9 Big Stocks That Doubled in 2014

The S&P 500 index has gained just over 12% in the past 52-weeks, a good effort, but far below the 32% return in 2013 and not quite up there with the 16% return in 2012. There are, of course, stocks that perform much better than average and some that perform much worse. We wanted to take a look at the top performers for the current year, so we ran a screen for stocks that have doubled and have a current market cap of at least $5 billion.

The list of nine stocks that meet these criteria includes Allergan Inc. (NYSE: AGN), which saw its stock price pop in April on a takeover bid from Valeant Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NYSE: VRX) and activist investor Bill Ackman. By the time Allergan had agreed in November to a buyout by Actavis PLC (NYSE: ACT), shares had already doubled for the previous 12 months.

Shares of Allergan were up 87% year-to-date at Wednesday’s close of $208.03. The stock has a consensus price target of $218.47 and a 52-week range of $100.46 to $214.66. The company has a market cap of $63 billion.

Another big winner in 2014 was Vipshop Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: VIPS), a Chinese online discount retailer that had actually jumped more than 200% by early November and has since fallen back to a 12-month gain of around 146%. The company specializes in flash sales of cosmetics and clothing at steep discounts, and it targets consumers in China’s lower tier cities.

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Shares of Vipshop were up 127% year-to-date at Wednesday’s close of $19.05. The consensus price target is $26.31, and the 52-week range is $7.46 to $24.80. The company has a market cap of $11 billion. The potential upside here is a whopping 38%.

Radio frequency (RF) chipmaker Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) is riding the success of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Sterne Agee analyst Vijay Rakesh estimated that every iPhone 6 contains about $4 worth of Skyworks chips, an increase from the $3 component total in the iPhone 5. On Monday JMP Securities raised its price target on the stock from $75 to $95.

Shares of Skyworks were up 149% year-to-date at Wednesday’s close of $70.82. The consensus price target is $75.58, and the 52-week range is $27.20 to $73.08. The market cap is nearly $14 billion. At Wednesday’s closing price, the potential upside on the stock was 6.7%.

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV), like all the other air carriers, is getting an unexpected lift from falling fuel costs. The company’s CEO said last week that its fuel costs for next year could drop by $1 billion, and the airline could begin flying international routes next year as well. Earlier this month, a Goldman Sachs analyst raised his rating on Southwest from Neutral to Buy and raised the price target from $44 to $55 a share.

Shares of Southwest were up 114% year-to-date at Wednesday’s $40.71 close, with a consensus price target of $48.19. The stock has a 52-week range of $18.36 to $42.94 and a market cap of $27 billion. The potential upside is 18.3%.

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Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NYSE: PANW) is a major player in the data security sector. Recent well-publicized data breaches that have exposed millions of personal records have brought pushed security to the top of corporate managements’ minds. First fiscal quarter earnings at Palo Alto Networks were up 88% year-over-year, and a consensus jump of nearly 100% is due in its next fiscal year.

Shares of Palo Alto were up 118% year-to-date at Wednesday’s close of $120.03. The consensus price target is $125.68. The 52-week range is $54.70 to $124.94. The company has a market cap of nearly $10 billion. The potential upside for the share price is 4.7%.

Demand for its non-surgical heart valve replacements has driven Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (NYSE: EW) beyond its own and even analysts’ expectations in 2014. In the company’s third quarter, sales rose 55% year-over-year. The company also said last week that revenue will continue to grow next year at an underlying rate of 15% to 25%.

Shares of Edwards were up 97% year-to-date at Wednesday’s close of $129.74. The stock has a consensus price target of $139.32, and the 52-week range is $62.91 to $134.29. The company’s market cap is almost $14 billion. At the current consensus price target, the stock’s potential upside is nearly 7%.

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Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. (NYSE: PPC) is the second-largest producer of chicken in the United States, and the company has benefited this year from lower feed costs and higher poultry prices. With the price of beef and pork on the rise this past year, chicken prices have also improved as demand increased. Pilgrim’s Pride was in the right spot. The company is controlled by Brazil’s JBS S.A., which owns about 75% of the stock.

Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride were up 103% year-to-date at Wednesday’s $33.00 close, with a consensus price target of $36.00. The stock has a 52-week range of $15.14 to $38.64 and a market cap near $8 billion. The potential upside to the share price is 9%.

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) will be added to the Nasdaq 100 index on December 22, and that should help keep the stock price moving up. The shares are trading at a six-year high on the strength of hit games like “Titanfall,” “FIFA 15” and “Madden NFL 15.” Digital revenue is still growing fast, driven by mobile free-to-play games and expanded content for the company’s console-based games.

Shares of Electronic Arts were up 100% year-to-date at Wednesday’s close of $46.06, with a consensus price target of $45.24. The 52-week range is $21.25 to $47.19 and the market cap is $14 billion. At Wednesday’s closing price, the stock is slightly overvalued.

A positive report in July on its breast cancer treatment sent shares of Puma Biotechnology Co. Inc. (NASDAQ: PBYI) soaring nearly 400%. The stock had been trading down about 35% before the news hit, so the annual gain is a bit more modest. In early December, the company said it will delay filing for regulatory approval of the treatment until 2016, which has taken the shares down somewhat.

Shares of Puma were up 94% year-to-date at Wednesday’s close of $201.34, with a consensus price target of $274.00. The stock has a 52-week range of $53.63 to $279.37 and a market cap of $6 billion. Potential upside on the stock remains a heady 36%.

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