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.