Tuesday's Rocket Stocks

Ask a cheapskate value investor to buy a stock that's achieved a new 52-week high and you'll get one of two responses:

1. Hysterical laughter.

2. Sudden nausea.

Feel sorry for them, Fool.

How many times has Google touched a 52-week high on its way to yesterday's close of $741.79? Too many to count, of course. Those who panicked at the thought of buying at the top have missed out on a near-seven-bagger.

Let that be a lesson. Rocket stocks -- that is, high-growth stocks that are also realizing heavy price appreciation -- are sometimes worth buying.

Rocket stocks, not rocket science
And sometimes they're worth buying in bulk. Think of Baidu.com. My buddy Rick Munarriz recommended China's top search engine to our Motley Fool Rule Breakers subscribers at $83.37 in October of last year.

I thought he was nuts. I mean it. The stock was both expensive and on a tear. So, I argued against buying it in a duel in January here at Fool.com. Now Baidu is nearing a five-bagger. How I wish I had listened to what Rick was telling me those months ago.

Don't do as I did; never assume an expensive stock is too expensive. What looks like a cliff could really be base camp on a climb toward the summit of Everest. Each day in this column, with the help of the 73,000 pro and amateur stock pickers in our Motley Fool CAPS community, we'll seek to find those still climbing.

Our candidates will be found daily in the 52-week high lists at The Wall Street Journal. But few highfliers will make the cut; we're looking for stocks expected to boost net income by at least 15% annually over the next five years and that earn at least three of five stars from our CAPS community.

Here are today's top five for your consideration:

Audible interests me because of what it does -- providing downloadable spoken word content, such as books on tape -- and because outstanding investors I know have made the stock a buy, including the market-crushing team at the Manning & Napier funds.

Can Jobs do the job?
But there's no way for a Mac guy like me to avoid discussing Apple, is there? Nope. Much as I've argued against the valuation in the past, I can't help but admit that there may be a lot more growth to come in this growth story. Much more growth than you can expect from peers Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ).

I'll give you two reasons why: "re" and "tail." Put it together, Fool. Apple, unlike any other electronics manufacturer, allows customers to play with its products in a store that just oozes cool.

And money: Apple outsells Best Buy and Tiffany on a per-square-foot basis.

Others pin the future of the Mac's daddy on another two reasons: "i" and "Phone". CAPS All-Star millionairefools explains in this excerpt:

I don't think iPhone is a product. This is a platform for things to come. The closest example is Windows software -- a platform on top of which Microsoft sells Office suite, [a]nti-virus, and a host of other add-ons to make the platform more valuable.

Intrigued? Do your own due diligence, then check in with thousands of other investors at CAPS. If you'd like, add your own commentary. You'll be helping your fellow Fools and testing your ideas at the same time. Click here to get started now; the service is 100% free.

See you back here tomorrow for more rocket stocks.