Top 5 Fast-Growth Stocks for Jan. 5

The company reported 40.9% year-over-year revenue growth in the third quarter of fiscal 2008, contributing to an EPS improvement of 37.5%. EPS climbed from 32 cents in the third quarter of fiscal 2008 to 44 cents in the most recent quarter. The company has, in fact, demonstrated a pattern of positive EPS growth over the past two years, and we feel that this trend is likely to continue. Net income also increased in the third quarter, increasing 39.5% from where it was a year ago. Although Cubist's gross profit margin is very high at 79.1%, it has managed to decrease that result compared to the prior year's quarter. In addition, the company's net profit margin of 24.8% compares favorably to the average for the biotechnology industry.

The stock price is not only higher than it was a year ago, but it also outperformed the S&P 500 over the same period of time. Strong earnings growth appears to have been key to this growth, although other factors clearly played a role as well. Although even the best stocks can fall in an overall down market, we feel that this stock still has good upside potential under any other market conditions. Although no company is perfect, we do not currently see any significant weaknesses that are likely to detract from Cubist's generally positive outlook.

Aceto(ACET Quote) engages in sourcing, quality assurance, regulatory support, marketing, and distribution of chemically derived pharmaceuticals, biopharmaceuticals, specialty chemicals and crop protection products. We have rated it a buy since August 2008. Our rating is based on a variety of strengths, including the company's impressive record of EPS growth and its largely solid financial position. For the first quarter of fiscal 2009, the company announced quarterly sales of $93.8 million, an increase of 18% year over year. With a continued focus on cost containment and a shift in business mix contributed to a close to 200 basis point expansion in gross margin to 20.18% in the most recent period versus 18.31% a year earlier. Aceto's first-quarter net income rose by more than 250% when compared to the same quarter a year ago. This growth in turn helped boost EPS, which improved from 5 cents in the first quarter of fiscal 2008 to 18 cents in the most recent quarter. This continued a pattern of positive EPS growth demonstrated by Aceto over the past two years.