DEUTSCHE BANK: These Are The 17 Best Stocks For Small Cap Boom

And as big time companies hum along, small cap stocks — which tend to do better than the S&P 500 during good times and worse during bad times — have been singing even louder.

Small cap stocks have little exposure to foreign markets where growth has been slowing. Furthermore, they are less exposed to the negative effects of a strengthening dollar.

In a new report to clients, Deutsche Bank's David Bianco offers his firm's calls for the best mid and small cap stocks right now.

These buy-rated non-S&P 500 stocks have market caps greater than $800 million, price-earnings ratios less than 25, 2013 EPS growth rates greater than 8%, and net debt/market cap less than 30%.

Relative to Deutsche Bank's analysts' targets, these stocks offer return opportunities of 5% to 23%.