By Stockpickr Staff
Posted on April 27, 2009

For the week, the S&P 500 rose 0.8%, the Down Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6%, and the Nasdaq rose 2.9%.

With the indices on the rise, it's a prime opportunity to search out rocket stocks, or beaten-down stocks that have the potential to snap back in the coming days because of specific catalysts that could play out. A rocket stock is particularly attractive when it has near-term growth potential and also qualifies as a solid long-term play.

Sometimes we find short rocket stock ideas, too, or stocks that we think could shoot lower in the coming days.

Before we get to this week's rocket stocks, here's a look at how last week's ideas fared.

Allegiant Travel (ALGT), which we recommended shorting last week, indeed finished the week down 6%. On Wednesday, Allegiant announced that the travel and leisure company’s insides and directors would sell up to $150 million dollars worth of common stock, equating to roughly 2.4 million shares.

Given the size of the offer, the company has to get approval by the SEC before Par Investment Partners sells its 2.25 million shares, Allegiant’s current CEO Maurice Gallagher sells 100,000 shares and director Tim Flynn sells 162,500 shares. Generally speaking, insider selling is considered a negative by investors, and given the size of this offering, shares of Allegiant could work lower in the weeks ahead.

Axsys Technologies (AXYS), a long idea from last week, finished the week higher by 5% after the optical defense company announced that during the first quarter of 2009, the company generated sales of $66.6 million, compared with $56.4 million in the first quarter of 2008. Net income was $7 million, or 61 cents per share, up from $5.1 million, or 45 cents per share, in the first quarter of 2008. Gross margins did decline slightly, coming in at 33.1% compared with 34% for the quarter, while the company’s backlog increased by 3% year over year to $162.1 million.

Forest Laboratories (FRX) finished the week down 8%, which was definitely a disappointment given the company’s pipeline and cash-rich balance sheet. For the quarter, Forest Labs earned $92.8 million, or 31 cents per share, compared with $172.8 million, or 55 cents per share, during the same quarter a year earlier. Revenue fell 3% to $965.5 million from $990.9 million. The company also took a hefty write-down on a possible charge for reserve funds related to a federal allegation that Forest Laboratories bribed doctors to prescribe antidepressants in little children. Not good!

Now here is this week’s Rocket Stocks portfolio.

Amedisys (AMED), long ahead of earnings: Amedisys provides home health and hospice services to the chronic, comorbid and aging American population. Revenue for Amedisys went from just $142 million in 2004 to $1.2 billion in 2008, as net income went from just $8.4 million to $86.7 million in the same time frame. Beginning in 2011, 8,000 Americans will become Medicare eligible each day, and by 2030, 57.8 million baby boomers will be eligible for Medicare benefits. As of 2008, inpatient hospitals account for 29% of total Medicare benefit outlays by service, which has Amedisys written all over it.

With the company forecasting $1.425 to $1.475 billion in revenue for 2009 on EPS of $4.10 to $4.30 and with a mammoth short position of 38%, shares of Amedisys are going higher. It is also worth noting that Amedisys has beaten analyst estimates the past seven quarters in a row!

Scotts Miracle-Gro (SMG), short ahead of earnings: Everyone knows Scotts Miracle-Gro, which manufactures and markets lawn and garden care products in the U.S.. and EU. Scotts' principal line of sales is its granular lawn fertilizer and combination products, which includes fertilizer, pest-control products and plant foods. For full-year 2008, Scotts' net sales were $2.9 billion. Net sales went from $2.87 billion in 2007 to $2.98 billion in 2008, while gross profit actually declined, going from $1 billion in 2007 to just $939.6 million in 2008.

Coming into the spring and summer season, Scotts is poised to capture the cyclical increase in consumer spending on lawn and household items. But given the stock's rise and recent insider selling, the bet here is that this has already been priced into the stock.

For more ideas, including Alberto-Culver (ACV) and XL Capital (XL) on the long side and Baidu (BIDU) on the short side, check out this week's