Top Five Fast-Growth Companies

Each weekday, TheStreet.com Ratings compiles a list of the top five stocks in five categories -- fast-growth, all-around value, large-cap, mid-cap and small-cap -- and publishes these lists in the Ratings section of our Web site.

This list, updated daily, is based on data from the close of the previous trading session. Today, fast-growth stocks are in the spotlight. These are stocks of companies that are projected to increase revenue and profit by at least 12% in the coming year and rank near the top of all stocks rated by our proprietary quantitative model, which looks at more than 60 factors.

The stocks must also be followed by at least one financial analyst who posts estimates on the Institutional Brokers' Estimate System. They are ordered by their potential to appreciate.

Note that no provision is made for off-balance-sheet assets such as unrealized appreciation/depreciation of investments, market value of real estate or contingent liabilities that might affect book value. This could be material for some companies with large underfunded pension plans.

Leading the list today is Garmin(GRMN Quote), which makes navigation, communications and information devices based on GPS technology. It has been rated a buy since September 2005.

The company has shown outstanding revenue growth, notable return on equity and a two-year pattern of steady increases in EPS, and it is carrying no debt. These strengths outweigh the fact that Garmin is trading at a premium valuation according to TheStreet.com Ratings' review of its current price compared with factors such as earnings and book value.