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Continuing the rundown of the best teaser picks of the year, this one comes from the Motley Fool, specifically from their Rule Breakers newsletter, and it is the only one of the next Google stocks that Ive seen teased that has gotten even close to a double so far. It reached a 141% gain that then got locked into stone when Microsoft completed their buyout of this web advertising company. Great company cant buy it, but it might help out Microsoft in the long run. What follows is the original post from April.

Another nice stock teaser from the Motley Fool, this time for their Rule Breakers growth stock investing service. And thank God, its not one of those impossible to crack tiny pink sheets Canadian mining companies.

Its a nice idea if youre not going to look for the next Berkshire Hathaway, you might as well look for the next Google. Those are just about the two most popular themes out there in next-finding land.

And the ad also makes sure to put forth the standard bona fides of David Gardner, who runs the Rule Breakers newsletter at the Fool (which I used to pay for, though I havent lately):

Motley Fool Co-founder David Gardner has made an art form of finding companies that rewrite the rules. Thats how he has found stocks ready to SKYROCKET, such as AOL in 1994 Amazon in 1997 Amgen and Starbucks in 1998 and eBay in 1999. So, the Fool wants to tell you about the NEXT Google, all you have to do is sign up for the Rule Breakers service on a free trial, natch and theyll send you the special report.

Or, if you just want to know the name of this advertising superstar, you can come to your friendly Stock Gumshoe and he will deliver. Read on!

This company is involved in web advertising in the Fools words, Just like Google, it also has built a better marketing system. And advertisers around the world are lining up with their money.

According to the email, this firm provides both the creative marketing genius, and the quantitative analysis and ad placement services so it sounds like essentially an internet ad agency.

This is a profitable company and a cash flow machine in the Fools words, and one thats expanding internationally as well as building domestic business.

And then the most tempting of teases the woulda shoulda:

If You Missed Buying Google in 2004, This May Be a Second Chance.

Some of the specific clues in the email:

It has built online empires for the New York Times, Visa, and XM Radio

Business Week lauded this company in its Hot Growth Companies of 2006 issue and said, according to the Fool, Web advertising is fueling the new growth in tech, and [this company] has found itself in the right place at the right time It has become one of the leaders in this emerging niche.

They have grown through acquisitions, thanks to their Harvard-educated CEO with a Stanford MBA.

One of its larger acquisitions was rated by investment analyst website Seeking Alpha as the 10th Best Acquisition Ever. (Though I contribute to Seeking Alpha through my other site, oneguysinvestments.com. I didnt have anything to do with that article and Im not sure I ever read it before this sleuthing job.)

The NEXT Google produced $89.3 million in free cash flow. Thats up from $50.6 million at the end of 2005.

So whats this Next Google? What company is, in the Fools estimation, projected to at least double in the next three years?

Well, just a caveat here the Fool special report, The NEXT Google: The Global Digital Marketing Powerhouse is probably actually pretty good, if past reports and newsletters of theirs Ive seen are any indication. And I liked their newsletters back when I paid to subscribe to a couple of them (its been a while, but Ive found them to be an honorable lot and Ive learned from them).

But youre not here with the Gumshoe because you want to read a special report or start a free trial subscription youre here to see what the name of this company is so you can investigate it yourself.

And the Gumshoe will comply one moment while I adjust my craniotronic thinking machine OK, Ive input all the data and the Next Google is

aQuantive (AQNT)

Ive got a link to the Business Week profile that the Fool mentions a bit further down, but it confirms this as does the Seeking Alpha post on the best acquisitions (though aQuantive barely made the list its Razorfish acquisition is number 10).

And Brian McAndrews, the CEO, did indeed get a Harvard BA and Stanford MBA (at least, according to his online bio).

This is, as we surmised, essentially an internet ad agency you might be familiar with one of their units, Avenue A/Razorfish, as I was (never heard of the others). They do Google ad management for their clients, and also do the other online ad marketplaces, and they handle the campaigns just like traditional ad agencies handle your magazine and tv campaigns. At least, thats my (limited) understanding of the company.

And heres that Business Week article David mentioned, for a little background. Remember, you can go read the article but you have to promise to come back to your friend the Gumshoe when youre done.

So, is it really the Next Google? Beats me. Its definitely got some good sales growth at better than 50%, though I dont know how much of that is from acquisitions, and while the PE is steep in the mid-40s its not unreasonable if growth is going to continue at this clip (though the forward PE is actually higher than the current Google, according to Yahoo Finance, 31 vs. 25, which is interesting).

As with the next Berkshire, it may be safest to assume that the next Google is Google but since AQNT has a markt cap of just about $2 billion I think the law of large numbers allows us to more readily project a strong growth future for them than for the $150 billion Google. And interestingly enough, aQuantive has actually been public a lot longer than Google they were one of the few smallish stars of the internet boom that lived to see another day.

And as far as the share price is concerned they arent back to where they were in 2001 (who is?), but todays price is pretty close to their five-year high, and the shares have been more or less bumping around between 20 and 30 for over a year. I havent read their filings, so Im nut sure why, but there have definitely been some abrupt moves in the chart over the past twelve months, so its possible that there will be a fire sale at some point for you if youre interested.

I trust the Fool more than most of the other newsletter publishers, but that doesnt mean I think theyre always right. Let the rest of us know what you think. Today is the first time Ive seen this particular email, though the Fool claims to have released this report back in late February which probably means the price was between $25 and $28 when the report came out, so Ill credit them with yesterdays closing price on aQuantive of $27.58 when I add them to the tracking spreadsheet.

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