Its location among the mid Atlantic states has made New Jersey a transportation hub, a manufacturing and commerce center, and a source of plenty of investment opportunities. Twenty-four Fortune 500 companies are headquartered there. And four companies from New Jersey made Fortune's 2007 list of the fastest growing companies in the U.S.: Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ: CTSH), Celgene Corp. (NASDAQ: CELG), inVentiv Health Inc. (NASDAQ: VTIV), and Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc. (NYSE: JTX).
Cognizant has been on Fortune's list of fastest growing companies for the past five years. This Teaneck-based member of the S&P 500 is a global IT services firm with clients in the health care, financial services, and manufacturing industries. Cognizant's three-year annual revenue growth rate was 56 percent; its three-year annual earnings per share growth rate was 55 percent. The consensus of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial is that Cognizant is a buy, and the company has beat Wall Street expectations for the past four quarters. The share price of $85.79 at close on Friday is up from the 52-week low of $67.60 in September. The price has risen since Cognizant announced a stock split and share repurchase program in September, and the Motley Fool has since dubbed Cognizant a hypergrowth stock.
Summit-based Celgene is a biopharmaceuticals firm involved in cancer treatment and stem cell research. Its three-year annual revenue growth rate was 48 percent; its three-year annual earnings per share growth rate was 33 percent. The consensus of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial is that Celgene is a buy. The share price reached a 52-week high of $72.91 on Friday. The Motley Fool recognized Celgene for its sustainable competitive advantage over its rivals, and Jim Cramer also likes Celgene.
Somerset-based inVentiv Health provides direct marketing services to the health care and pharmaceutical industries. Much of inVentiv's growth has come through acquisitions, and on October 1, inVentiv announced the formation of a new business segment, inVentiv Patient Outcomes. inVentiv's three-year annual revenue growth rate was 51 percent; its three-year annual earnings per share growth rate was 57 percent. It has beaten Wall Street expectations in the past four quarters, and analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial consider inVentiv a buy. The share price reached a 52-week high of $46.49 on Friday. inVentiv will release third quarter results on November 7.
Parsippany-based Jackson Hewett the number two tax-preparer in the U.S., with more than 6,000 locations, including those in Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT). Given the nature of this business, it should come as no surprise that that Jackson does the most business in the first half of the year. While Jackson Hewett reported a loss in the previous quarter, and Wall Street expects another for the current quarter, they also forecast a positive numbers again after that. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial currently recommend holding the stock. Yet, the company's three-year annual revenue growth rate was 50 percent; its three-year annual earnings per share growth rate was 61 percent. The share price was $29.84, up from the 52-week low of $25.65 in mid-September. The Motley Fool likes Jackson Hewett for its long-term growth prospects -- as well as for staying out of the subprime mortgage business, unlike rival H&R Block Inc. (NYSE: HRB). Also in September, Jackson Hewett reached an agreement with the Internal Revenue Service to resolve an audit without penalty.
I do not own shares in these stocks. As always, be sure to do your own homework before investing.
See also: Investing in Wisconsin, Investing in Nebraska, and Investing in Oklahoma.
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