Recommended by: Richard Parower, co-manager of the Columbia Seligman Global Technology Fund (SHGTX), ranked No. 11 by Bloomberg Rankings

Likes it because: Check Point (CHKP) continues to take market share in hardware security from Juniper and Cisco with its firewall design. By integrating new functions such as intrusion prevention and URL filtering, the company is prompting customers to upgrade their computer security systems. Check Point's security appliances enable a client company to monitor hundreds of data points at one time with one or two employees. Parower says Check Point can grow its revenue 10 percent to 15 percent per year, and can grow faster by serving customers that continue to invest in more secure connections to the Internet. Check Point has ample cash for small acquisitions and continues to buy back a couple of hundred million dollars' worth of stock every year, says Parower.

The stock's year-to-date performance through Oct. 15: +15.9 percent