Rocket Stocks for the Week

Our first Rocket Stock for 2010 is a familiar face from last week: Monsanto(MON).

The agricultural science giant is one of the first large-cap stocks to announce earnings in 2010 (on Wednesday, Jan. 6), a move that could set the pace for 2010.

And right now, that pace doesn't look like much. Analysts are expecting to see sales down 25% this quarter, and profits right at breakeven. Still, a wide competitive advantage and innovative new ag technologies make this company a strong long-term play, and a veteran management team could very well end up surprising analysts on Wednesday and driving share prices higher this week.

Low analyst expectations could be just the catalyst to see shares move higher by Friday.