Evercore (NYSE: EVR) is a financial stock with big potential. The company is an independent investment advisory firm that specializes in mergers, acquisitions and other "corporate transitions." In the new world of finance and with the current corporate marketplace still adapting in the wake of the financial crisis and the recession, EVR is helping form the next generation of Wall Street companies — and making a hefty profit doing so.

The right management team is in place, and assets under management are growing — and most of all, M&A activity will pick up seasonally as we head toward the end of the year and as the economy recovers. I continue to target $40 — a nearly 60% gain from current prices.

Dendreon (NASDAQ: DNDN) is the poster child for game-changing biotech stocks. This company makes a prostate cancer treatment called Provenge, which is taken from the patient’s cells and trains the body’s immune system to fight the cancer. Provenge was approved by the FDA about three months ago to treat advanced prostate cancer, but the company is hopeful the technology will apply to other cancers as well in the future.

I’ve followed Dendreon’s up-down-up story for some time, and I recommended it publicly on February 3 on PBS’ Nightly Business Report (it opened at $30.10 the next morning) and again on March 1 in an article in Forbes (when it was at $31.38). And I recommended cashing in on May 3 when the stock was at $55.43. Today it’s trading around $38, and I see another opportunity to make some nice profits as the stock makes another run.

Veolia Environnement (NYSE: VE) is the world’s biggest water company. Anyone that lives in Los Angeles, Phoenix or other water-scarce regions of the U.S. knows how important companies like this are — and that demand makes Veolia a top buy for the recovery as water becomes more of an economic game changer.

VE is based in France, so it has been a bit battered by what’s going on in Europe. The debt crisis there knocked the stock down from $35 to below $25, but it has regained some strength in the last month and is now around $26. I still think it’s undervalued, and

I’m raising my target on VE to $35 and the buy limit to $29.

Think a +20% upside is only so-so? Well note that VE also sports a very nice yield of more than 5%, so it’s a good stock to own for multiple reasons.

Teva Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: TEVA) is an innovative stock that is leading the generic drug revolution. Based in Israel, Teva has operations in more than 60 countries and is helping millions of patients every day by providing effective but low-cost treatments. This is a dramatic growth industry, and TEVA is at the top of the heap.

Just several weeks ago a competitor won approval for a generic form of Lovenox, a lucrative drug that treats blood clots, and that has caused a consolidation in TEVA stock. But considering Teva’s size and dominance — it has a suite of about 400 products — the selling was way overdone, and it’s ripe for a rebound. Pick up shares of this innovative stock at current bargain valuations.

According to the Department of Energy, transportation accounts for 27% of energy consumption in the United States and more than 70% of petroleum use. But there is an attractive alternative available: natural gas. It burns much cleaner than oil; the United States has an abundance of it; and it is only about one-third the price of oil.

Natural gas is clearly a game changer as we wean ourselves off dependence on oil, and the best stock to play this shift is Williams Companies (NYSE: WMB). It has one of the largest natural gas pipeline networks in the world and is one of the largest gas exploration and production companies in the U.S. Williams is a well-capitalized player, a top 10 producer and a low cost leader. The size of WMB enables them to quickly increase or decrease activity to take advantage of pricing and exploit natural resource opportunities.

What’s more, major natural gas deals this year include Schlumberger’s $11 billion buyout of Smith International and BP’s $7 billion purchase of Devon Energy assets — making Williams a great buyout target if the M&A trend continues. I see Williams rising into the high $20s to $30, which is a nice premium over current pricing. Buy WMB stock under $22.50.

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