Source: Yahoo! Finance.

Southwest Airlines
As someone who recently paid to check a suitcase -- only to have the legacy carrier lose it along the way -- those "bags fly free" Southwest spots are music to my ears.

I may not be a fan of its frills-free flights or its seat-reservation policies, but Southwest's manageable debt, predictable fleet of easily maintained jets, and admirable brand have combined to create the only major air carrier that is typically profitable.

Having an enviable cost structure is a blessing during a recession, but Southwest will truly get to flex its muscles as the global economy improves. Once consumers and corporate travelers start flying again, Southwest will be able to increase fares along with the industry, and truly milk its model appropriately.

TASER
The ubiquitous stun-gun maker had shareholders shouting "Don't Tase me, bro" when the company rattled off three consecutive quarterly losses to kick off 2009. But it offset all of that red ink with a better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit.

Analysts think that TASER's outlook only gets better from here. They see a 13% gain in revenue and net income of $0.10 a share this year. By 2011, the top line should accelerate to 22% growth, with profits nearly tripling to $0.28 a share.

TASER has had its setbacks and legal challenges, but in the end, stunguns do provide a more forgiving policing alternative to conventional firearms. Orders for TASER's wares continue to flock in on both the institutional and consumer side.

Netflix
Five years ago, Netflix dipped into the single digits, plagued by competition and doubts about the long-term viability of mailing out DVD rentals. But the company's a whole new Netflix these days, and not just because it hit an all-time high of $70 yesterday.

There really isn't a whole lot of competition for Netflix these days, and its digital strategy is unrivaled. Netflix proved to be one of the recession's biggest darlings, with 12.3 million subscribers at the end of 2009. Couch potatoes got behind the company's all-you-can-stream model, and its push to make thousands of its titles available digitally, at no extra cost for subscribers to its unlimited plans, was perfect.

There may very well come a time to be wary of Netflix, but it's certainly not now. Netflix is the only company that apparently has gotten digital video right, and that will make it an interesting name in buyout chatter.

Baidu
China's leading search engine also notched an all-time high yesterday. Baidu's shares have soared more than fivefold since bottoming out 15 months ago.

Baidu's valuation is steep, but its performance has merited a healthy premium. Revenue and earnings soared 40% and 48%, respectively, in its latest quarter -- and this was before Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) threatened to leave China.

In all honesty, we all know that Google wasn't serious. China is too important to abandon, and the government won't bend to an outsider that happens to be the distant silver medalist in the world's most populous nation. However, this is also the kind of move that will sway even more online advertisers to lean on Baidu's platform in order to avoid upsetting the country's restrictive government.

Steiner Leisure
As the leading operator of cruise-ship spas, Steiner is pampering guests on 126 floating resorts. The company is coming off an uninspiring 2009 in which revenue and profits dipped, but the future should be kinder once consumers begin booking cruise vacations again.

You're seeing that at Carnival (NYSE: CCL) -- one of the many lines turning to Steiner to staff its seaborne spas -- which also hit a fresh 52-week high last week. Steiner is a compelling play on the cruise industry as a whole, and on improving discretionary income among cruise passengers once they set sail.

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