Rocket Stocks for the Week

These stocks, including Apple and Rite Aid, could surge higher in coming days.

Author:: Jonas Elmerraji
Publish date:: Mar 29, 2010 8:33 AM EDT

BALTIMORE (Stockpickr) -- Stock futures are pointing toward a higher open on Monday, thanks in large part to a rally in the Euro as the debt debacle in Greece comes closer to a resolution. That news has investors relieved, largely because of the implications for the other "PIIGS" countries. with EU members coming closer to intervening on Greece's behalf, the risks of a more-widespread debt crisis are significantly lower.

That bullish sentiment should serve us well this week as we go after a brand new set of Rocket Stocks.

Rocket Stocks, our weekly list of beaten-down stocks with near-term growth catalysts and long-term growth potential, seek to separate the cream from the investing crop. And with a few strong performers in last week's pack, our performance over the

S&P 500

in the trailing 36 weeks has made its way to 46.43%.

Here's a look at

this week's list

One of last week's best Rocket plays was

Walgreen

(WAG)

, which made us 6.54% in the past five trading days. Walgreen may have a superior market position in the drug store business, but it was the industry's macroeconomic tailwinds at the hands of Capitol Hill's new health care legislation that made it a smart play. So it stands to reason that we should turn to another pharmacy giant this week to take advantage of the trend.

We're doing that today with

Rite Aid

(RAD) - Get Report

, which is set to report earnings on March 30. Although Rite Aid lacks many of the fundamental attributes that make Walgreen an attractive investment right now, the company still stands to benefit in a big way from increased healthcare spending. And with Rite Aid's earnings expectations muted right now, the chance for a contrarian pop on surprise profits could be sizable.

Analysts are calling for a loss of 20 cents per share in Tuesday's release. Expect to see shares react in a big way if Rite Aid can manage to best that figure.

A big week is shaping up for the company that brought us the iPod. With

Apple

(AAPL) - Get Report

readying its brand new iPad device for a launch on April 3, you can bet that the Cupertino, Calif,-based technology giant will be seeing a slew of analyst and media attention.

The iPad is expected to be a highly successful new product this year, and with already-impressive presale numbers in Apple's pocket, once consumers can actually get their hands on the touch sensitive tablet, the likelihood of a stronger wave of sales is likely.

Over the years, Apple has become highly skilled at bringing new products to market in a big way -- and finding a way to monetize them on a recurring basis. Take the iTunes Store, for instance. What started as a way to leverage its popular iPod music players' cache has become the biggest music vendor in the U.S., with more than 10 billion songs sold.


Stockpickr: Who Owns Apple? Renaissance Technologies Prince Al-Waleed Maverick Capital

Expect significant volume this week and next for Apple as investors and traders alike anticipate the April 3 launch date.

Baltimore-based investment management firm

T. Rowe Price Group

(TROW) - Get Report

hit a major milestone this week after being named by Lipper as the best overall fund group available to investors today. That pronouncement comes after T. Rowe managed to grow its assets under management considerable in 2009 and 2010 and as increasingly cautious investors look to take advantage of the firm's reputation as a conservative money manager.

With $391 billion of investor dollars under its management right now, T. Rowe is one of the largest asset managers in the U.S. And because a considerable portion of those funds are held in retirement accounts, the "barriers to exit" ensure that the company will hold onto that cash.

That's something that analysts have caught onto as well in recent months as T. Rowe's share price has increased significantly. Rising analyst sentiment is the reason that the company's in our sights this week.

For more stocks that made this week's cut, including

Dollar General

(DG) - Get Report

and

ITT

(ITT) - Get Report

, check out the

Rocket Stocks portfolio

at Stockpickr.

-- Written by Jonas Elmerraji in Baltimore.

Jonas Elmerraji is the editor and portfolio manager of the

Rhino Stock Report