Are you really a growth investor?

It's worth asking. Fast-moving tech stocks have taken a beating recently, leading to a slew of bargains for those with the guts to buy. Just ask investors who hold shares of Flextronics International (NASDAQ:FLEX), which yesterday fell more than 10% on no news whatsoever. Sheesh.

No matter. All-star investors bet on growth over the very long term. They know that:

  1. Businesses that make investors billions always begin as growth stocks.
  2. The best of them feature massive and identifiable competitive advantages.
  3. Growth as a strategy has the capacity to deliver 20% or greater annual returns for decades at a time.

How we do it
Of course, not all growth stocks will do. Our weekly hunt is for the next great multibagger. But unlike David Gardner and his team at Rule Breakers, who scour everything from financial statements to trade magazines to clinical reports in their research, we're going to rely on our Motley Fool CAPS investor-intelligence database.

Specifically, we're looking for stocks that have earned a five-star rating in CAPS and which are expected to grow their earnings by at least 20% annually over the next five years. Five-star stocks are those that the community, on the whole, believes will outperform the S&P 500.

Let's have the list
Now, with that preamble behind us, here are five more top growth stocks:

Company

No. of CAPS Ratings

Percent Bulls

5-Year Growth Estimate

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI)

93

96.8%

36%

ATS Medical (NASDAQ:ATSI)

159

98.7%

22.5%

Axsys Technologies (NASDAQ:AXYS)

636

97.6%

21%

Ceragon Networks (NASDAQ:CRNT)

1,570

98.3%

20.4%

USEC (NYSE:USU)

1,193

95.9%

33.1%

Sources: Motley Fool CAPS, Yahoo! Finance.

Bear in mind that this isn't a list of recommendations. Instead, I offer these stocks as candidates for further research.

We've got some great companies to work with. Defense contractor Axsys has been a force for growth. Cardiac kid ATS Medical was hitting the high notes in August. Analysts like American Public Education. And USEC is selling for half price.

Onward, Ceragon
My favorite today, though, is Motley Fool Hidden Gems recommendation Ceragon Networks, which specializes in what's called wireless backhaul technology. "Backhaul" is industry-speak for connecting one network to another. Think of it as the highway system that connects you to city streets.

And there's no technology toll to ride on Cergaon's wireless road. Quoting from Bill Mann's write-up:

As a backhaul company, Ceragon is agnostic to the flavor of alphabet soup that emerges victorious as an access technology -- whether it's WiMax, UMB, etc. Ceragon clearly has market-leading, flexible backhaul solutions that integrate well with other network elements. The company markets its products under the FibeAir brand, and has an incredibly broad (and growing) customer portfolio.

I'll add that wireless telco infrastructure is growing rapidly, owing in part to another Israeli company, Rule Breakers recommendation Alvarion (NASDAQ:ALVR). Its BreezeMAX base stations operate more than 60 WiMAX networks on the African continent. More metropolitan wireless networks equal a greater need for wireless backhaul, and greater opportunity for Ceragon.

But that's my take. I'm more interested in what you think. Would you buy Ceragon at today's prices? Let us know by signing up for CAPS today. It's 100% free to participate.

See you back here next week with five more top growth stocks. Fool on!