Stocks are standing tall these days.
There were 518 NYSE-listed stocks hitting new 52-week highs last week, along with 308 bubbly peers on the Nasdaq. Some of these companies are just getting started.
I scanned through the list of fresh highs to come up with a few names that I'm still excited about. They have favorable catalysts, positive momentum, and may just start coming into their own as new market darlings.
Let's go over a few highfliers that I see headed higher.
| Oct. 11, 2010 | High | Low | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 51job (Nasdaq: JOBS) | $38.12 | $40.50 | $13.18 |
| Sirius XM Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI) | $1.34 | $1.34 | $0.54 |
| Retail Ventures (NYSE: RVI) | $12.52 | $12.59 | $5.80 |
| Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) | $178.65 | $180.53 | $79.02 |
| Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) | $27.85 | $28.10 | $20.60 |
Source: Yahoo! Finance.
Let's go over the reasons to warm up to these market-bucking winners.
51job
There is no shortage of ways to play China's resurgent economy, but one of my favorites is 51job. Unlike Web-related search and online gaming speedsters that can be checked by a restrictive government, it's in China's best interest to see that job openings are publicized and filled.
51job has deals in place with 17 different regional newspapers in China to include its 51job Weekly insert of local employment opportunities. Cashing in on its brand in cyberspace, the company's online recruitment service has grown to account for more than half of its revenue -- a good thing, given the division's 74% top-line surge over the past year.
51job's latest quarter was another winner. Revenue climbed 36% as earnings more than doubled. This is no sleepy endeavor, and after-tax margins north of 20% are the icing on the cake of this scalable model.
Sirius XM Radio
Satellite radio has gone from 0 to 19.5 million subscribers over the past decade, and Sirius XM owns them all after the successful merger between the country's two satellite radio providers.
Sirius XM's low share price and last year's near-death experience make this an easy target for cynical bears, but there's a real winner here. The company has now posted four consecutive profitable quarters, and every few months finds Sirius XM bumping up both its subscriber and cash flow targets.
Armed with billions in tax-loss carryforwards and no material debt repayment milestones until 2013, we're talking about a steadier company than its volatility over the past two years may suggest. The valuation is not cheap at this point, but now is when Sirius XM finally has the flexibility to do more than just scratch the surface of premium radio's potential.
Retail Ventures
This may not be a household name, but the company's flagship investment -- a majority stake in DSW (NYSE: DSW) -- is no stranger to women seeking out designer shoes at healthy markdowns. The company has run into some rough patches in recent years. Its Value City and Filene's Basement concepts cratered. There was an embarrassing episode five years ago in which a data breach exposed the credit card information for many of its customers. However, the DSW chain continues to expand, and Retail Ventures offers an attractive value play in the concept's continuing success.
Revenue and earnings grew sharply in the retailer's latest quarter, fueled by a 12% spike in comps at the 310-unit DSW chain.
The revival has even caught the lone major analyst by surprise, upping this fiscal year's profit target from $0.17 a share to $1.55 a share over the past month alone. The serious revision finds Retail Ventures fetching a single-digit forward earnings multiple.
Chipotle Mexican Grill
Shares of Chipotle have nearly tripled since I originally recommended them to Motley Fool Rule Breakers subscribers -- an impressive feat considering that the S&P 500 has actually shed 19% of its value in that time. It also hasn't been a stellar time for many publicly traded eateries, since high unemployment translates into fewer lunch runs during the week and less discretionary income to go around at night.
Chipotle's been a Wall Street champ because it's just a flat-out superior concept. There are plenty of quick-service burrito rollers out there, but no one can put it all together the way that Chipotle can. Revenue and earnings climbed 20% and 31% respectively in its latest quarter. Even during the ugliest months of the recession, Chipotle managed to keep its comps positive.
Oracle
The enterprise software giant has always been a survivor. CEO Larry Ellison gobbles up smaller players, typically at accretive prices. His appetite has also turned toward hardware with Oracle's recent purchase of Sun.
Ellison is a master at the digestion process, managing to beat analyst guesstimates, quarter after quarter. As the victor in the Mark Hurd sweepstakes, Ellison now has Hewlett-Packard's (NYSE: HPQ) cost-cutting turnaround guru to help chew down future acquisitions. An already well-run software dynamo is about to become a well-run technology juggernaut.
