By Jonas Elmerraji
Posted on Nov. 9, 2009

Last week brought investors a welcome return to gains as the S&P 500 pushed up 3.2% over the course of the last five trading days.

With most broad-based indices tumbling down to a key support level toward the end of October, many traders were waiting with baited breath for the market’s next move. And now, despite unemployment in the double digits and more of the same from the Fed, it looks like investors are game to keep pushing stocks higher as we enter this week.

That’s all the more reason to look to the Rocket Stocks -- beaten-down stocks with near-term growth catalysts and long-term growth potential. In the past 16 weeks, Stockpickr readers have had the chance to beat the S&P 500’s returns by 31.5%, and this week we’re looking to put even more space between us and the market.

First though, let’s take a look at how last week’s Rocket Stocks fared.

Last week’s best performer was Ford Motor (F), still rallying from a surprise billion-dollar third-quarter profit announced the week before. Shares shot up 10.7% as a result.

Coming in second was Align Technology (ALGN). The developer of the Invisalign invisible braces system gained 5.09% during the week. Payment processor Visa (V) also brought in market-beating gains last week, rallying 4.35% after another month of strong debit transactions.

Our sole underperformer last week was Arkansas Best (ABFS), a small-cap trucking company that we were hoping would gain on increased investor activity. Shares lost 6.9% last week.

Now on to this week’s Rocket Stocks list.

Despite a hushed consumer electronics market in 2009, manufacturers of computer hard drives are having a strong year. Western Digital (WDC), one of the key players in the computer storage industry, is already up 218% in 2009 after hasty investors sold off their shares during the throes of the credit crunch. Now that the dust has settled, and with a 16% increase in sales since last quarter, Western Digital is tempting many back.

Western Digital offers stockholders a strong financial position in one of the few industries that’s experiencing double-digit growth right now. And a shareholders’ meeting scheduled for Nov. 11 could provide a solid catalyst to push those shares up even more in the coming week.

Despite an economic environment that’s been decidedly hard on the gaming industry, the companies that sell products to the casinos are having a very different quarter. International Game Technology (IGT) develops and sells electronic gaming equipment to gaming operators. The last six months have treated IGT well, pushing shares of the $6 billion stock up 35%. And while there’s little question that demand for gaming devices remains surpressed at current, overly pessimistic analyst expectations for 2010 have been easy to derail -- much to the benefit of IGT’s share price.

"After a drastic downward adjustment to [capital expenditures] at our core casino customers in the early part of the year, this quarter saw our operators cautiously re-entering the market to meet the demand of their patrons who appear increasingly aware of aging slot floors," said IGT CEO Patti Smith during the company’s latest conference call.

Though those sales upticks will likely take awhile to translate to IGT’s financials, strong technicals could serve the stock’s investors well by Friday.

For more stocks that made this week's cut, including McKesson (MCK) Live Nation (LYV) and Vodaphone (VOD), check out the Rocket Stocks portfolio at Stockpickr.

At the time of publication, author had no positions in any stocks mentioned.

Jonas Elmerraji, based out of Baltimore, is the editor and portfolio manager of the Rhino Stock Report, a free investment advisory that returned 15% in 2008. He is a contributor to numerous financial outlets, including Forbes and Investopedia, and has been featured in Investor's Business Daily, in Consumer's Digest and on MSNBC.com.

Follow us on Twitter!